Obsessing about tiny cabinet detail

[Bobulus]

Okay, so this seems pretty minor, but I am staring at every detail of my cabinet before I build, and I'm stuck one a tiny hitch, can't seem to decide. So I thought I'd throw this one out to the community, see what they thought looked better. I haven't cut any of this wood yet, but I'd like to this weekend, so now seemed like a good time to ask.

Okay. So. I started with LuSiD's rev 7 plans. I'm mostly keeping everything the same. Going with 3/4" plywood, rather than 5/8" MDF, since I got a really nice holiday deal on some wood-veneer plywood. The thing that's making me pause is the front of the cabinet, where the coin door meets the cabinet bottom. I think I want to tweak it slightly to make it look better, but I can't decide the best way.

I should also mention here that I want to make the coin door able to swing, so I don't have to get behind the cabinet to get at the innards.

I drew a ---smurfy--- MSPaint thing to explain my options. Each is a side view of the bottom of the cabinet. The black lines are the edges of the side panels and the kickplate. The yellow is the coin door. The brown is the cabinet bottom. The red is the T-molding. Dimensions are exaggerated to make this easier to understand.

A) This is what the plans make with no changes. The coin door is set flush with the front of the cabinet. Kinda ugly, but simple.

B) What LuSiD suggests in the text accompanying the plans. Set the panel 1/2" inward, but make no changes to the cabinet bottom. So from the front, you've got a lip on the sides (good, nice and arcade authentic) and on the bottom (kinda ugly?). The other thing that I don't like about it (and A) is that you'll have to do some fancy work to get the bottom T-molding to look good where it meets the side t-molding.

C) My first idea. Cut down on the cabinet bottom a little, such that it matches up with the coin door. Now the side/bottom T-molding problem is avoided, and I think (I hope) it looks a little nicer.

D) But then I thought 'As long as I'm changing the plans, maybe I want the coin door to drop below the cabinet bottom, so that there's no line at the bottom.' Then I'd just point some down-facing T-molding on it to protect it from getting kicked too much, and maybe it would look the best of all?

So I'm dithering back and forth between C and D, but I'm open to B if there's a good reason for it. Will either C or D stand up to the foot traffic better? Will either look better/more authentic? I'd welcome some opinions.

[bungy]

Option D will look the best.

[Knave Jack]

I agree, option D is my choice

[Bobulus]

Cool. That's what I wanted to go with, but I just wanted to make sure there wasn't something I was missing, like it would be harder to mount the door or something.

[HanoiBoi]

Hey Bobulus,

I have to disagree and tell you why.  In option D, if anyone decides to stick their foot (toe) under there while playing and it catches on the way out, they could easily pull at the door, which could bend or wear at the cabinet the wrong way.

If you went with option C, you'd have the added protection of the bottom of the cabinet and practically eliminate any chances of catching.  Also, you might want to stick a piece of quarter round, on top of the cabinet bottom, behind the door to act as a 'stop' of sorts for the door.

If you're choosing option D based on better aesthetics, realize that it'll be pretty low on the cabinet and for the most part unnoticeable.  Unless....are actually going to use red t-molding as in your diagrams?  If so, and the aesthetics would bother you with red across the bottom, you could always omit the t-molding on the bottom or use simply use black across the bottom only.

Good luck,
HanoiBoi

[bungy]

That's a good point HanoiBoi, I've done that exact thing somewhere else and broken laminate before.

My cabinet uses the "option D" design, but when I covered the front piece with vinyl, I wrapped it around the bottom to the back so I shouldn't have any problems like that.

[painterinfo]

If you go with option D you could glue or screw a metal plate over it like this.