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Question for people who have assembled the Ultimate Arcade 2 kit - stability ?

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vindes:
I bought a UA2 kit and assembled it and feel it's very sturdy.  But I built it in place and haven't had to move it around at all.

Mine feels a whole lot sturdier than any of that assemble-it-yourself furniture I've seen and owned.  More because of the design than because of better cams or wood.

I don't think you have to worry about the top part getting loose just from smacking it around with your hands or fists if that's what you're worried about.  I tend to slap my cabinet a bit in frustration after a few beers.  I think I'd break my hands well before loosening the cabinet up.

That said, it's pretty easy to add some structural 2x4's and agle brackets if you really want to sturdy the thing up.  I'm using a Betson arcade monitor in mine, and to mount it I used 2 horizontal 2x4's, one under the bottom front of the screen, one above the top front of the screen.  The 2x4s are fastened to the two sides of the top cabinet with angle brackets.  That helps the rigidity of the top part of teh cabinet quite a bit.  I'm pretty sure I could run full speed into it with my shoulder and not loosen it up at all.

If the bottom part ever feels like its getting loose it's pretty easy to do the same thing to beef that up.  A couple 2x4s internally in an X across the back of the bottom cabinet should make the thing like a rock.

I considered building the whole thing myself, and I have most of the tools I'd need to do it, but I thought the UA2 kit was well worth the price for the amount of time it would save me.  And mameroom was great to deal with.  A couple of the panels on mine were damaged in the initial shipment and they replaced them quickly and at no additional cost.

I couple other things I did to my UA2 I find useful - I bought a basic 18" flourecent light from Lowes and mounted it to the top panel to light the marquee.  (Pretty standard)  I also drilled two holes in the angled top/back panel and mounted toggle power switches for the monitor and marquee lamp.  That way I can control power to lights, CPU and monitor independently.  (I have the PC set to power up when a button combo on the control panel is pressed.)  I think the toggle power switches add a bit to the arcade feel as well.

wbassett:
I whole heartedly agree that over all it is sturdy, but if you want to put wheels on it, then you definitely need to brace the bottom.  I spoke to Scott on the phone and he agreed with this as well.

As far as the top, it is on solid.  Under normal play it doesn't move at all but you can shake it if you really try or are rough with it.  To be fair, that type of abuse wouldn't be good for any cab.

Where the cams could be a stress issue is in moving it, especially once it's fully assembled.

I definitely had a good experience putting it together and it is a nice looking design.  Like I said, I was even laid up with a blown knee and my son and I still had no problem putting it together.

I want another cab, as well as plan on building my son a mame system.  If the price was just a bit cheaper I'd definitely pick up a couple more kits.  As is my next cab I'll attempt to make from scratch, but I already know it won't be as easy as the kit.

TxGlenn:
Thanks for all the suggestions/input.  I ordered my UA2 cabinet last week and it's evidently supposed to ship on Monday (I modified the CP a bit which is the reason for the delay).  I like the idea of the switches on top. 

As far as moving it around, I don't plan on moving it at all.  But if I wanted to I did not want to have to disassemble it in order to maintain it's structural integrity.  I may look at putting something on the bottom edges to make it kind of  "ski" across the carpet in case I did want to move it.  Something slick that won't show (maybe some t-molding or something).  I'll have to see what it looks like when I get it.

wbasset - I'm also considering going ahead and starting to build one.  Perhaps a two-player dedicated 4-way set-up for certain types of games.  If this is as cool as I think it's going to be, there will be a line for this at my next party!

wbassett:

--- Quote from: TxGlenn on May 31, 2008, 03:15:30 pm ---Thanks for all the suggestions/input.  I ordered my UA2 cabinet last week and it's evidently supposed to ship on Monday (I modified the CP a bit which is the reason for the delay).  I like the idea of the switches on top. 

As far as moving it around, I don't plan on moving it at all.  But if I wanted to I did not want to have to disassemble it in order to maintain it's structural integrity.  I may look at putting something on the bottom edges to make it kind of  "ski" across the carpet in case I did want to move it.  Something slick that won't show (maybe some t-molding or something).  I'll have to see what it looks like when I get it.

wbasset - I'm also considering going ahead and starting to build one.  Perhaps a two-player dedicated 4-way set-up for certain types of games.  If this is as cool as I think it's going to be, there will be a line for this at my next party!

--- End quote ---
Actually on the bottom piece the T-Molding already does run along the bottom if the sides.

Trust me, you'll definitely have a line, and it definitely looks nice.

TalkingBull:
I have a UAII that I got as a kit and it has proven quite sturdy.  I am in the Army and have moved it three times since I built it and it holds together.  The only problem I have found is the bottom of the unit.  The CAMS did a piss-poor job of holding the bottom piece in so I reinforced it with L-Brackets.  Now, I have no problems.  I can play on it for hours and there is no concern.

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