The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Main => Project Announcements => Topic started by: J2383 on November 29, 2012, 05:56:23 am
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*EDIT* Hopefully the pictures work now...*EDIT*
Howdy,
I've known about the cabinet building community for a very long time, but never got around to making one like I wanted to. Finally, this year I decided to get up off my butt and make my two younger brothers a cabinet for Christmas(then build one for myself, but that's later). I wasn't aware until I was well into the project all of the variations and styles that could really go into it. That's probably a good thing, though, I was already overloaded by the project, adding more to think about would have been too much. Every step of the way I had to force myself to only focus on THAT step, if I thought about the big picture I would get overwhelmed; that let me only worry about one problem at a time(routing scared me the most before I did it). I managed to fight through the poverty that comes from doing this, the fear, and the set-backs; at the moment, I'd say it's finished if I can force myself to stop tinkering with it. So I thought I would come on here and post some pictures to see what people think about it.
http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0166.jpg (http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0166.jpg)
My brothers posing for one of many of the pictures I thought about using for the side-art. Let me tell you what, it's not easy asking people to dress up like this and being able to offer them no explanation as to why.
http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0133.jpg (http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0133.jpg)
First day of cutting boards and I dropped a circular saw on my foot like an idiot.
http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0139.jpg (http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0139.jpg)http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0143.jpg (http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0143.jpg)http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0144.jpg (http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0144.jpg)(http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0145.jpg)
Some shots of the early woodwork. I should note that the cabinet is slightly crooked, but the wood grain makes it look 10x worse than it is, once I paint the cab that isn't nearly as noticeable.
http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/DSC07221.JPG (http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/DSC07221.JPG)
Painted the cabinet, installed the t-molding, mounted a set of car stereo speakers into it, and mounted the light.
http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/DSC07224.JPG (http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/DSC07224.JPG)
A close-up of the speaker area. You can't tell from the picture, but I mounted the speakers a completely wrong way; through the back instead of on the front. You have to really look to be able to tell, I'm just concerned that the speakers will eventually vibrate and screw up the board to the point of total destruction.
*EDIT* I can't get the page to link my images correctly, so I'm going to split this post up real quick
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Hi,
I can't see the images! :p
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Hi,
I can't see the images! :p
Fixed
http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0152.jpg (http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0152.jpg)
Built the box for the control panel.
http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0155.jpg (http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0155.jpg)
I printed out a test marquee to see how well it worked, pretty darn well.
http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0187.jpg (http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0187.jpg)
Mounted the buttons in the panel
http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0189.jpg (http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0189.jpg)
Painted the control panel black and put a sheet of thin plexiglass on top. You can kind of see where the plexi is starting to stick weirdly to the paint/clear-coat, that's why I decided to do some CP artwork for it.
http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0201.jpg (http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0201.jpg)
Speaking of CP artwork...
http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0191.jpg (http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0191.jpg)
I spent the better part of 2 weeks with these things changing out 20-30 coins into my rock tumbler at a time. They look fantastic now, though.
Time to setup a computer!!!
http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0198.jpg (http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0198.jpg)
*Sadness* It took me a try or two to get the computer working since it was entirely built from two old machines I had in my closet. Turned out I had put a bad RAM stick in it.
http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0204.jpg (http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0204.jpg)
It finally works, but there's something important missing...
http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0206.jpg (http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0206.jpg)http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0208.jpg (http://channelnumber.net/files/cab/IMAG0208.jpg)
BAM! A thing of beauty. Hooking up the computer I realized that I wanted the cabinet to be self-contained, no need to open it up to get to the computer. I went on a trip to lowes to try to find a push-button that I could use, after almost an hour all I could find were toggle-switches. I could use those, but you'd have to switch the toggle on and off again rapidly to turn the computer on, not the elegant solution I wanted. Then I had an epiphany about the one thing I knew Lowes would sell that is a push-button: doorbells. So I found a very cheap doorbell and rigged it up to the power switch with 4 feet of network cable, gave that its own quick disconnect so I don't have to open the computer up to take it out, and it worked perfectly.
Today I also put together a rig to wire some car LED mood lighting to the computer's power supply with a quick disconnect. I just haven't figured out where I want to mount it yet, probably on the base of the cabinet, though I might go for under the CP instead.
So, any thoughts or opinions on how I did for my first cabinet? I know when I make another one I won't make the mistake of painting it before I'm completely finished building it, and have a much smaller control panel(though it does give me room to add anything my brothers might ask for). I'm sure I learned more, but I'm too tired right now to type it out, I've been too excited to get to a point where I could show it off.