The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Main => Woodworking => Topic started by: SavannahLion on May 05, 2007, 04:24:14 pm
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I've seen examples of some cabs where people put curves into the design. Some have thin wood sheets that are formed. Others use lots of bits of plastic pipe and/or bondo.
I'm not talking about rounded corners per se, but actual curves to the cab itself. Like what was done around the coin box with Mountain's MAME Project (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=63629.0).
Has anyone tried to do curves with other materials? Sheet metal? Fiberglass? Formed Acrylic? etc?
It just strikes me as unusual that most curvaceous cabs seem be constructed out of materials other than wood or bondo yet the BYOAC community doesn't utilize the same materials.
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It's because those production cabs are designed for mass production by expensive equipment. We build stuff by hand for a one-off cab.
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I've worked with sheet metal and fiberglass. Sheet metal requires special tools that most people don't have if you want to do anything beyond the basics; even cutting it to size can be problematic! Fiberglass is smelly, messy, and toxic. Wood is actually a pretty nice material, especially if you're going to paint it (as opposed to stain or another "natural" look).