Back in 1996 or so, I found arcade emulators and was hooked on the classics. Unfortunately, the fad wore off because playing on a computer keyboard just wasn't the same. I entertained the thought of building an arcade-style cabinet, but nothing ever came of it.
Fast forward 5 or 6 years, and now there's a whole "scene" devoted to making custom cabinets for MAME and other emulators. So, suddenly finding myself with a bit of time on my hands and a modest budget, I set out to build one of these things.
This page is here to serve as both my notes while building the project as well as a status to show other people. If it rambles at times it's because I'm still figuring this out as I go.
Originally I thought to make the cabinet out of some scrap plywood that I have laying around. For a system, I would just resurrect one of the older machines in my "storage" closet. That only left me needing some joysticks and buttons.
Fortunately, there are numerous sources for such things these days. After some initial research, I have now ordered my I-Pac and Opti-pac boards and a whole mess of joysticks and buttons. The track balls and spinners I'll pick up later.
So, now that my budget is now in the "over $300" range, I decided to go full-bore and build a cheap-yet-decent new system to go into the cabinet. A trip to the local parts retailer, and I've dropped another $500 into a Celeron 1.1 ghz, 60 gig drive, DVD, yada yada yada. Certainly more powerful than MAME will need, but also able to run alot of other current games as well as serve as another MP3 jukebox.
The plan is to build a 4 player machine similar to the old Gauntlet cabinets. I always liked the way it was layed out and so my hope is to stay pretty close to that form. Unfortunately, it isn't like there are technical drawings out on the web somewhere. In fact, several people seem to have tried the very thing and ended up just buying a Gauntlet cabinet directly and gutting it. I am not the type to give up quite that easily.
So... while I wait for the joysticks and such to be delivered, I have some time to figure this out. Being a Max/Photoshop hobbiest, I do what I can to create a max model using several other peoples' photographs for reference. For affect, I was even able to extract some textures to make my 3D renderings better match the photos. Below are some sample renderings of my 3D Studio Max model.
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| Click to enlarge |
Those really are renderings of a 3D model, honest. If I think about it, I may post the .max file and textures.
Anyway, tomorrow I hope to use the model to generate some plans for the real deal. First I have to make some mods to find a convenient place for a trackball and spinner... as well as some additional buttons for each player. I'll post more this weekend hopefully...
First, I fixed the rendered images. A few of the textures were reversed or misrotated and it was just bugging me. Here is one of the originals:
Note that the control panel overlay is flipped left to right and that the coin slot arrows are rotated off 180 degrees.
Today, I'm on a scouting mission to Home Depot to figure out what kinds of T-molding that they sell and to possibly get a bit for my router. If the plans are ready, tomorrow is the wood purchasing day. I no longer plan to do it in scap plywood but in MDF. I think it will give me nicer painting surfaces (especially for artwork) and be a better construction material over-all. So my budget went from being a few hundred dollars to now just trying to keep it under $1000 total. ;) Fortunately, all the pricey things have been purchased.
Aside from the obvious goal of being able to play games on it, here are a few of my other goals:
One unfortunate thing about the gauntlet cabinet design is that the screen angle and position makes a tight squeeze for your standard 19 inch computer monitor. And certainly a problem if I want to upgrade to a larger one someday. Rather than increase the depth of the cabinet, I think I'll leave part of the very back panel off. I plan to orient my cabinet with its back in the corner anyway, so the monitor could hang out quite a bit and it wouldn't be seen. If I build it and it sticks out farther than I think it will, I'll edit the plans to have more breathing room... just in case I end up building more of these things.
I plan to make the panel around the monitor opening of a thinner material that is loosely attached. This will allow me to cut different openings or move the hole around to the optimal location. Initially, I may use a piece of cardboard until I get everything just right.
In addition, to allow tweaks, the monitor "shelf" must be adjustable somehow. I haven't quite decided how that's going to go yet, but may involve some kind of built-in clamps that grip the side supports. Still thinking about that one.
As for the keyboard and mouse, I think I'm going to solve that problem later. For now, they can be stowed inside the cabinet and pulled out when needed. I'll probably just cut some boards that can be layed over the control panel. It will have holes in it where the buttons are so that portions of the control panel are effectively turned into a table. Things like shelves, drawers, and doors are easier to add once the cabinet is together. Besides, I'm still not sure where a useful position will be for the keyboard and mouse that would make it even remotely comfortable to use.
I think the monitor shelf will be built separately to fit the monitor. The cabinet will have appropriate supports in place for the shelf to be screwed into and adjustments will be made until the optimal position is located. It's the easiest way and it's guaranteed to work. Coming up with an adjustable system will wait until version 2. :)
Home Depot doesn't seem to carry T-molding, and even if they did I don't think the selection would be that great. So, I ordered a few rolls of black 3/4" T-molding from a site on the web. I'll post their names when the stuff has been delivered. ;) I went ahead and ordered the notch cutting tool with everything else. No use hunting around for one. Of course, now may be the time to buy a router with decent horse power...
I've also put together an initial stab at a cutting plan. It can be viewed here. It only includes the side panels, the control panel, the front panel, and some of the back panels. All of the other panels will have to be ripped from 28" wide stock cut from a third sheet of MDF.
Well, I made my trip to Home Depot today and picked up 4 sheets of 4'x8'x3/4" MDF and some pine 2x4 studs. Home Depot doesn't have a very wide selection of lumber, but around here they do rent trucks so you can take the stuff home. However, this meant that they didn't really have the ideal stock to build the internal frame for my cabinet. Fortunately, I have a jointer and thickness planer and can mill down larger stock (e.g.: 2x4 studs) into what I need. Chances are I would have needed to remill better sized wood anyway, so this will work... and stud wood is really really cheap. All totaled, my wood only ran me about $90 and I bought extra.
So, once I had the wood home it was time to start cutting my wierd shapes. The original Gauntlet cabinet is spec'ed at 29 1/8 inches wide which I suspect had something to do with the thickness of their sides added to some more standard length. Following this tradition, I arbitrarily picked 28" as my internal width. Add 3/4" for each side panel and it brings the total cabinet width to 29 1/2".
Since the side panels only use about 67" of the board length, my first step was to cut a 28" section off of the end that I can later cut into panels for the front and back. (A 4' x 6' board is easier to work with than a 4' x 8' one.) To make the cuts on such a large piece of wood, I clamped a long straight edge to guide my circular saw.
Using the cutting plan, a long ruler, and a carpenter's square, I began transfering the left-side panel layout to the wood. For several of the central points, I drew lines up from both the sides and the bottom to find the point. Turns out the wood was pretty square and this extra sanity check wasn't necessary. I'm a bit of a perfectionist.
After the lines were drawn out, I used the circular saw and the straight edge to make most of the cuts. For some of the smaller cuts I just used the circular saw free-hand. (Note: if you are unfamiliar with working with MDF, I highly recommend a decent dust mask. The dust is very fine and can really build up in your breathing passages, etc..) To finish up the intersecting cuts where the circular saw couldn't get all the way into the corner, I used a hand saw.
Ok, so that's basic carpentry, but I had the picture so I'm going to use it.
And, tada, a finished side panel:
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Which, coincidentally looks alot like this picture of the stripped side of a real gauntlet cabinet...(taken at slightly different angles). (Note: picture on the right is reproduced without permission from http://www.nuthouse.org/~hendersa/cabinet/mechanical/. I found the most useful pictures for reverse engineering at that site.) |
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For the other side panel, I think rather than measure out all of the points again, I'll just trace this one onto the board. The resulting panel will be slightly large and I'll just come back with the router and a flush-cutting bit to even them up. In retrospect, I probably could have clamped the two boards together and cut both panels out simultaneously... not without its own issues, but might have been easier in the long run.
And another panel is done...
 I outlined the right panel using the left one as a guide. |
 Using the circular saw, I rough-cut the panel just outside the lines. |
 Then I clamped the original piece on top of the new one... |
 ...making sure there was overlap on all sides except the bottom "registration" side. |
 Using my (new) router and a (new) flush-cutting bit, I cut the larger panel flush with the smaller. (Partially cut in this picture to see the difference) |
 The whole panel is now cut to match. |
 While they were still clamped, I went ahead and sanded all edges smooth and rounded some of the corners. |
In other news, I got an e-mail this morning saying the my shipment from t-molding.com is on its way. So, Wednesday or Thursday I'll be able to slot-cut the side panels and install the t-molding. Which means I should probably prime and paint them soon.
Tomorrow, I think I'll buy some more primer and start the painting process. While the paint is drying I'll mill my frame pieces for the inside of the cabinet and finish cutting the front and back panels. If the controls get delivered, I could have the bulk of the cabinet (minus artwork) done this weekend.
The day I bought the computer that will power this game cabinet, I spent some time trying to come up with a decent name for the machine. After all, I was going to have to give it a host name anyway...
I then recalled the acronym WOMBAT which stands for waste of money brains and talent. This description fits both the making of the machine as well as its use. Also, not coincidentally, I have a friend who collects and restores old pinball and arcade machines who acquired Wombat as a nickname a few years ago. So it's appropriate on many levels and may spark some interesting artwork for the outside of the machine.
For the past few days I've been trying to sketch up some prototypes for marquee, console, and side panel art designs incorporating the Wombat name and a wombat character. If these ever make it from paper to computer, I'll try to post some of these early sketches.
Not much to report. The update is late because my network connection was down for a while, and I didn't get much accomplished last night because I worked late. I did start writing the menuing system and ran into a direct draw bug in Java when switching screens from other applications. I found a work-around that will get by, but I still wasted some time tracking it down. When I have the game screen-shots incorporated, I'll post some images of the menuing system here.
With any luck, my t-molding will come today.
It was a big day today for shipping. I received both my shipment of arcade controls from ultimarc.com as well as my t-molding and router bit. (A pretty vicious looking bit too...)
I was pretty excited about this, but before I cut any grooves, I decided to cut out the control panel first. (So I could route it too.)
 First I used the cutting guide to trace the outlines. This one was a little wierd because it had some lengths that worked out to fractional inches. |
 I cut out the control panel, using straight edges for the longer runs. I even beveled the rear edge at the correct angle. |
 One control panel, cut sanded, and corners rounded. |
Now to cutting the slots for the t-molding...
 From experience, I knew to test the router on a scrap piece of wood first. I used my combination square to draw lines at roughly half the thickness of the wood. Tracing one from above and one from below gives me a nice track for the slot cutter. Not a very good picture though. |
 Amazingly, I got the depth right the first time. |
 I cut a short piece of t-molding to test the fit. Looks better than I'd hoped. |
 Within a half hour, I had all grooves cut in the control panel and both side panels. |
After that, I decided to layout the holes for the control panel. This is the last thing I need to do before I can paint these pieces... plus I was looking forward to getting some of my new controls mounted for testing.
For my initial layout, I took an image I have of the Gauntlet console and plotted out where the holes go for each player's buttons and joystick. I then rotated all players into the same orientation to see how different they were. (Very different actually.) I then based my own layout on an average placement of the four players' holes. I then rotated them all back into position with the uniform spacing.
Once I had this set of images, I made a true-scale image that I could print. I then cut out the circles and transfered them to the console.
Unfortunately... I failed to take into account that the joystick housing is fairly large (3 3/4" x 2 1/2"). Some of my buttons were layed out right where the housing would have to be.
So, it was literally back to the drawing board. I have made new templates and will draw in the new button/joystick layouts tomorrow. With any luck, I'll be able to test-mount some controls as well. But not tonight.
Still no controls mounted, but I was able to buy my paint and primer. I also transfered the new control layout to the control panel and started creating a second panel. If I had been smarter, I would have done the second control panel before I cut the slot in the first... the flush cutting bit on the router really tears it up.
The second control panel will copy the first in most ways except have slightly wider button and joystick holes. It is designed to lay on top of the other control panel to provide a work surface for a keyboard and mouse when those kinds of controls are needed. (ie: installing and configuring software, etc..)
 The templates I used to lay the controls out. You can still see the old circles from the bad layout. |
 Which hole is which? New layout is transferred with 'B' marked in the new button locations. |
 A piece of scrap wood that I will turn into a copy of the control panel. Since I couldn't flush-cut it, I just trimmed it down to near size to make it more manageable. I shape it for real later. |
 The motivation behind starting the second panel was so that I could pair the two panels up and drill the button/joystick holes at the same time. That way they are sure to match exactly. |
Turns out I don't have a drill bit wide enough. (Other than some spade bits, but they'll tear up the MDF something fierce without some extra work.) I tried a 1 inch forstner bit but I need another 1/8 of an inch or so.... back to Home Depot tomorrow evening. I have to get some more wire end-clips anyway.
Delayed update (It's Sunday morning right now)... I finished drilling out the control panel. I did end up using a spade bit after all since I couldn't find a 1 1/8" forstner bit. The drill press did tear the holes a little. In my experience the spade bits just aren't balanced right... as it turns out the hand drill with a drill guide did better since the drill absorbed the vibrations instead of the wood. Unfortunately, I only found that out when drilling the last holes that the drill press couldn't reach. Anyway, any tear-out will be hidden behind the control edges.
 Drilling out the last holes using the drill guide. |
 All holes drilled. |
 Controls dropped in for fit testing. |
Well, Saturday was a big day. In the morning/afternoon I milled all of the internal framing pieces and attached them to the side panels with glue and screws. These are the only joints I intend to glue since the plan has always been to take it apart to get it into the basement. The cross joints will just be screwed to allow for disassembly.
Saturday night I got the bulk of assembly done including putting in the monitor shelf, etc..
During construction I started hoping that I'd be able to just drag the thing down to the basement without disassembly. At least the first time, putting it together is kind of a chore... and the MDF may not want to accept the screws in the same holes twice. However, I did some rough measuring, and there looks to be no way that it will fit down the basement stairs. I'm going to more accurately measure this, but my suspicion is that I'm going to have to at least partially disassemble it.
So, given that, I've been thinking about ways to minimize the "damage". The current plan is to just unscrew two opposite corners and the full shelf inside. This way, when I get it to the basement, two of the four corners will still be original assembly. Depending on how things go, I may even glue the corners that I reassemble, marking the still together corners as the "new" disassembly points if I ever (heaven forbid) have to move it again.
We'll see.
 Studs rought cut for length to use as side panel framing. |
 Other studs are cut to length using the same table saw setting used to cut the front/back panels. |
 The cross-members cut for length. (All studs will be double when ripped down the center.) |
 You can't really see it in this picture, but they've all been ripped and stacked. |
 After the first pass through the surface planer. Took several passes to mill down the long profile. |
 Once it started getting tough to tell which side was which, I'd make registration marks between passed to ensure that they all went through the planer the same way. If you look closely, you can see a squigly pencil mark that didn't photograph well. |
 So, to turn these... |
 Into these.... |
 You end up with alot of this. |
 First pieces of panel framing glued into place. |
 ...And screwed. |
 Once I had one panel done, I clamped the other panel to the first framed panel. |
 I then when around with a pencil and marked the second panel to make laying out its framing pieces easier. |
 Starting on the second panel, the first finished panel is in the background. |
 Both panels framed. |
 Starting on the cross bracing and some of the front/back panels. |
 Final picture before putting the other panel on. If it all collapsed, I wanted pictures first. |
 Other side goes on successfully. |
 Put the bottom shelf in which adds alot of stability to the frame. |
 The last cross-piece is put in before taking it off the workbench and standing it up. The moment of truth. |
 Another view, just in case it all falls apart. |
 A poorly lit picture of the cabinet standing up. |
 Another poorly lit picture of the cabinet, this time with the control panel set in place. |
 Control panel is partially mounted and the monitor shelf is installed. Looks almost like an arcade game or something. |
Success!
To verify that the cabinet wouldn't fit down the basement stairs, I built a platform out of 2x4s (think furniture dolly type orientation) that was the same dimension as the widest point of the cabinet (39"x29.5"). I then tried to see if it would go down the bend in the basement stairs. It did, with about an inch to spare. I'd only have to remove part of the door jam since the doorway to the stairs was too narrow.
So, I enlisted my wife's help to get the thing moved to the basement. (Super kudos to her for helping. Definitely above and beyond the call of duty.) About 20 minutes later it was standing in the basement ready to be painted.
To save weight, we moved the cabinet before I had installed all of the panels. Once I had everything installed, I used the sizing platform I built as a sort of pallet to keep it on while I painted. Sitting on the drop cloth, this also made sliding the cabinet around much easier.
So, the cabinet now has a good coat of primer on it and I'll try to fit in two coats of black paint tomorrow.
 The cabinet makes it to the basement and is ready for painting. I'll finish the front door and the lower back kick at a later time. I was getting impatient to use this thing. Note the light inside where the marquee will go. The glare on the monitor is the ceiling lights reflecting off of the plastic protecting the monitor from paint. |
 Another view. This one shows the missing back kick panel and the monitor hanging out of the back. I'll cover both of these better later. |
 A poorly lit 3/4 view. |
 Primed, but hard to tell in this picture. |
Probably the last update for a while. The cabinet is functional and has already seen some use. The control panel is wired, cabinet painted, and t-molding installed. Still left to do: rear kick panel, front door, lexan or plastic over the monitor and marquee, enclose the speakers better, do some artwork for the sides, marquee, and control panel, and install the menu, coin, and start buttons. But it works and is playable.
Some quick notes if you do one of these yourself. Plan for wiring to take a while. It took me several hours longer than I expected... clipping, stripping, clamping, attaching. Also, beware, some terminals (especially on the joysticks) are brittle and may break off. I messed up one of my joysticks this way and I'm currently using a jury-rigged solution until I can replace it.
Anyway, here are some pics.
 Wiring up the grounds. Daisy chaining everything was the hardest part since each clip took two wires and every wire end was in some clip... ie: lots of clamping. Wiring up the actual control wires went much easier since only one end needed clips. |
 Picture of the game painted and running. I've got a command prompt open to test some controls in this pic. |
 Here it is moved to its final location. |
 And to provide some context... these panoramic shots. |
 At a party we had recently, the game was pretty popular. The guys would play the games (mostly) while the women would dance and do karaoke. For a Tuesday night party, it went pretty late. |
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Slow updates since the game became functional. I've bought some thin sheets of acrylic that I'm going to use over the monitor and marquee. I even did some research on how to bend this stuff.
Also bought some bar stools. Very nice for long games. I've purchased several kinds of hinges, I'm still trying to decide exactly how I'm going to hinge the control panel to the cabinet. Plenty of time for that.
The point of this update is to post the screen shot of the initial cut at a menuing system. It should even be functional within the next half hour or so, I wanted to post some updates first.
The large version of the image is over 170k, so click at your own risk.
