Building my first arcade cabinet: Part IV

Time for priming and painting!  After filling in screw holes and sanding, I made a trip to the hardware store and bought some spray-on primer and paint.  I have been deliberating the merits of spray paint vs a tin of paint and roller, but in the end I went the spray route.  I must say that particleboard soaks up a lot of primer and paint!  I'm not exactly sure how many cans of primer and paint I went through (maybe 9 in total!), but hopefully the end result will justify the higher-than-anticipated expenditure!  Here are some progress photos for your enjoyment :)

Building my first arcade cabinet: Part III

It may not look much different from my previous post, but I've put in (quite!) a few hours on my arcade cabinet since then.  The most obvious additions are the speakers and the top panels, although I have done other work including counter-sinking screws etc.  The top panels and bezel were a bit fiddly, especially when I was trying to measure while using a pencil and holding several bits of wood together.  It was during moments like these that I wished I owned a wider range of clamps :)  Cutting the speaker holes was pretty straightforward- I used a drill to make some holes, then cut them out with a jigsaw.  While I successfully got the job done, I'm glad the speaker covers hide my "craftsmanship" :)  The last photo shows my Capcom Street Fighter 2 template, which will come in handy when I receive my buttons and joysticks.  Next jobs will be using filler to hide screw holes and sanding ready for painting.

Building my first arcade cabinet: Part II

I'm pleased to say I'm making progress, as these photos hopefully demonstrate.  Cutting the monitor bezel was tough, and I wasn't entirely sure of my measurements, but it all seemed to work out ok.  The control panel board and large board at the front of the cabinet are not yet fixed in place, but even like this it gives a pretty good idea of how the cabinet will look when finished.  Of course the control panel will be covered with an overlay and the edges will be hidden by some kind of molding to help prevent chipping. Lots of work still to do, but it seems to be going OK so far! :)

Building my first arcade cabinet: Part I

I'm building an arcade cabinet!  I'm not sure what tipped me over the edge on this one- it was a steady progression I think. One minute I'm playing a few old games in MAME, the next I'm reading blogs and websites detailing people's hand-build arcade cabinets.  Before I knew what was happening I was making plans and pricing up my own DIY cabinet :) 

Over the past few weeks I've bought a 2nd hand PC and 21" CRT monitor, as well as a cheap 2nd hand cabinet from an ex-govt. furniture shop.  I've been visiting a lot of sites on the Internet (some good ones here, here, here, and here) and bought some plans from a helpful guy named Bob. I used the plans as a guide and designed my own template, taking in to account my monitor dimensions etc. After making a strong base to support the heavy monitor, I picked up a jigsaw (for the first time in my life!) and attacked the particle board. After a bit of hand sanding I bolted the panels to the cabinet.  Here are the results of my efforts...

Progress to-date

Monitor mount/support

Side panel

Cardboard template

Lots still left to do, but I'm happy with my progress so far. While I can't wait to have it finished, I'm thoroughly enjoying the process of building my first arcade cabinet!