Going for something new = on my first try

[troysy67]

I've been poking around the internet and watching posts here for a few years now, lurking I guess, and now I'm pretty close to starting,, FINALLY,, on my cabinet. I haven't been able to find and old cabinet to restore, so I'm going to build from scratch.

Like it's titled, I am going for something "new".  Not from the standpoint of look or functionality, I'm pretty much a classic arcade fan and I want the finished product to look like the REAL thing, but want to do something different.

There seems to me that there are a couple of things can be improved upon on many of the upright cabinets that I've seen built.
   1). Weight - most are built almost entirely from MDF and/or Plywood. I would put this right along side the "brick out house". Not there's anything wrong with a well constructed cabinet, considering it COULD get some bumping and thumping,,, but, in my opinion, that's more of stability not sheer mass. My thought is, YES, use MDF on the sides, but in between use a lot of "lesser" materials.
   2). Portability - I'm not talking about moving around inside a room. Cheap casters will take care of that. I'm talking about being able to move from place to place without enlisting the entire neighborhood. I am thinking of making a cabinet that can be taken apart and put back together without suffering the structural integrity as mentioned in point 1. My initial idea is to do the cabinet with a top (monitor/control panel) and bottom.

Am VERY interested in thoughts of those who have already constructed an upright from scratch.

[vrf]

Am VERY interested in thoughts of those who have already constructed an upright from scratch.

Whoa... that's a lot of thoughts...

I like the portability idea, although I would personally just build a smaller cab. You can have the classic look without building furniture. That Centipede bartop oozes all the right retro feelings, but you can tuck it in a closet.

[RobbyMac]

I'm relatively new here... But I don't think I read a post yet about someone installing a crt that wasn't described as 'Scary' or 'Heavy' etc...
Thats the bulk of the solid construction right there. Holding a monitor 4 ft or so in the air.

Now LCD's and such offer much less weight and therefore less sturdy construction.

Not that it can't be done... when in college I saw 1st yr architecture students building furniture completely from cardboard (no glue or tape etc allowed). But I'm willing to bet none of that furniture survived long with any sort of everyday use.

The weight needs to be distributed throughout (including the user possibly putting weight onto the control panel) so without some counterweight, or lower 'bulk' the thing could topple or tip.

I'd be interested to see what you have in mind!

[troysy67]

I am pretty much a classic fan and want this to look as authentic as possible. Don't have any problem with building a full size cab, but have a couple of issues with getting it in and out of my basement. This is why want it at least somewhat portable and lighter. Will probably do a bartop, or tabletop next time around. I spent 2 years finishing my basement (wife said I had to finish that before I could start on the Arcade) and the approach is a bit tight now that it's done. Had to go with a 7 foot pool table to be able to get down stairs, and that was VERY tricky. If I hadn't had the orders from my wife (the boss) I would have built it in the basement and done the finishing work around it.

I am going to try and include my rough drawings and list of possible materials in the next day or so. depends on how busy I am with work.

[Benevolance]

My cabinet disassembles for ease of movement. We live in a townhouse with an awkward stairwell, so we had to build something that could come apart to get it up the stairs. The heaviest part of the cabinet is definitely the 20" CRT I have sitting in there. But the bezel pops out easily enough so the monitor can be removed, in case the cabinet has to be moved.

The top and sides are held onto the base with carriage bolts. Unfastened the bolts and the entire top lifts off. As well, the CP can be lifted off. The CP is held in place by a couple wooden bars fastened to its bottom, which prevent it from sliding around when it sits on the base. But it is otherwise unsecured on the cab.

It is a full size cab - about 27" wide and 30" deep - so it still isn't super easy to cart around, even disassembled. But it isn't awkward because of weight - it's more an issue of finding appropriate grips. A really tall person with fiendishly long arms would probably find it fine, but I find it is still definitely easier to move as a two person job.

I added casters to the bottom, too, for fine adjustments.

[Gamester]

Robbymac's point about the cabinet needing to be able to withstand a considerable amount of weight leaning on the CP, is very true.  These cabs need to have some heft to them to be stable.

Yes, there are definitely considerations you can make that will help portability, but make sure you fully understand the ramifications of your design decisions.

Just as an example of how a "hefty" cab can also be portable, my control panel box is held on with two bolts, so it's easily removable.  I have a 27" arcade monitor, but I can easily pull off the front bezel (held on by velcro), unscrew 4 bolts, and slide the monitor out.  After removing those items and the computer inside, I don't think two strong men would have much problem moving my cab up or down stairs, especially with a dolly.

The key of course is to not to achieve portability at the expense of the quality or stability of the finished product (it's a fine line to walk).  But, there are plenty of folks on this board that can help keep you pointed in the right direction as you go through the process...

Good luck!

[emphatic]

Arcade authentic + lightweight = you're kidding?   

Also, what is authentic to you? Lots of people here talk about that yet the norm is to have three joysticks (one 4-way) + trackball and spinner on the same panel. Bye bye authenticity, hello craziness.

[troysy67]

Benevolance - I'd love to see how your cabinet goes together. I have no problem pulling the guts (electronics and monitor), and even the CP to make the portability work.

Really all I'm trying to do, it make it so it will come apart so I can move this in and out of my basement when it has to go in and out,,, which hopefully will only once each direction. I just need it so I can move it BY MYSELF.

I would think, from my wordworking in the past, that transferring weight through good structural assembly would do the same as using the heavy materials all over.

I have planned all along to use 3/4" MDF for the sides. It's the in between where I am hoping to save weight. Since the ends of sides will be seen, with T-molding, not much else you CAN use, but 2x2's for structural bracing covered with 1/4" Luan should save considerably, where it can be used.

[troysy67]

Attaching pdf files of my sketches. VERY BASIC.

[spauldingd]

I built my cab about 5 years ago and did what you are thinking about, but I used MDF throughout.  My cab breaks into 3 parts.  There are some pictures of it in my original posting here:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=18852.0

Dave in Des Moines

[troysy67]

Thanks for your reply Dave. Definitely gave me some more to think about. Was wondering what thickness of laminate you used on your CP? The 10 mil peel and stick or the melamine iron on?

[spauldingd]

The stuff I used on the control panel and on the front was a flexible peel-n-stick vinyl laminate that is usually used on speakers.  I'm pretty sure this is the stuff:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=261-618

It looks very professional and has held up really well.

I looked at your sketches and they look almost identical to my design.  With the multiple pieces, you don't need to be too worried about the weight.  And to be honest, you really want it to have some heft when you and a friend are really getting into a game.  I've even heard of people adding weight in the form of sand bags to stabilize lighter weight cabs.

Good luck with your build, I'd be happy to answer any other questions you might come up with as you progress with your build.

Dave in Des Moines

[RobbyMac]

My cabinet breaks down easily also. I basically reproduced the ultimate arcade II, but kept it as a 2 piece cabinet. This way I can remove the monitor and the top half to move the unit if needed. My bezel will be pinned in place up top in a gap behind my speaker panel, and pinned down low by the top of my control panel. I have 4 bolts that hold the top to the base. The TV is mounted to a board, which is bolted to the base. So I can remove the bolts, pop out the bezel, and slide out the tv. This makes maneuvering the cab very easy, but if I still have troubles, I can remove the top also. Its still a 2 person job to lift the stuff, but mostly because its bulky and awkward, not necessarily because its heavy. It's on casters which helps ALOT when moving it, until you need to get it up or down steps.

The big thing is, measure your doorways to make sure you don't build it too wide. I have exactly 1/4" gap through my 32" doorways (without taking doors off hinges) which can be tricky getting it up steps AND through a doorway (taking it back and forth from my garage to the house).

[Yvan256]

Attaching pdf files of my sketches. VERY BASIC.

Note to the arcadecontrols administrators... can we please disable the "force PDF files to be a file download" thing?

[Ryglore]

For some reason portable and stable never seem to coincide in my mind. Though I think Epyx got it right with his Final Fantasy cab.. which is basically a bartop that he built a matching base for. Plus it's a smaller scale cab rather than a full size one.

If you can get away with it, you could do 3/4" MDF on the sides and 1/2" MDF for the other panels.  That would lighten it up a bit. I would stay away from 1/4" luan though... from my experience with it at work, it's rubbish. You can poke though it really easily and it doesn't seem to hold up well... Plus unless you plan on laminating, using MDF and plywood on the outside would give you a different finish when painted... unless you want to spend a lot of time sanding the luan as smooth as possible. Originally, I figured my SHMUP cab wouldn't have been that heavy, but after I took into account the 20" CRT, and nearly four sheets of 3/4"x4'x8' MDF... it is quite hefty before you mount the CP, PC and Coin Door.

The monitor on mine is pretty much locked into place and not removable... since the plexi is held down with a piece of molding nailed into place. Next time I build an upright I'll be making the monitor more easily removeable for sure, since that thing has to weigh at least 20 lbs by itself. So if you can, I would go with an LCD monitor for the savings in weight... good luck finding a nice size 4:3 on though. 

Good Luck on the build and welcome to the No-longer-lurking Club. 

[troysy67]

I haven't started the build yet. STILL messing around with trying to figure out the materials. Maybe tomorrow.

I am going to try to do this with one sheet of 3/4" MDF and then build out the structural parts. After that, will see what I can use which won't change the textures in front. I have left overs from about 10 different projects (not including finishing my basement) in the garage.

As I have said, the whole weight issue for me is in the cabinet itself. Will remove the monitor and the electronics before moving.

I did pick up a 21" CRT monitor (4:3) today off of craigslist for $20. Was going to use 19" LCD I've had for a while, but will keep that with my home office PC. Have been messing around with a 25" television, without any success. Have tried 2 different cables, 2 different video cards and EVERY resolution and refresh rate. Won't give up on that just yet, but really want to get started on building. Wife will be out of town shopping tomorrow, and the Colts have already played this week (now 14-0; GO COLTS) so I may skip the bulk of NFL games to get started on this.

[RobbyMac]

Keep in mind. 1 3/4" 4' x 8' sheet of mdf = approx 100lbs (more like 96). its going to take roughly 2 sheets to do your side panels (ie 200 lbs) and if you can swing all your other panels to fit within those 2 sheets... + 1 monitor (roughly 70 - 100 lbs).
So bare minium or thereabouts your at 300 lbs.

[Gamester]

Keep in mind. 1 3/4" 4' x 8' sheet of mdf = approx 100lbs (more like 96). its going to take roughly 2 sheets to do your side panels (ie 200 lbs)

You can probably shave about 50LBS off of that total by using 3/4" plywood (oak or birch) instead of MDF.  Plus, plywood is more durable, and you don't have to worry about it getting wet like with MDF.  The fact that MDF dust is semi-toxic is another reason I don't like working with it.  The main thing MDF does have going for it is that it's smoother to start with and it's cheaper.

[IG-88]

+1 on the plywood. You could even go 5\8's. And if you glue\screw the joints with strategically placed blocking it will be solid as a rock.

[troysy67]

Since I am planing on using MDF for the sides only, AND the fact that it is planned to be in two pieces (top and bottom), it IS possible to do it using only one sheet. Will use about 85%-90% of the sheet. Of course, I will be using other materials for the front and back panels.

Bottom will be limited to 24" (24 1/2" if you find a 49 X 97 sheet of MDF).

[troysy67]

Drill is on the fritz... ugh. Guess I'm not going to start today.

[troysy67]

Project now going in different direction... Found 1984 Asteroids cabinet, completely gutted with side art in nearly EXCELLENT condition. Took 2 of us to move in basement, WAS A TIGHT SQEEZE, but I don't expect to move it out until I move into a new house (hopefully not until I retire) at which point I will pay someone else to carry out.

Now I am off to find out all I can about restoring cabinets. I only have to touch up around the edges with the Asteroids cabinet and build custom CP, and install 19" LCD monitor. Shouldn't be too hard.

Still think a stable cabinet can be built with half the weight.

Thanks for the pointers, but I think this will be best,,,, especially when it comes to keeping my wife happy. Happy WIFE = Happy LIFE.