Author Topic: Well if he’s you and you’re him, - BASIC construction done. It is UGLY!!! (Read 7294 times)

paigeoliver · « **on:** March 15, 2007, 07:12:27 pm »

Whose eating this chicken?

Ok, decided on pretty much a whim to build a brand new cabinet. I usually knock these things out fast. Here I am at the start, with all my wood. I probably have too much MDF, so that is a hint that I am probably not scratchbuilding an Edot, R-360 or Galaxian Theatre.

What do you think I might build? And it has nothing to do with Red Dwarf, the title is just a red herring.

paigeoliver · « **Reply #1 on:** March 15, 2007, 08:00:43 pm »

Hit a snag, I can't find my tape measure anywhere. I am not going to go buy a new one, especially since I have to be at work in 4 hours and want to have some REAL work done by then, so I used a 6" ruler to make a bigger ruler.

This must also be another clue since I only made the ruler 40" long.

paigeoliver · « **Reply #2 on:** March 15, 2007, 08:58:30 pm »

Ok, I got the side panels cut.

Any guesses yet?

paigeoliver · « **Reply #3 on:** March 15, 2007, 08:59:15 pm »

Ok, I got all the panels for the main body cut. Lets see if I can get the assembled before I have to go to work.

TOK · « **Reply #4 on:** March 15, 2007, 09:22:06 pm »

Quote from: paigeoliver on March 15, 2007, 08:58:30 pm

Ok, I got the side panels cut.

Any guesses yet?

Very early in the build to guess, but from what I've seen so far, I believe it is a two piece cabinet with a notch in the front and back, an internal frame, angled joysticks, deep and large control panel, dedicated 4 way (possibly not the correct one), a keyboard/gamepad hack and a tiny monitor.

Love it!

mountain · « **Reply #5 on:** March 15, 2007, 09:39:36 pm »

paigeoliver · « **Reply #6 on:** March 15, 2007, 09:40:50 pm »

Some of those guesses were actually correct. The first points go to TOK.

paigeoliver · « **Reply #7 on:** March 15, 2007, 10:14:05 pm »

Ok, some more construction pictures.

This thing may be a lot uglier than I first imagined.

Must go to work now, more construction tommorrow.

KenToad · « **Reply #8 on:** March 15, 2007, 10:18:14 pm »

The artoo?

I was going to guess what TOK said.

paigeoliver · « **Reply #9 on:** March 15, 2007, 11:00:15 pm »

Yes, I am going to make a sit-at Artoo type cabinet. I was going to try to use that monitor head sitting on top of it, but that just isn't going to work, it looks awful. I will make a new one that matches the lines of the cabinet, like the one on the Artoo cabinet.

Since I have to make a new monitor head I am thinking about giving it pointy ears.

danny_galaga · « **Reply #10 on:** March 16, 2007, 07:56:43 am »

damn, i was going to guess 'red herring'

what sort of monitor are you going to use?

paigeoliver · « **Reply #11 on:** March 16, 2007, 08:52:35 am »

Well, now that I am going to rebuild the monitor head my monitor options are open. I'll probably just use a 21" PC monitor. I have a 27" laying around, but then I would be right back to giant monitor head again.

ChadTower · « **Reply #12 on:** March 16, 2007, 09:25:07 am »

Quote from: paigeoliver on March 15, 2007, 07:12:27 pm

What do you think I might build? And it has nothing to do with Red Dwarf, the title is just a red herring.

Damn you, smeghead. I was hoping to see a Starbug.

paigeoliver · « **Reply #13 on:** March 16, 2007, 10:22:58 am »

As far as controls go, I was thinking a 4-way, a moderate button bank and a spinner. Dedicated 4-way horizontal cabinets or horizontal spinner cabinets are almost never done, despite the fact that there are some very good games that use those controls.

(+_+) · « **Reply #14 on:** March 16, 2007, 01:16:32 pm »

It's the "Top 10 Mame mistakes that keep getting copied from one machine to another" cab.

AlexKidd · « **Reply #15 on:** March 17, 2007, 04:17:46 am »

I'm gonna eat you little fishy

Smoker · « **Reply #16 on:** March 17, 2007, 05:22:00 am »

I think your going to lose this thread to red dwarf fans.

and AlexKidd needs to stop chewing on the robot goldfish!

paigeoliver · « **Reply #17 on:** March 17, 2007, 12:01:14 pm »

Ok, I built a new monitor head. I had a bit of a panic moment though, even after careful measuring (bought a new tape measure and everything), the monitor wouldn't fit inside the head I built. But after a seconds thought I realized that I could move the bottom of the monitor head down 3/4" and then the monitor would fit, AND then I wouldn't need a spacer board between the head and the body.

This little guy is 51" tall, and is going to take a TON of t-molding compared to his overall size. I hope I have enough.

paigeoliver · « **Reply #18 on:** March 17, 2007, 02:53:30 pm »

Ok, I have finished routing the whole thing for t-molding and it looks like I will have enough. Between the cutting and the routing half my apartment is covered in MDF dust. I haw dust on top of my dust.

(+_+) · « **Reply #19 on:** March 17, 2007, 04:04:45 pm »

Quote from: paigeoliver on March 17, 2007, 12:01:14 pm

Ok, I built a new monitor head. I had a bit of a panic moment though, even after careful measuring (bought a new tape measure and everything), the monitor wouldn't fit inside the head I built. But after a seconds thought I realized that I could move the bottom of the monitor head down 3/4" and then the monitor would fit, AND then I wouldn't need a spacer board between the head and the body.

This little guy is 51" tall, and is going to take a TON of t-molding compared to his overall size. I hope I have enough.

Are you making up for your guilt in taking part in a midget throwing contest?
So far, a sheer piece de resistance.

paigeoliver · « **Reply #20 on:** March 17, 2007, 04:30:45 pm »

Ok, basic construction is done. He is an ugly spud isn't he?

ArtMAME · « **Reply #21 on:** March 17, 2007, 05:30:16 pm »

Cute little feller, ain't he...

paigeoliver · « **Reply #22 on:** March 17, 2007, 07:19:55 pm »

Ok, he has now been painted white, and to keep up with the whole theme of him being ugly and this being the top 10 mistakes mame cabinet I opted to use a brush rather than a roller.

Ok, the real reason I used a brush was that I had two new roller heads sitting there waiting to be used, but I couldn't find my paint roller anywhere, and I just wasn't going to make a 9th trip to the hardware store.

TOK · « **Reply #23 on:** March 17, 2007, 08:54:55 pm »

Its starting to look kind of cool. Its with partial admiration that I say I can't believe you're routing and cutting in your house. I'm far from a neat freak (motorcycles used to sit in the living room before I got married), but this is the dust left from just cutting the sides for a 15" monitor sized bartop before any routing was done. You're going to be vacuuming that for weeks.

paigeoliver · « **Reply #24 on:** March 17, 2007, 08:58:43 pm »

I have an apartment that is in very poor cosmetic condition. I have cheaper rent than normal because of it, so I will pretty much just do stuff like that in my living room or kitchen without even thinking twice about it.

polaris · « **Reply #25 on:** March 18, 2007, 10:04:46 am »

paige im sure im gonna be shouted down for this, but you are aware that mdf is bad for you and its not good just to have the dust all over the place.

kizer · « **Reply #26 on:** March 18, 2007, 01:18:02 pm »

I knew a guy that would rebuild his Harley motor on his Kitchen table, but got pissed after a while because his 2year old would constantly grab parts and he would have to buy new ones.

That is a cute little fella. Is that going to be a sit on the floor and play type of machine?

paigeoliver · « **Reply #27 on:** March 18, 2007, 03:05:30 pm »

He is going to be a sit in a short chair and play sort of thing.

Ok, he is painted and t-molding is installed.

Now I must go on my little rant about how much I hate installing t-molding. I can route an entire cabinet with a real 3/32 t-molding bit without having my hands slip and I STILL end up having to glue a bunch of it down later. And it isn't like this is my first time doing this. Maybe it is my router, i don't know.

So, I will have to go to the dollar store later and get a lot of superglue.

leapinlew · « **Reply #28 on:** March 18, 2007, 03:35:54 pm »

Quote from: paigeoliver on March 18, 2007, 03:05:30 pm

He is going to be a sit in a short chair and play sort of thing.

Ok, he is painted and t-molding is installed.

Now I must go on my little rant about how much I hate installing t-molding. I can route an entire cabinet with a real 3/32 t-molding bit without having my hands slip and I STILL end up having to glue a bunch of it down later. And it isn't like this is my first time doing this. Maybe it is my router, i don't know.

So, I will have to go to the dollar store later and get a lot of superglue.

It's your bit - use a 1/16th and it'll fit nice and snug. I know the installation for the t-molding says 3/32 - but 1/16th slot really snugs it up.

paigeoliver · « **Reply #29 on:** March 18, 2007, 03:46:43 pm »

Egad, I am afraid to order another specialty bit. Since I ordered the 3/32 one I have received about 100-200 different woodworking catalogs in the mail. I get at least 2 of them per week.

leapinlew · « **Reply #30 on:** March 18, 2007, 04:30:56 pm »

Quote from: paigeoliver on March 18, 2007, 03:46:43 pm

Egad, I am afraid to order another specialty bit. Since I ordered the 3/32 one I have received about 100-200 different woodworking catalogs in the mail. I get at least 2 of them per week.

They are on sale for $9 at MLCS. I've used this one on a variety of projects. Surely all that glue and your time is worth 10 bucks?

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/bt_slot.html#Anchor%20slotct3w

TOK · « **Reply #31 on:** March 18, 2007, 04:37:16 pm »

Quote from: leapinlew on March 18, 2007, 04:30:56 pm

Quote from: paigeoliver on March 18, 2007, 03:46:43 pm
Egad, I am afraid to order another specialty bit. Since I ordered the 3/32 one I have received about 100-200 different woodworking catalogs in the mail. I get at least 2 of them per week.

They are on sale for $9 at MLCS. I've used this one on a variety of projects. Surely all that glue and your time is worth 10 bucks?

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/bt_slot.html#Anchor%20slotct3w

This place is great. I ordered from them, got free shipping and had my stuff in 2 days. I was amazed to find they are within half an hours drive of where I live and also do over-the-counter sales. I'm sure thats going to wind up costing me thousands!

paigeoliver · « **Reply #32 on:** March 18, 2007, 04:37:37 pm »

Maybe if I do another cabinet, but there isn't much I can do about one that is already routed. I ordered my last bit from them, that is when I started getting deluged with woodworking catalogs.

paigeoliver · « **Reply #33 on:** March 18, 2007, 08:15:50 pm »

Ok, after spending 2 hours cleaning up MDF dust I am finished working on this thing for the weekend. The control panel will have to wait until later. Plus, it isn't like I actually have a computer to put in it anyway. I had just planned on sticking the charger/dock for my tablet PC inside the coin door and running the thing off of that.

Also, it is actually going to turn out a lot better than I thought it would. I might even build a few more of them. I THINK this cabinet is the perfect height for children to play while standing, and adults to play while sitting, although I don't have any children on hand at the moment so I have no way to test that idea out.

Now, about the controls. I went into this big parts box and pulled out a bunch of stuff that I might be able to use.

For 4-way sticks I found both a Happ Universal and a Wico 4-way. The wico 4-way I have though, well, I have never been really happy with it, it has too much wear and doesn't seem to want to adjust for perfect action.

I also found an OSCAR spinner. I found an Oscar mouse hack interface and I also found a Happ controls PS/2 trackball interface kit brand new, still in the bubble wrap. I had forgot I even had that.

Found a couple 8-way sticks as well, but I don't think I really need one since the universal can be swapped over from underneath.

Can't really decide on which buttons to use. I have a bunch of candy cabinet buttons, but they seem squeaky. I have the normal happ/iL buttons that everyone is familiar with, some off brand buttons, some leaf buttons (they look ugly though), and some oddball ultra-shallow depth buttons. And between all of those I can choose from 4 kinds of microswitches.

ArtMAME · « **Reply #34 on:** March 18, 2007, 09:28:48 pm »

That's an interesting showcase setup there next to the new short cabinet.

What's the story behind that one?

paigeoliver · « **Reply #35 on:** March 18, 2007, 09:44:03 pm »

That is the bottom half of a Super Sprint covered in textured black "parts express" vinyl, with P-360 sticks with Robotron handles on them, the trackball is an Imperial with the Groovy Game Gear upgrade encoder wheels, the computer is overkill and the 42" SVGA display doubles as my TV.

Kaytrim · « **Reply #36 on:** March 18, 2007, 09:49:46 pm »

That is looking like one very ugly cab. Course that was the plan

TTFN

Kaytrim

leapinlew · « **Reply #37 on:** March 18, 2007, 10:01:42 pm »

Quote from: Kaytrim on March 18, 2007, 09:49:46 pm

That is looking like one very ugly cab. Course that was the plan

TTFN
Kaytrim

Ya think? I think it's pretty cool looking.

blueznl · « **Reply #38 on:** March 19, 2007, 07:18:19 am »

Quote from: Kaytrim on March 18, 2007, 09:49:46 pm

That is looking like one very ugly cab. Course that was the plan
TTFN
Kaytrim

Successfully executed then...

I love it when a plan comes together

shardian · « **Reply #39 on:** March 19, 2007, 10:51:03 am »

I think it is neat.

My only nitpick is that there is a reason a candy cab has the coin slot on the cp: Noone wants to touch their toes every time they put a coin in. I want to see a pic of you effectively using that coin door.

patrickl · « **Reply #40 on:** March 19, 2007, 12:31:16 pm »

Quote from: shardian on March 19, 2007, 10:51:03 am

I think it is neat.

My only nitpick is that there is a reason a candy cab has the coin slot on the cp: Noone wants to touch their toes every time they put a coin in. I want to see a pic of you effectively using that coin door.

It doesnt't look like he's gonna be standing up using the thing anyway.

RayB · « **Reply #41 on:** March 19, 2007, 03:13:56 pm »

Frogger coin door?

paigeoliver · « **Reply #42 on:** March 19, 2007, 03:39:33 pm »

Correct guess, well a basically correct guess, it is a Gremlin coin door off that style of cabinet, but it came from a Carnival.

I don't use coins in my games.

Quote from: RayB on March 19, 2007, 03:13:56 pm

Frogger coin door?

NickG · « **Reply #43 on:** March 19, 2007, 03:41:45 pm »

I want to see a pic of an attractive woman using that coin door, heh.


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