It's been a while since the last cabinet post, so I thought I'd post a short update:
...
and that's about all that's happened since last October.
I've just bought a pot so I can move the volume control off the amp on the floor to a spot beside the speakers. I'll then be able to put the amp inside so it's not making the place look untidy. At the same time, I bought a switch box so I can move the output from the speakers to the TV without having to unplug cables and stuff. I might pull the box to bits and incorporate it into the cabinet itself; another step towards tidiness.
I also priced the cost of printing a marquee at Ted's. Because the width I need is wider than the roll of paper they use, I'll have to print it longways, which means It'll cost around $100 with 60% white space left over. I'm going to have to fill it up with other pictures to get my money's worth, but it's a good step towards completing this damn thing. I really wish I'd left the control panel until everything else was done, because now that everything works there's not as much motivation to make it look pretty.
Showing posts with label cabinet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cabinet. Show all posts
February 03, 2007
October 24, 2006
cabinet part xxii
It lives!
And like Frankenstein, it is also a bit patchy, parts are unfinished and it takes up a hell of a lot of room. It also smells funny, but I never met Frankenstein, so I can't vouch for his odour.
I'd planned to put pictures up today, but I took them late last night and forgot to bring the memory card to work. I'll stick them in when I get home.
Putting the rubber t-molding on was harder than I expected. I considered buying a rubber mallet to help, but decided that I'd be able to do it by hand. What should have taken 15 minutes, took over an hour, using a shoe and rolling pin combo.
True to my word, I played The New Zealand story for a couple of hours and discovered that PacMan with an 8-way joystick just isn't going to cut it. I'm either going to have to fix the joystick so it's easily changeable, or get a dedicated 4-way (the preferred option).
As the budget has blown out, I think I'll be making a cheap bezel out of black cardboard to see me through until I can afford a piece of safety glass. It looks pretty rough at the moment, so anything will be an improvement over the gaping hole with paint slopped around it. I'll also have to sort out a temporary fix for the marquee, as that also looks untidy.
Speakers will go in this evening, which will tidy it up a little. The sub is just sitting on the floor at the moment, but that will be getting replaced with a proper amp and volume control at some point soon.
I still haven't sorted out how MAME will actually run either. I need to prevent the monitor from switching resolutions when loading a game, or the poor thing will get worn out really quickly.
So, in short, the whole thing is playable, but quite a way from being "finished". Once I've paid off the current spend, I'll start getting things tidied up.
edit: Here's some pics.
And like Frankenstein, it is also a bit patchy, parts are unfinished and it takes up a hell of a lot of room. It also smells funny, but I never met Frankenstein, so I can't vouch for his odour.
I'd planned to put pictures up today, but I took them late last night and forgot to bring the memory card to work. I'll stick them in when I get home.
Putting the rubber t-molding on was harder than I expected. I considered buying a rubber mallet to help, but decided that I'd be able to do it by hand. What should have taken 15 minutes, took over an hour, using a shoe and rolling pin combo.
True to my word, I played The New Zealand story for a couple of hours and discovered that PacMan with an 8-way joystick just isn't going to cut it. I'm either going to have to fix the joystick so it's easily changeable, or get a dedicated 4-way (the preferred option).
As the budget has blown out, I think I'll be making a cheap bezel out of black cardboard to see me through until I can afford a piece of safety glass. It looks pretty rough at the moment, so anything will be an improvement over the gaping hole with paint slopped around it. I'll also have to sort out a temporary fix for the marquee, as that also looks untidy.
Speakers will go in this evening, which will tidy it up a little. The sub is just sitting on the floor at the moment, but that will be getting replaced with a proper amp and volume control at some point soon.
I still haven't sorted out how MAME will actually run either. I need to prevent the monitor from switching resolutions when loading a game, or the poor thing will get worn out really quickly.
So, in short, the whole thing is playable, but quite a way from being "finished". Once I've paid off the current spend, I'll start getting things tidied up.
edit: Here's some pics.
October 22, 2006
cabinet part xxi
Went for a bike ride down by the Yarra to Port Melbourne, then down to Brighton and back today. I thought it would take ages, but we got back in time for me to put this together:
It got too late for me to test it out, but it passed the fume test: Deb couldn't smell the paint, even though it was inside for 8 hours or so. This means I should be able to bring the rest of the beast upstairs tomorrow!
I played the New Zealand Story using the keyboard for an hour or so last night, so I think I'll have to make that the first game I play.
Sweet
It got too late for me to test it out, but it passed the fume test: Deb couldn't smell the paint, even though it was inside for 8 hours or so. This means I should be able to bring the rest of the beast upstairs tomorrow!
I played the New Zealand Story using the keyboard for an hour or so last night, so I think I'll have to make that the first game I play.
Sweet
October 21, 2006
cabinet part xx
Laid down the second and final coat of paint today. All I need to do before I can start playing games, is wait for the paint smell to mellow and drag the bugger upstairs. I'm going to treat myself and put the t-molding on once everything is inside, i.e. no more working in the garage! Woop!
I've been playing with the monitor, and I think the brightness will look fine. It's definitely a lot more like the crappy old fish and chip shop machines that I used to play. Mitch actually suggested I call it the Chippie, since that's where most of the machines are these days. It's something to think about, along with the artwork that will eventually cover up the cab's imperfections. I've gone off the silver fern idea, I think I must have been feeling patriotic that day or something. I drew a few New Zealand Story characters a month or two ago, but I think they look a little Japanese. It's a shame, because as vector graphics you can scale them to any size without losing details. I'm sure I can find another use for them.
Also, I just added up all my receipts so far. Everything from tools, sandpaper and paint to computer, speakers and joysticks has cost $2787.49. Around $2000 is materials and the other $700 odd is the tools.
There are definite disadvantages living 2200km from your parents!
I've been playing with the monitor, and I think the brightness will look fine. It's definitely a lot more like the crappy old fish and chip shop machines that I used to play. Mitch actually suggested I call it the Chippie, since that's where most of the machines are these days. It's something to think about, along with the artwork that will eventually cover up the cab's imperfections. I've gone off the silver fern idea, I think I must have been feeling patriotic that day or something. I drew a few New Zealand Story characters a month or two ago, but I think they look a little Japanese. It's a shame, because as vector graphics you can scale them to any size without losing details. I'm sure I can find another use for them.
Also, I just added up all my receipts so far. Everything from tools, sandpaper and paint to computer, speakers and joysticks has cost $2787.49. Around $2000 is materials and the other $700 odd is the tools.
There are definite disadvantages living 2200km from your parents!
October 19, 2006
cabinet part xix
Quick update: This morning I picked up the monitor that I won on eBay.
I thought I did really well: I printed off evidence of who I was, a map of how to get to the place, biked into the city in the rain, went to the gym, dropped my stuff off at work, caught the train to Victoria Park, walked to the PC place, got the monitor, caught a cab home.
The only problem was when I went to open the door, I realised that my house keys were at work. Bugger.
It's now on a table, outside, sheltered by the barbeque cover. I hope that thing's waterproof!
edit: it didn't rain again today. Rumour has it that it didn't rain for more than 5 minutes anywhere today. I seriously think I had a grey cartoon raincloud over my head, because I was being rained on continuously for at least 30 minutes this morning.
The screen is nice and big, but it's overbright. It basically means that any black pixels look grey because the light is too bright. I'm sure that old arcade monitors look the same, so maybe it'll make it look more authentic or something.
Deb said I'm not allowed the cabinet inside until it stops smelling of paint. The way I see it, I have two options:
1. Leave it outside in the fresh air for a couple of afternoons
2. Make Deb stay at work for a two weeks while the smell dissipates
It's a close race, I'll let you know who wins.
I thought I did really well: I printed off evidence of who I was, a map of how to get to the place, biked into the city in the rain, went to the gym, dropped my stuff off at work, caught the train to Victoria Park, walked to the PC place, got the monitor, caught a cab home.
The only problem was when I went to open the door, I realised that my house keys were at work. Bugger.
It's now on a table, outside, sheltered by the barbeque cover. I hope that thing's waterproof!
edit: it didn't rain again today. Rumour has it that it didn't rain for more than 5 minutes anywhere today. I seriously think I had a grey cartoon raincloud over my head, because I was being rained on continuously for at least 30 minutes this morning.
The screen is nice and big, but it's overbright. It basically means that any black pixels look grey because the light is too bright. I'm sure that old arcade monitors look the same, so maybe it'll make it look more authentic or something.
Deb said I'm not allowed the cabinet inside until it stops smelling of paint. The way I see it, I have two options:
1. Leave it outside in the fresh air for a couple of afternoons
2. Make Deb stay at work for a two weeks while the smell dissipates
It's a close race, I'll let you know who wins.
October 15, 2006
cabinet part xviii
It's now black.
I had a good think about it and decided to go with a gloss topcoat. After seeing some samples of paint at Mitre 10, I realised the finish wasn't as shiny as I was worried it would be. Also, I went with enamel paint so that I could paint the control panel and have it put up with a bit of wear and tear until I figure out what to cover it with. I think a thin sheet of plexiglass with some artwork under it would be cool, but I'll wait until it's all put together before I design anything.
The black finish is a bit rough at the moment, but I'm sure the second coat will look great. It just needs a little sanding first.
I was a little hungover last Saturday morning and while Deb was in bed, I spent the morning on eBay. It's quite relaxing, but you should never do it with alcohol in your system. Anyway, I found a 21" monitor and put a few bids down. I started at $25, then $50, then $90 (but still couldn't beat the highest maximum bid), so I put down $150. If I'd waited for 5 minutes, I would have found a much better (and slightly bigger) screen. I didn't want to risk winning both auctions, so I sat out the second one. Lucky, because I bloody won the first monitor, but only ended up paying $102, so it won't be a huge waste of money if I upgrade it in the future.
I had a good think about it and decided to go with a gloss topcoat. After seeing some samples of paint at Mitre 10, I realised the finish wasn't as shiny as I was worried it would be. Also, I went with enamel paint so that I could paint the control panel and have it put up with a bit of wear and tear until I figure out what to cover it with. I think a thin sheet of plexiglass with some artwork under it would be cool, but I'll wait until it's all put together before I design anything.
The black finish is a bit rough at the moment, but I'm sure the second coat will look great. It just needs a little sanding first.
I was a little hungover last Saturday morning and while Deb was in bed, I spent the morning on eBay. It's quite relaxing, but you should never do it with alcohol in your system. Anyway, I found a 21" monitor and put a few bids down. I started at $25, then $50, then $90 (but still couldn't beat the highest maximum bid), so I put down $150. If I'd waited for 5 minutes, I would have found a much better (and slightly bigger) screen. I didn't want to risk winning both auctions, so I sat out the second one. Lucky, because I bloody won the first monitor, but only ended up paying $102, so it won't be a huge waste of money if I upgrade it in the future.
October 07, 2006
cabinet part xvii
You'd think that living with my dad, the handyman, for 20 odd years I would have picked up a few tips here and there. I hate realising that I had this valuable resource living in the same house as me and I never took the time to learn anything. Actually, I'm sure I've picked up a lot from osmosis, but it wasn't intentional. Until today, I'd never picked up a paint brush. Before July, I'd never worked with a piece of wood bigger than a hand mirror. The only part of this project that I'd ever had experience with is the wiring, and that's the easiest part of the whole thing!
Anyway, after getting long overdue advice from the old man, I've slopped on the undercoat. His suggestion to tint the undercoat grey makes perfect sense. If you're painting black over white it's going to be much harder to cover than black over grey. I've taken the liberty of preparing this handy diagram.
It was a race against the heat though, as the stuff was almost dry before it hit the wood. Nice day to work in, but not really ideal for learning to paint.
No matter, the undercoat's on. I'll have to shoot back to Mitre 10 tomorrow to get some fine grain sandpaper to give it a good finish. Man, I really need to start an account there as I've been down at least dozen times in the last 6 weeks.
Tomorrow, weather and Debbie permitting, the first coat of black paint is going on. It's finally going to start looking complete. How exciting!
Anyway, after getting long overdue advice from the old man, I've slopped on the undercoat. His suggestion to tint the undercoat grey makes perfect sense. If you're painting black over white it's going to be much harder to cover than black over grey. I've taken the liberty of preparing this handy diagram.
It was a race against the heat though, as the stuff was almost dry before it hit the wood. Nice day to work in, but not really ideal for learning to paint.
No matter, the undercoat's on. I'll have to shoot back to Mitre 10 tomorrow to get some fine grain sandpaper to give it a good finish. Man, I really need to start an account there as I've been down at least dozen times in the last 6 weeks.
Tomorrow, weather and Debbie permitting, the first coat of black paint is going on. It's finally going to start looking complete. How exciting!
October 01, 2006
cabinet part xvi
There's finally a light at the end of the tunnel: I laid down the first coat of paint today! I discovered too late that the drop-kick at Bunnings gave me a roller designed for use with gloss paint, not matt, but I'd already put my old clothes on and wasn't going to put it off any longer. It was only the mdf primer, so it doesn't really matter if it's a rough finish. I'll give it a light sanding next weekend and take it from there.
God, It's hard not to get impatient with this thing. I've been working on it (on and off) since the start of April and I still haven't got it to a playable stage! As long as I don't have any major distraction next weekend or the one after I should be able to... ah fuck it. I'm going on a charity bike ride with Deb and some of her work mates on the 15th. I guess I'll just have to pull my finger out next weekend and do one coat of enamel on the Saturday and one on Sunday. If I manage to get those done to an acceptable standard, I should be able to cart the whole thing upstairs during the week.
I also just realised that the last paragraph was a total stream of consciousness. I only seem to do that when I'm tired and my internal monologue is already asleep. If I was to stop typing, would I stop thinking as well? Let's see
God, It's hard not to get impatient with this thing. I've been working on it (on and off) since the start of April and I still haven't got it to a playable stage! As long as I don't have any major distraction next weekend or the one after I should be able to... ah fuck it. I'm going on a charity bike ride with Deb and some of her work mates on the 15th. I guess I'll just have to pull my finger out next weekend and do one coat of enamel on the Saturday and one on Sunday. If I manage to get those done to an acceptable standard, I should be able to cart the whole thing upstairs during the week.
I also just realised that the last paragraph was a total stream of consciousness. I only seem to do that when I'm tired and my internal monologue is already asleep. If I was to stop typing, would I stop thinking as well? Let's see
September 30, 2006
cabinet part xv
I've almost got the damn thing ready to paint. When I was sanding everything down this morning, I realised that I'd mounted the fluorescent support too far forward. Once the marquee went on, the light would only have about 20mm clearance, which I reckon would be too close, fading the artwork really quickly. I'd already bogged up the screw holes from that, so I had to dig them out and move the whole thing back another 60mm.
Another minor setback, but hopefully I'll be able to finish sanding tomorrow, get the primer coat on and get the first coat of matt black done. The forecast is for 26° tomorrow, and the shed is shaded, so it should be perfect weather for the paint to dry.
I'm still trying to decide what front end to use for the MAME interface. Once choice is a 3D arcade where you can walk around an arcade with the original cabinets and artwork. It's more of a novelty thing really, but would be good for when people come over as it looks pretty cool.
Mamewah is probably the most common one, but it does look a little plain and I'm having trouble setting up "favourites" lists. Maybe I should just read the manual.
Deb is in town at the moment, so this is probably a good time to try a few things out.
Off I go...
Another minor setback, but hopefully I'll be able to finish sanding tomorrow, get the primer coat on and get the first coat of matt black done. The forecast is for 26° tomorrow, and the shed is shaded, so it should be perfect weather for the paint to dry.
I'm still trying to decide what front end to use for the MAME interface. Once choice is a 3D arcade where you can walk around an arcade with the original cabinets and artwork. It's more of a novelty thing really, but would be good for when people come over as it looks pretty cool.
Mamewah is probably the most common one, but it does look a little plain and I'm having trouble setting up "favourites" lists. Maybe I should just read the manual.
Deb is in town at the moment, so this is probably a good time to try a few things out.
Off I go...
September 13, 2006
cabinet part xiv
Built the computer on Monday night and it's got to be the easiest part of the project so far! I had flashbacks to my polytech days where we had to change jumper settings depending on the chip speed we were using, create boot discs so we could install the cdrom drivers, which would in turn let us install windows, but only after manually partitioning the hard drive...
That last paragraph will probably only make sense to a few people I know, so don't worry if you're not one of them. All you need to know is that this time it took longer to install Windows than it did to build the PC.
Tonight, I hope to get all of the MAME software installed so it runs seamlessly. Hopefully you won't see any Windows screens at all before you're presented with a game list to choose from. The one problem I'm having is that you can't turn the PC on using just the mouse, even though I've selected it in the bios settings. Maybe I'll just wire up another control panel button to be used as the comp's power button....
Shit, I don't have any spares and it's not worth ordering just one button. I'll have to think of something else.
Update: Picked up a flourescent light fitting for behind the marquee. I guess I'll have to start thinking about what artwork I want up there.
That last paragraph will probably only make sense to a few people I know, so don't worry if you're not one of them. All you need to know is that this time it took longer to install Windows than it did to build the PC.
Tonight, I hope to get all of the MAME software installed so it runs seamlessly. Hopefully you won't see any Windows screens at all before you're presented with a game list to choose from. The one problem I'm having is that you can't turn the PC on using just the mouse, even though I've selected it in the bios settings. Maybe I'll just wire up another control panel button to be used as the comp's power button....
Shit, I don't have any spares and it's not worth ordering just one button. I'll have to think of something else.
Update: Picked up a flourescent light fitting for behind the marquee. I guess I'll have to start thinking about what artwork I want up there.
September 10, 2006
cabinet part xiii
It was a bit of a slack weekend this weekend. I had a bit of a hangover on Saturday, so it took a while to get downstairs. All I ended up doing was a bit of bogging. At least that puts me a step closer to painting.
I also got the keyboard drawer door done, the latches and handle are on (the handle will be painted wood, so should hide the drawer a little)
Sunday, I was in town with Deb and decided to get some new speakers, as my old desktop ones are shot, and didn't have any speaker grills to cover the holes. They were only $50, so didn't break the bank and run fine off the old desktop amp too. I might upgrade that one day, but not till I've recovered from everything else.
I also got the keyboard drawer door done, the latches and handle are on (the handle will be painted wood, so should hide the drawer a little)
Sunday, I was in town with Deb and decided to get some new speakers, as my old desktop ones are shot, and didn't have any speaker grills to cover the holes. They were only $50, so didn't break the bank and run fine off the old desktop amp too. I might upgrade that one day, but not till I've recovered from everything else.
September 07, 2006
cabinet part xii
I ordered the computer parts for the cab today :) It's probably a little over spec for what it'll be doing, but when they create a 64 bit version of MAME, I'll be ready and waiting. It's a little sad that the machine I'm building to emulate Pacman and Space Invaders will have ten times more grunt than my main computer. I'd hate it to feel neglected, so I'll have to make sure I upgrade that soon as well.
September 03, 2006
cabinet part xi
All of the woodwork is now done (except for that damn speaker panel, which I forgot to do again). I spent hours working on the housing for the control panel (and the control panel itself), but I think it paid off. I'm a bit more comfortable working with wood than I was a few months ago, but there's no way I can afford to rush things as there wasn't enough wood to start another panel if I stuffed it up.
The panel slopes slightly, and it's at just the right height (for me anyway. Screw the rest of you!). It turns out that the trackball did have leads to hook up mouse buttons, so the two black buttons above the ball are them. The two above those are MAME function keys.
I think I'll set up one as ESC (to get back to the main menu) and the other as a shift key. With that one held down, you can map anything you want to any of the other buttons (Volume up/down, pause etc)
As the budget is pretty much blown out, I don't think I'll be buying fancy speakers and an amp at this stage. I'll just use the old computer speakers and sub that I have lying around. They're not anything amazing, but that will probably add to the authenticity of the game sounds.
Next weekend: bog up all of the screw holes and prepare everything for painting. (shit, and finish that damn speaker panel!)
This week: Think about how to tidy up the controls. I'm thinking a thin sheet of plexiglass with some artwork under it. Failing that, a piece of self adhesive laminate would work just as well.
The panel slopes slightly, and it's at just the right height (for me anyway. Screw the rest of you!). It turns out that the trackball did have leads to hook up mouse buttons, so the two black buttons above the ball are them. The two above those are MAME function keys.
I think I'll set up one as ESC (to get back to the main menu) and the other as a shift key. With that one held down, you can map anything you want to any of the other buttons (Volume up/down, pause etc)
As the budget is pretty much blown out, I don't think I'll be buying fancy speakers and an amp at this stage. I'll just use the old computer speakers and sub that I have lying around. They're not anything amazing, but that will probably add to the authenticity of the game sounds.
Next weekend: bog up all of the screw holes and prepare everything for painting. (shit, and finish that damn speaker panel!)
This week: Think about how to tidy up the controls. I'm thinking a thin sheet of plexiglass with some artwork under it. Failing that, a piece of self adhesive laminate would work just as well.
September 02, 2006
cabinet part x
I got impatient on Thursday waiting for the weekend to come. The solution? Book in an annual leave day at the last minute and spent Friday in the shed :)
It hit 25° after lunch, so it was really nice working downstairs and my weekly walk to Mitre 10 was great.
The result was that I got loads of work done. I pulled last weekend's work apart to fix the not-as-square-as-it-should-be problem I had. The keyboard drawer design was changed a little to make it function better as a computer instead of just a games machine: The drawer front now swings down instead of being attached to the sliding part of the drawer (does that have a name??). The only problem I had was discovering that MDF doesn't like screws put in the end of it, so I had to recess the hinges on the outside. I'll cover those up with a bit of bog, so it won't be visible on the outside. Hopefully I'll never have to remove the drawer for any reason, because it'll be near impossible!
Deb arrived home at just the right time to help put the sides on. After that, it was straight forward attaching the back and top pieces.
Today's work will hopefully be fitting the speaker panel and getting started on the controls. This is going to be the biggest part, because the layout has to be spot on. If I put a joystick in the wrong place, it'll make playing uncomfortable and will just piss me off.
Just realised that I didn't get button inputs hooked up to the trackball. That's going to make it hard to use as a mouse.
Bugger, I'm off now to see how I can get around that.
It hit 25° after lunch, so it was really nice working downstairs and my weekly walk to Mitre 10 was great.
The result was that I got loads of work done. I pulled last weekend's work apart to fix the not-as-square-as-it-should-be problem I had. The keyboard drawer design was changed a little to make it function better as a computer instead of just a games machine: The drawer front now swings down instead of being attached to the sliding part of the drawer (does that have a name??). The only problem I had was discovering that MDF doesn't like screws put in the end of it, so I had to recess the hinges on the outside. I'll cover those up with a bit of bog, so it won't be visible on the outside. Hopefully I'll never have to remove the drawer for any reason, because it'll be near impossible!
Deb arrived home at just the right time to help put the sides on. After that, it was straight forward attaching the back and top pieces.
Today's work will hopefully be fitting the speaker panel and getting started on the controls. This is going to be the biggest part, because the layout has to be spot on. If I put a joystick in the wrong place, it'll make playing uncomfortable and will just piss me off.
Just realised that I didn't get button inputs hooked up to the trackball. That's going to make it hard to use as a mouse.
Bugger, I'm off now to see how I can get around that.
August 27, 2006
cabinet part ix
On Saturday I used a router for the first time. I've never even seen one being used before, so I was a bit nervous that I was going to cock it up. It turns out it's the easiest tool in the world. The t-molding slots are now cut, and it took all of 5 minutes for all 4 panels. I spent more time setting up, so it was a bit of an anti climax really.
Sunday afternoon was spent working out in the sun, which was nice. I got the bottom part of the cabinet built, but will have to spend almost as much time again next weekend pulling it to bits and trying again: I've learned the hard way that our garage floor isn't a perfectly even surface, so the two sides aren't as square as I would've liked. Luckily I added pine reinforcement to the original design, so it should be easy to fix with a few small, well placed blocks.
Wish me luck
Sunday afternoon was spent working out in the sun, which was nice. I got the bottom part of the cabinet built, but will have to spend almost as much time again next weekend pulling it to bits and trying again: I've learned the hard way that our garage floor isn't a perfectly even surface, so the two sides aren't as square as I would've liked. Luckily I added pine reinforcement to the original design, so it should be easy to fix with a few small, well placed blocks.
Wish me luck
August 25, 2006
cabinet part viii
Just a quick update:
The parts I ordered arrived today, so Deb sent me a pic at work to make sure everything is what I expected. A couple of buttons for pinball flippers, the trackball (which works as a mouse in Windows), a coinmech and T-molding. Looks like it's all there
Hopefully the weather will hold out tomorrow so I can get back into it. Now that we're getting into the rainy season, I want to get it finished as soon as possible. I just don't trust our garage to stay watertight during some of the big showers.
The parts I ordered arrived today, so Deb sent me a pic at work to make sure everything is what I expected. A couple of buttons for pinball flippers, the trackball (which works as a mouse in Windows), a coinmech and T-molding. Looks like it's all there
Hopefully the weather will hold out tomorrow so I can get back into it. Now that we're getting into the rainy season, I want to get it finished as soon as possible. I just don't trust our garage to stay watertight during some of the big showers.
July 30, 2006
cabinet part vii
I've put in another couple of hours this weekend. It's hard to get started too early in the morning because we live so close to a lot of other people. A jigsaw can make a lot of noise when it echoes around a little car hole. It's also pretty cold until after 10.30 or so and the light gets hard to work in after about 3.30. Add in lunch and a poop here and there and that only leaves 4 hours or so a day. When you also factor in my total lack of woodworking skills, I'm pretty chuffed that I've got as much done as I have!
Anyway, I've now got every piece cut out and pretty much sanded, ready for construction. I just need to wait for the t-molding to arrive so I can make sure it fits the slot that I'll be routing out. I can't afford any more wood, so everything has to work first time!
Since it's as hard as hell to cut a straight line with a jigsaw, I'll also have to wait for my sander to arrive so I can buzz everything into shape. I tried doing it manually, by I still have soft office hands, so they didn't last long.
I might also invest in a broom...
Anyway, I've now got every piece cut out and pretty much sanded, ready for construction. I just need to wait for the t-molding to arrive so I can make sure it fits the slot that I'll be routing out. I can't afford any more wood, so everything has to work first time!Since it's as hard as hell to cut a straight line with a jigsaw, I'll also have to wait for my sander to arrive so I can buzz everything into shape. I tried doing it manually, by I still have soft office hands, so they didn't last long.
I might also invest in a broom...
July 25, 2006
cabinet part vi
Had a day off work today to spend some time in the city with Deb but without the weeked crowds. Before going in though, I was granted a couple hours to myself, so I ended up downstairs. I think it was about 6° and since I don't have a large wardrobe I don't have an old jumper to wear...tshirt only. So anyway, yeah it was cold.
I think the cold must have affected me a bit, because I had to measure things half a dozen times before I was comfortable that the dimensions were right.
Anyway, here's the resulting main bottom panels (there's two of them, but they're so perfectly cut you can't tell :)
If you can't remember how it's going to look, take a look here.
Now I'm off to town for a nice relaxing lunch then off to see a Da Vinci machines exhibition.
I think the cold must have affected me a bit, because I had to measure things half a dozen times before I was comfortable that the dimensions were right.
Anyway, here's the resulting main bottom panels (there's two of them, but they're so perfectly cut you can't tell :)
If you can't remember how it's going to look, take a look here.
Now I'm off to town for a nice relaxing lunch then off to see a Da Vinci machines exhibition.
July 23, 2006
cabinet part v
On Sunday, measured up and got cutting. As there's no power downstairs, I had to hang an extension cord out of the top window, but as long as it didn't rain I would be fine. Naturally, not long after I got started, hailstones the size of marbles started falling from the sky. I sat those out hoping it wouldn't rain, which didn't happen until the light got too low to work in.
The jigsaw took a little getting used to (and probably wasn't the perfect tool for the job) but I've got the two top side panels cut out and I think the rest will be a lot faster. (note the dustmask. mdf dust is a killer) After tidying up, I came inside to sit around and listen to the rain. As our garage has a couple of small leaks, after half an hour I thought I'd pop down and make sure everything was ok. I'm pleased I did, because water had come in over a metre past the edge of the door, getting everything wet. I can't imagine mdf being very forgiving when it comes to water, so hopefully I got to it soon enough and it won't be to damaged.
It's still winter here, so the sun starts going down around 4pm. By the time I get home from work, it's pretty much black, so I won't be able to do anything again until Saturday! At least now I know what to expect and have everything at my disposal so I can make some real progress. I'd like to be able to start putting things together next Sunday.
verdict: this thing is going to be as heavy as a motherfucker
July 19, 2006
cabinet part iv
Right, I've definitely spent enough for now. I ordered a few extras today that will give things a nice finish.
The trackball will be great for games like Missile Command and Centipede as well as acting as a mouse for the PC functions. Also, no games cabinet is ever going to feel authentic unless you can fill the bugger with 20 cent pieces (which will actually register the coins and add credits accordingly)
Deb must be one of the most patient people I know
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