Vamp builds an arcade cabinet. (1st try)

[Vamp RN]

Finally moved passed the "Aww I wish I could do that" stage to the "Wow!  I'm really doing this!" stage.  My woodworking skills are pretty much nonexistent, but my father-in-law has some skills.  He was gracious enough to help me with the project even though he is as far away from a gamer as anyone can possibly get.  I think that this will be a good bonding experience for us.  I'm using the Ultimate Arcade II plans that were on the disc that came with Saint's book.  (Great book by the way.  If you don't already have it you NEED to go get it.)   We made the first cuts today.  We got the bottom two side panels cut out and almost the top two side panels.  We ran into a bit of trouble figuring out the angle on the monitor section of the top pieces.  I think that we have it figured out now, but he was getting tired and decided to call it a day for today.  Looking at we have done so far I think that this cabinet is going to be a bit smaller than what I was envisioning it to be.  This may turn out to be a plus for moving it around though.  I just hope that it turns out to look as good as what I hope it will be.  We are using plywood for the build.  I originally wanted to use MDF, but I can't find it in big sheets any where even remotely close to where I live.  I think that plywood will work out OK though.  The only problem that I will need to figure out soon is what to do for a control panel.  There are not plans for a control panel box in the plans that I am using.  Saint did include a set for the box he used on Project Arcade though.  I may just use it.  I plan on buying the joystick and button combo along with a trackball from X-Arcade.  I'm guessing that these are probably not the best quality of controls out there, but the price is about the cheapest that I could find.  Unfortunately price is a issue for me now.  I can always upgrade later on I suppose.  This project is going to take a LONG time to complete because of my limited time to work on it and my father-in-law's ability to work for only short times.  I don't want him to over do it.  I would hate for our bonding experience to end up actually hurting him somehow.  He's not in particularly bad shape, but he is getting older.  He's been really great to me and my wife.  Anyway I've rambled more here than what I intended to do, so I will sign off for now.  I will keep posting when I have more to post.  I just don't know when that will be.  Any advice or pointers are welcomed from any of you arcade vets out there.
 


Making the 1st cut!


Bottom Panel #1 done.


Getting ready to cut bottom panel #2.


Clamps make shifting impossible.  Love the clamps.








 

[Turnarcades]

Good you've finally taken the plunge and started your first scratch-build cabinet. Although the design of the UAII is not to my liking (it's a bit large and oddly-shaped for my tastes), it is a sound design and works well in American homes.

My one piece of advice to anyone who builds their own machine is that you should never, repeat never, scrimp on the controls. The controls and how well they work with the games will 'make or break' any full machine build and as it's the function that you ultimately have to live with, the majority of the cost should go into the controls and interface. You can save money in many other places (even the PC can be built for peanuts!) so aim to do that instead. If you use poor controls or more importantly a bad interface you may as well have broken controls as it will cripple you every time you play.

You needn't part with a lot for the controls as you don't have to go as far as a U360 for quality joysticks, Happ buttons and cherry switches are just a few pence/cents more so all you need to pay a bit more for is a good programmable interface like the I-Pac family of encoders or the Keywiz and you can save the money elsewhere on the cabinet eg. paint instead of laminate for a start.

[Vamp RN]

Thanks for the advice Turncades.  I'm planning on using an I-Pac for the encoder.  I should be able to get by with the I-Pac2.  I'll check the Happ site for the sticks and buttons.  Maybe I can come up with a bit more scratch for something a bit better. 

[saleem]

i dont know where in the world you are or what sticks and buttons etc you are looking for but,try ultimarc while your looking,they got good service and products i found.theres 1 in usa (if your an american) and in uk (if your like me,british)

[Franco B]

Welcome to the fun

I really like the UAII myself, I like its chunkiness. 

That's some good advice from Turnarcades. You have to get some decent controls otherwise there really isn't much point.

i dont know where in the world you are or what sticks and buttons etc you are looking for but,try ultimarc while your looking,they got good service and products i found.theres 1 in usa (if your an american) and in uk (if your like me,british)

There is an Ultimarc in the US, are you sure? I know divemaster127 is a reseller but AFAIL I don't think there is a Ultimarc in the US.

If you are in the US Vamp, I would suggest you PM divemaster127 and/or look at his sales thread in BST. He carries most of Happs parts and is cheaper than buying direct from them and he doesn't have a minimum order charge. Like I said he also sells Ultimarc parts if you wish to use some of their controls.

Good luck with it and keep us updated 

[thatitalian]

Yeah, I think divemaster is the main guy in the US. I even buy from him and get it shipped, it works out cheaper sometimes! Crazy... I know!

My 1st cab was a UAII, I thought it was the nuts when i built it. It is nice that it is chunky as it really looks like a "modern classic" arcade.

You will be amazed at how many other people will want to get involved when you start building it. People see it coming together and want in!

[Vamp RN]

I checked divemaster127's site and it looks like I'll be ordering most of my stuff from him.  He appears to have some great prices.  I just need to figure out exactly what I need and then scratch up the extra money.  I may end up waiting a few months to do that though.  Maybe tax time?  Thanks for the point in the right direction guys.  I'm looking for some templates for the control panel.  I'd like to keep it as close to the original box as I can (the one that is sold by mameroom, but I can't seem to find any real measurements for it.  I'm having a hard time figuring out how much of a slope to put on it and such.  Oh, and I'm in the states by the way. I should be able to get some more work done on the cabinet this coming week.  Updates to follow.   

[RobbyMac]

WTG Vamp
I spent alot of time planning, and planning, and designing, and planning, till I finally hit the point where I just need to start building the thing already...
Patience is the hardest part, but I've come to the conclusion that it's going to take a while, so I am taking my time to do it right.
No need to rush it man! Savor the experience and have fun with your father in law...

[Vamp RN]

Thanks Robby.  I'll be following your build as well.  Our cabinets will be quite similar to each other.  I'm curious how your control panel box is going to look.  Did some more work on mine today.  Nothing exciting, but we did get several panels cut to size.  We are almost at the point where we will not be able to do much more until I find a bit for cutting the edges for the T-molding.  Those appear to be hard to find.  Lowe's doesn't have them.  Neither does Ace or Great Value.  There is a Menard's in the town where I work so maybe I'll find one there.  Looking at the cabinet now I think maybe I should have made it a bit wider, but it's too late for that now.  This will have to do.  That's about all that I have to post for now.  Getting pretty good with the table saw though.    

Rough idea of what it'll look like from the side.



This may not look like much, but believe me this was HOURS of work.



Rough idea of the width of the bottom section. 

[RobbyMac]

I work on the west side of indy, and live about 20 mins west of indy if youre nearby I can lend you mine. I got the .080 bit from t-molding.com
Lowes didnt have them in brownsburg or 10th st. either.

Yeah... its a ton of work. Unluckily, we've been volunteering days off at work for the past few weeks, which gives me some free time to work on mine. Plus alot of late hours other nights

I'm thinking I could do a 2nd in about half the time knowing what I know now... but not sure how thrilled I would be starting a second one so soon! lol

[Vamp RN]

Thanks for the offer Robby, but I think I found one on the net that I'm gonna order after Christmas.  I do live somewhat close to you though.  I'm about an hour or so north of Indy.  Things have been busy at work latley (which is good concidering all the money I've spent on Christmas for the family  ).  I hope to be back to working on the cabinet regularly in a couple of weeks.