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First cabinet build


DarkMain

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I first got into emulation AGES ago with the Amiga and Win-UAE. I grew up with the Amiga 500 and I think I still have 2 in the roof of the garage (still working last time I checked). Haven't really touched it in a while though.

Recently, Having missed out on the NES Classic, I kinda started looking into it again, had a play and thought it might be interesting to build an actual 'Arcade' machine. I had an old Dell E8400 sitting around not really doing much so after some quick googling and searching on YouTube I decided it didn't look that hard and may as well take the plunge.

I haven't done any woodwork since I was in school (15 years ago?) so you could say I'm going in blind.

I ordered some buttons and joysticks from AliExpress and after about a month they showed up. Pretty stoked I grabbed some scrap wood and a panel layout from slagcoin.com and got to testing out my new purchase.

The next step was to draw up some plans for a cabinet that will fit the computer, monitor and 2 player panel. I did a lot of searching and used images and other plans as a guide but eventually came up with something of my own (in hindsight, it might be a little big, but its all a learning experience).

Once that was done I had to wait a little while until my Dad was able to lend me a hand. All the tools are his and even though he doesn't do a lot of woodwork now days he did quite a bit when he was younger and has the knowledge I don't.

I went out and got the MDF, wrote down the measurements and got as much done as I could on my own, then last weekend Dad was able to help so we set about doing some cutting. The weather wasn't the best (garage is a mess so all the work is done outdoors) so we had limited time and only got the side panels done one day and the bottom and top cut the next. The side panels were done with a jigsaw and the straight cuts were being done with a  circular saw so most of the time was measuring and clamping rather than cutting.

Next few days was heavy rain so no work, but today was really nice. I decided to see if I could finish the cuts on my own and for the most part got the rest of the panels done without any issues (one little mishap but it should be easily fixed).

So now all the panels are done. I just need to go out and get some thicker wood for the inside supports. Most likely 19x19 pine. At the moment I'm just using off cuts and scrap but its only 12mm MDF and I don't think it will be good enough structurally (+ its just stuck on with double sided tape so I can get an idea of the final product). I also need to pick up some screws and then I can begin putting it together.

Then its finish off the control panel (drill holes and attach the buttons and joystick) and fix the monitor to the display panel and its off to the races.
Hopefully if all goes well I'll have it finished and running by the weekend. Maybe even painted.

Can't wait to get it finished.
My boss has already suggested I bring it into work one night when its all done.

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Went out and got the 19x19 pine, 25mm screws and glue today. Measured up and cut the pine but when I tired to screw 2 bits of scrap together it didn't work. The screws didn't go through far enough and it just pulled apart.
Turns out the 19x19 was actually about 22x22 (even though its advertised and sold as 19x19). Dad seemed to think it was sold as 'Rough Cut' or something so its actually 19ish (on the bigger side to be safe).

No big deal, just had to head back to the hardware store and grab some 30mm screws instead.

Progress is a little slow (probably cause I'm triple checking everything and question to make sure I'm getting things right) but its getting there. Probably another day or two and it will be put together depending on how much time I give it.

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Edited by DarkMain
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Another progress update... 

Got the control panel cut out and most of the cabinet screwed together. added some holes to the side for pinball (in hindsight they might be a little low but it should still be all good).

Just need to cut out the hole for the monitor and build a bracket for it, sand it up, give it a coat of paint and then throw in the joysticks and buttons and I should be done.

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Not a lot to report today.

Decided to remove the front panel (it was screwed on) and attach it with hinges and a magnetic catch instead. This will give me easy access to the front of the computer for the power and USB ports (if I ever want to use a controller) as well as adding a small gap that should help with airflow.

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For power you should check if you machine has the option in the bios for recovery on power this will turn you machine on when ever it gets power. Then if you use something like this you can have the switch in the back just throw the switch and your PC will boot up. For USB and Ethernet I used a wall plate with USB and Ethernet keystone jacks. The linked post below shows some pics of my bartop which is still basically in that state but I swear one day I'll finish making it pretty.

 

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Lol, yea. I'm trying to keep the costs of the build down so went for the monitor speakers over an extra $20 for something else. It seems to be doing OK for now, but the option to upgrade in the future is always there. 

 

I haven't looked at getting adhesive vinyl prints for the rest of the cab. Maybe in the future, but for now it's not on the cards. 

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8 hours ago, DarkMain said:

USB LED strip turned up today. Printed off a temp marquee image on 2 bits of A4 and stuck them together to test it out. Really helps bring it all together.
Should do until I can find some Acrylic/Perspex for a decent price.

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I run a print shop & we can print on acrylic or backlite film, feel free to PM me and maybe we can work something out.

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