A bartop MAME made from oak

[pharmd99]

Newbie here!
I'm trying out my first build.  A bartop MAME machine made using Oak.  I want it to look like a nice piece of furniture since I dont really have a "gameroom" to put it in.

Below are charts for the basic structure and control panel.

Controllers and parts:
1 omni-stik joystick
1 spin-trak spinner
1 U-trak trackball
6 black buttons on the control panel
1&2 player buttons in the front below the control panel
3-4 other misc buttons on the back panel
an old 18" LCD monitor
a small pc.

I'm using 1/2" Oak plywood for the side and back panels, scrap 3/4" plywood for the bottom and 3/4" oak planks for the rest. I have to decide how to attach everything since I dont want to make too many holes

 glue + L-brackets inside
 glue + finishing nails (I dont have a nail gun so I would have to predrill the holes)

dimensions are 19"wide, 18" deep and 23" to tallest point.
 
I'm also thinking of plexiglass/lexan or glass for the face.

Today I'm going to try to build the 2 sides from my design.  I'll post more pics today.

[IG-88]

"WELCOME TO YOUR DOOM" (a little Altered Beast reference there)

Looks like a great start so far.    You realize of course that this is only the beginning of a long and sorted adventure in a hobby that will only lead to madness. But its a fun trip.

[pharmd99]

Transferred the drawing to the plywood and cut out the 2 side pieces.  I decided I didnt need as much room and ended up making them 1" shorter (width) than the drawing.  Also cut 1/8" channel for the glass/plexi.  I hope this project goes faster, it took me way to long to cut, match the 2 sides and round the corners.

Here's the pic of the left side, both sides are identical in shape with the finished oak side on the outside.


I wont be able to work on this again until Thurs, will update with pics then.

[DaOld Man]

Cant wait to see this. Ive been tossing around the idea of using some kind of "furniture" type wood on my bartop build, if I ever get time to get around to it.

[apfelanni]

my first bartop attempts were massiv woody style cabs. one is based on bishops pacman ideas with a 14 " multisync inside , the other is housing a 17 " eizo pc monitor . both got a woodoil finish . dont wonna hijack ur thread , just give some inspirations .

[drventure]

What kind of room is this gonna go in? If it's ultra modern, I'd say clean and flat would be fine, but I'd just like to see some rail and stile panels on the sides sometime, more like traditional cabinetry.

Or maybe a bit of carved trim (you can get that stuff at Rocklers, Van dykes, etc).

In other words, something that gives it a little dimension vs being flat.

Other than that, I love the idea of a furniture grade build!

[Ryglore]

You realize of course that this is only the beginning of a long and sorted adventure in a hobby that will only lead to madness. But its a fun trip.

+1

[pharmd99]

Just thought I'd post an update, initial template sat in my garage for several months.  Started to work on it again this week. 

Used locktite glue and 18g finish nails to put it together. 
Also cut Lexan, routed a channel to fit lexan.
waiting for glue to set to finish staining.

I'm thinking of adding a 3rd row of buttons but not sure if I have the room so i'm going to wait until i have it setup.

thanks again for all your comments and help.

dave

[leapinlew]

So your not supposed to stand on the plexi you bought? What a ripoff...

[IG-88]

Thats the cheap WalMart stuff. No strength to it what-so-ever.   

[pharmd99]

Actually bought Lexan, it's really thin.  trying to figure out how to make a bezel for my monitor

[Silas (son of Silas)]

So your not supposed to stand on the plexi you bought? What a ripoff...

Thats the cheap WalMart stuff. No strength to it what-so-ever.   

Took me ages to realize what you guys were on about...   

[pharmd99]

current updated pics.

finished the bottom, Finished all the staining, added oak moulding, finished the back panel (added a plug socket and on/off button)

should start putting the guts in next week.

still looking for an easy front end to use with windows xp

[Roo]

It's looking great!

My favorite front end is HyperSpin.  Some people get thrown off by the initial configuration, but it's not that bad in my opinion.  They recently added some really nice step-by-step guides to the HyperSpin website.  And plenty of people here can help you if you get stuck.

[JayB]

Hyperspin is on my cab, excellent front end. Mind you I'm completely biased as I created the intro music on the load up screen

[severdhed]

great looking bartop, this thing is going to be really nice when finished.  as for front ends, you can't go wrong with MaLa.  it is really easy to get set up and running, and pretty simple to create a very custom layout to fit your cabinet.

[WhereEaglesDare]

HyperSpin is good, but GameEx is better....   

[pharmd99]

think I opened up a can of worms ......

honestly, I have hand picked about 120 mame games that I want to run.  Looking for a frontend that is easy to program and will just load up when I turn it on (running xp)....do any of these front ends come with a template that I could just alter to accomplish this?

thanks again for all your input.

dave

[Roo]

I really only know HyperSpin.  Since I have found in life it's best to only offer advice when you know something about the subject...   

Yes, It's pretty easy to configure HyperSpin to load on startup and display the games you want , however you want.  I'd bet all the front ends offer that functionality, since it's pretty core to what a front end is used for, but I can't say for sure.

My advice is check out youtube for videos of the different front ends in action and pick the one you like.  No matter which one you pick, you have a small learning curve in front of you, so just go with the one that looks good to you!

[ragnar]

think I opened up a can of worms ......

honestly, I have hand picked about 120 mame games that I want to run.  Looking for a frontend that is easy to program and will just load up when I turn it on (running xp)....do any of these front ends come with a template that I could just alter to accomplish this?

thanks again for all your input.

dave

If all you are doing is running Mame, I only know Mala but i think it does what you want out of the box.  You just need to create a custom gamelist with those 120 games.

[EvilNuff]

What are you using for your pc?  I have a nettop that I put mame on and found that hyperspin was a bit much for it...but Mala (and mame) ran just fine.  Hyperspin is a little too "busy" for my personal preference as well.

[pharmd99]

I'm using an micro pc with an intel atom 330, 1GB ram and integrated video....running windows xp

[EvilNuff]

Given that I would suggest Mala.  I had the best luck with it on my atom netbook.

[jimmy2x2x]

I agree that hyperspin is a little busy, Im currently using Maximus, but used Mala for the longest period.

Mala is excellent for fast booting and its very easy to setup, ideal for your specification.

[severdhed]

I agree that hyperspin is a little busy, Im currently using Maximus, but used Mala for the longest period.

Mala is excellent for fast booting and its very easy to setup, ideal for your specification.

+1

you can set up multiple game lists in mala.  i have about 130 games on my favorites list, and that is the one that comes up with teh pc boots.  i can switch to the all games list if i want to add a new game

[drventure]

+1 on mala and gamelists.

Plus, keep in mind that ROMLISTER can generate mala game list format files easily, so you can put together lists of specific types of games fairly quickly as well.

[pharmd99]

updated pics as of today.  Thing weighs a TON!

 now I just need to get the software working   Are there macros I can program to exit a game, pause, etc....Can I program button combos for macros?

[severdhed]

mame supports button combos natively.  just hit tab to bring up the mame config menu, find the option you want to change, hit enter to select it, then press both buttons