Island-Cocktail Build

[bkenobi]

I did something similar with my cab as far as the color scheme goes. I have a 7 button Neo Geo/SF layout, but I have everything set up to use the 4 Neo Geo buttons by default. So, I have them colored Red-Yellow-Green-Blue (like the original machines used) for the bottom and black for the rest.

Oh, my opinion, but I think the spinner should match that player's controls. I would definitely switch the sticks and buttons if it were me. Looks really nice!

[gryhnd]

Oh, my opinion, but I think the spinner should match that player's controls. I would definitely switch the sticks and buttons if it were me.

Ya, I tend to agree. I'll see how it looks when I start the wiring. I've got more woodworking to do yet, then of course multiple coats of polyurethane before I have to settle on a plan.

[bkenobi]

Polyurethane or spar urethane? The latter is better suited for wet environments. I used several coats of spar urethane on a couple drink rails I put in my game room and after glasses weeped on them and weren't cleaned up until the next afternoon, there were ZERO water rings. I'm not sure the same would have been true if I used poly.

[gryhnd]

Polyurethane or spar urethane? The latter is better suited for wet environments. I used several coats of spar urethane on a couple drink rails I put in my game room and after glasses weeped on them and weren't cleaned up until the next afternoon, there were ZERO water rings. I'm not sure the same would have been true if I used poly.

I was speaking generically, yeah, Helmsman Spar. Thanks!

[bkenobi]

Just checking (I do the same thing).

[Tempest]

I never do that...

[gryhnd]

I didn't want to mention it in case I royally screwed it up (and I suppose there is still room for that, but now I am committed) or chickened out, but I decided early on in the project to try my hand at inlaying. I thought a Pacman eating a few dots would look real slick on the table top.

I had a scrap chunk of pattern mahogany about 4" thick and 7" square that I thought would be a nice contrast to the light colored butcher block top. I set out sketching up the P-man to various sizes and dot spacings until I found one I was happy with. My first attempt to cut the circle for Pacman out using my rotozip, string and a nail ended in utter disaster. So I made myself a circle cutting jig/base for my router, and that worked perfectly. I sliced Pacman and dots into a scrap of 1/4" MDF to make the pattern that my inlay router kit can follow. A few practice runs on some scrap and I was happy enough to give it a go.

Started by making the inlay pieces themselves first.

Then layed them out about where I wanted them to go.

Some double sided carpet tape on the back of the template secured it to the table top.

Set up my router with the pattern bushing and spiral cutter, offered a prayer to Norm Abrams and started cutting the table top.

Not bad! I had to clean up the field within Pacman with some chisels first though.

A dry test fit first, plus figuring out which way I wanted the grain of the dots to go (I settled on perpendicular to Pacman's grain)

Then glued them all in to place.

Some creative clamping, and now I have to wait a few hours to see how it all worked out.

[gryhnd]

And just like TV, a few hours later in the blink of an eye:

These are taken after a mineral spirits wipe down to show about what the grain and color will look like when finished.

[Tempest]

Nice job. It looks really good!

[bkenobi]

That's pretty damn cool! Nice idea.

[emphatic]

Beautiful!

Emph

[chriss]

it looks really clean without a gap!

you know what you're doin

[gryhnd]

Thank you everyone

I've got 4 or 5 coats of Spar on there now, and prepping to wire the controls after it's had a chance to cure for a while.

However I did a facepalm Monday when I realized I had no 0.187" quick disconnects I'm well stocked with with 0.25", so I didn't even think about it. Can't find any 0.187 locally so I had to order them up. There's certainly plenty of other things I can do in the meantime though while I await delivery.

[headkaze]

Great build! It make me laugh a bit when you said you were doing a bit of work while the family were asleep. I'm sure they didn't sleep for long after you got that router going though lol

[gryhnd]

Here's Pacman and the table after 5 coats (or was it 6...I lost track) of gloss Helmsman Spar:

[NizZ8]

coming along nicely! Looks great!

[gryhnd]

With the cutting of holes for the cooling fans, speaker grills, and vents out of the way, most of the wood working is now done, so I moved the top and the base into the HT/game room this morning.

Installed the two 120MM LED fans, 2 speakers for each user, and then all the buttons, joys, trackball and spinner. I ordered the monitor glass this afternoon too.

I'm at a bit of a standstill now, while I await my connectors and 2 more buttons from Groovygamegear. Kinda wondering what happened over there. I ordered 5 days ago and I'm still in the "processing" phase for what usually take 1-2 days. An email to Randy 2 days back has so far gone unanswered too. Ah well, I'll wait a bit more before I send out the hounds.

There's a few things I can pick away at, but I really need (want!) to get all the button wiring done

Here's where it's at:

Cooling fans to the left (the rear of the table).

You can see a glimpse of a speaker to the right and left peaking out from under the table top. These are attached directly behind...

The speaker grills. The grills are actually 3" aluminum vents used in houses, primed and painted a metallic graphite color. The button will be the "plunger" for Future Pinball games.

[bkenobi]

Looks great! Are you putting the faux drawer plates on the top (or maybe it's just a wood panel), or is it staying open like in the pictures?

[gryhnd]

Looks great! Are you putting the faux drawer plates on the top (or maybe it's just a wood panel), or is it staying open like in the pictures?

You mean where you see the speakers "peaking" out from? If so I built a face for that which is attached with super strong magnets. Jump back to post #3.

[gryhnd]

I've wired up the fans to their 12V wall wart so I could see them "all purty like":

Unlike my upright cab where all the LEDs and fans are hooked into a second PSU, this cab is using spare transformers from long dead electronics. Reduce, reuse! (and free)

And that's the end of my dabbling until Sunday at the earliest. I did get a call from the glass company that my order is already complete! But alas, I won't be able to pick it up until Monday.

[gryhnd]

I heard from Randy at GGG over the weekend and my stuff is on its way. Hopefully by tomorrow it will arrive.

Picked up my glass order first thing this morning and it's a perfect fit. Also stopped at the hardware store and purchased some black foam gasketing so the monitor will be tight (and dust free) against the back of the table top. Clear silicone will seal the glass down as one of the eventual final steps.

Yesterday I installed all the switches for the buttons, the board for the TurboTwist2, fixed the trackball (a bearing had fallen off a roller when I had taken it apart earlier), and then installed the GP-Wiz40 board. Shop time was dedicated to cutting 1.5"x1.5" angle aluminum to make supports/attachment for the table top, running along the two sides and across the back of the cabinet. It's all nicely mitered, pre-drilled, and has 3 coats of the same metallic-graphite paint used on the speaker grills.

Next order of business will be to start running wires, and to see if I can decase the PC and squeeze it in next to either side of the monitor in the top shelf area, behind the fans.

[gryhnd]

Next order of business will be to start running wires, and to see if I can decase the PC and squeeze it in next to either side of the monitor in the top shelf area, behind the fans.

Decasing the PC was a total breeze. It's a Dell Optiplex GX260 I scored of eBay for a whopping $49 a several months ago (P4 2.4, 512MB RAM, 40Gb HD, and I installed an AGP 6200 nVidia low profile video card). Turns out this puppy is extremely modular and designed (I gather) for office IT departments to be able to replace components with a minimum of effort. All of the following essentially slid right out after a tug or push on the appropriate retainer tab: PSU, HD, and CD. The entire motherboard slid out on a metal tray. I basically had the entire thing emptied in...oh...5 minutes tops. The PSU and MB tray had key holes on their backsides, so mounting them in the cabinet was simple:

For the HD, I gutted an old, dead, external ZIP drive and used the case for protection (clear blue case, lower left). I drilled out the view window and installed a small fan on the top of it for cooling, then ran the IDE and power cable through the slot the ZIP drive cartridge normal sticks in to.

The CD-Rom I mounted to the underside in the large cabinet space where it will be easily accessible. This is attached with a 36" lighted (EL) cable to the MB in the upper section. Not yet installed, but to the right of this will be a spare arcade push button that will turn the PC on:

[bkenobi]

I've never seen a PSU that shape before. All the PSU's in that configuration that I've seen don't have a case. This must have been some kind of small desktop unit rather than a larger unit designed to sit on the floor?

[Endaar]

I've never seen a PSU that shape before. All the PSU's in that configuration that I've seen don't have a case. This must have been some kind of small desktop unit rather than a larger unit designed to sit on the floor?

Yeah, that's exactly what it's meant for. Most of the Dell stuff these days is non-standard and proprietary.

The build looks amazing.

Endaar

[gryhnd]

I've never seen a PSU that shape before. All the PSU's in that configuration that I've seen don't have a case. This must have been some kind of small desktop unit rather than a larger unit designed to sit on the floor?

Yes. It's the style designed to sit under a monitor. You can stand it on end (I did while prepping it over the last months) but the CD-ROM isn't a slot loader, so you can't use it