Evan Vore

About eight months ago I came across the idea of building my own arcade cabinet. I noticed this was becoming a popular hobby for a lot of people and began some research into the idea. Eventually, of course, I decided to attempt the same after realizing it would be possible once the opportunity arose. This blog post I would like to explain what it takes to create a arcade cabinet and what went right and wrong. Building a cabinet is, in my opinion, a very enjoyable project to work on. It is however not the most inexpensive hobby and will require a great amount of time and effort. That being said, if you have the determination and a few bucks to spare then it is possible even if you have no prior experience of carpentry. In fact this is my first real wood working project and it was my first time using a lot of the tools.
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Before you get too excited and go on a purchasing frenzy of materials there is a great deal of research that needs to be done. A big part of that will be the actual build plans of the cabinet itself. As of right now they are really easy to find just by searching on Google. The plans I went with were from the North Custom Arcade (http://www.mameroom.com/home.asp) . I found these plans contained the most information and the design was friendlier for someone new to the craft. There is also a book called Project Arcade v2 that uses the same design plans. This book covers almost all of what you need to know about building an arcade cabinet and how to get it up and running. If you don’t like the idea of purchasing the book then most of the information it contains can be found at (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/) the BYOAC(Build Your Own Arcade Cabinet) forums.
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Once I found the plans I wanted, I then needed to know what type of material it would require. The plans called in for three 4’x8’ MDF(Medium Density Fiberboard) which is basically made from sawdust and toxic glue. Before making my decision on the type of wood, I bought a couple smaller pieces of the wood I was interested in. One was birch plywood and one was MDF. The birch plywood was sturdy but harder to cut and would chip. MDF will not chip, but it will split if you’re not careful. It was also much easier to machine. At the end I decided to use MDF because it would be the first time using most of the power tools and it was cheaper. Working with MDF is not the most pleasant experience because the sawdust is so fine it will get everywhere. It also requires a dust mask at the very least because of the toxic glue and fine dust. However, I would highly recommend using a respirator instead. For the first half of construction I was using a dust mask but found myself coughing from all the dust, with a respirator I didn’t have that problem. It is better to be safe than sorry in this case, your lungs are far more important than any cabinet.
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After all the months of planning and researching I finally started the project in mid May. Home Depot had to deliver the wood to the house, three 4’x8’ of MDF is heavy! It took a few days to fully measure and mark all the pieces that needed to be cut out. The most important step is making sure your measurements are exact. I would also recommend spacing out your pieces and take into consideration the thickness of the blade you’ll be cutting with. After everything is measured and drawn out on the boards, take some time to practice with your tools on some scrap wood. When I began practicing with the battery powered circular saw I realized that it wouldn’t work with angle cuts. The plans I selected required angle cuts so I actually had to buy a new circular saw that did not run on a battery. It is possible to also use a table saw for several pieces but I did not have one and didn’t find it necessary. The circular saw I used had a guiding laser to it which really helped me in making a straight cut. Later in the project I found that using the laser was all that I needed and didn’t bother setting up a straight edge to guide the saw. When sawing make sure everything is supported and you have a good pair of saw horses. Setting up a cut will take longer than the cut itself, if done right. Buy a good set or two of clamps as well, they will help throughout the project.
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So all the pieces are cut at this point and it’s just about time to start putting it together. But before that, the slot routing needs to be done. Slot routing is for the t-molding that will be added later to the sides of the panels. This step is much easier to do if the pieces are not attached to one another. If they are attached, you may find you’ll have to detach them depending how long the router bit you’re using. For example, the upper side panel has been attached to the base and where the panels overlap may cause problems for routing. There your bit will have to fit within the thickness of the wood other wise it will be eating into the base side panel. It was also my first time using a router so I made sure to practice using it on some scrap wood. It is a very dangerous tool for the inexperienced. Those who have never used one before really should study the directions and very carefully practice with it first.

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I began putting the pieces together starting with the base of the cabinet. It is very important to get the base as accurate as you can otherwise you’ll be playing on a lop sided arcade. The construction lines are a must at this stage of development. The first three pieces of the base are the hardest to put together out of the entire cabinet. This is because all three are fairly large and heavy and run the risk of falling due to lack of support and stripping the screws out. Two people are really needed to attach the first three pieces together.

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Once the first three pieces are attached, it starts to become much easier to manage. However, I found during the construction of this cabinet that the plans are not perfect for support. I decided to add some more support inside using angle brackets and sealing off the edges with liquid nail. Some plans even have another piece of wood at all the inside angles just for support. I found this to be overkill for what I wanted and every piece added to the cabinet will make it heavier and harder to move. On a side note, this will be a very heavy cabinet and using 2” casters at the bottom is a really good idea. In fact the all four casters I’m using are able to swivel allowing me more accurate control of where I want my cabinet.
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Following the instructions on the plans and in the book allowed for everything to proceed smoothly. But before I began adding the top pieces to the cabinet I had to first add the laminate to the base sides. The plans call for laminating everything, but I only ended up laminating the sides and painting the front and back. Because I was using MDF, painting was an option because of it’s fine finish which would have a fairly smooth end result. Laminating will always give a better end result but it is much harder to deal with than paint. At first I tried using glue that construction workers use for adding laminate to counter tops. Turns out that is a really, really bad idea. The smell was extremely strong and it’s something you’ll need a respirator for. It also came in a can and required a brush which fell apart in the middle of the process. After using that glue once I decided to head back to Home Depot and find something else. There is a spray on adhesive just for laminate and was much easier to handle. When the laminate was glued to the panel I had to go around the edges with the router using a template bit and cut off the excess laminate. This allowed for a very accurate cut and matched the panel perfectly.
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Once the base was complete it was time for the two big side pieces needed to be added. This is also a very hard step and it is a good idea to ask for some help. As you can see in the previous picture I’m using whatever I can find around the garage to help support the side panel. At this stage of adding the two top side panels is no different, I had to search for some materials to support the panels. Again after the first top 3 panels have been attached together and to the base then adding from there is simple. When adding the two top side panels I found that it was a good idea to put some scrap pieces that would rest under the bottom side panel to better distribute the weight. When I did this the laminate was already attached to that panel so I also had to put a towel over the scrap pieces to keep from scratching the laminate.

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When the top half was attached and laminated the next step was to finish painting what was left. I was painting using a foam roller brush and a regular paint brush. I found that the foam brush leaves rough texture once the paint dried so I used the paint brush to sweep over and smooth everything out. This requires several coats for it to look good and after each coat was finished drying I would go over it with fine sandpaper.
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Recently I bought some plexiglass from Home Depot for the monitor and marquee areas of the cabinet. I carefully measured what I needed for the monitor plexiglass. Cutting plexiglass is pretty simple. All you need is an exacto knife, a good straight edge, and a couple clamps. Place the straight edge on the side (or on top) of what I was going to use for the monitor. This way it will protect that piece from any stray cuts. Go over the line you want to cut several times and do the same on the other side. Once I was comfortable with it I placed the cut over the edge with the straight edge clamped over the table giving it support. I put pressure on the part I was cutting off and snapped it, with the end result being nice and straight. Before I added the glass to the cabinet I wanted a way to hide the boards around the edges, otherwise they would still be visible through the glass. This was accomplished by painting about 2” around outside of the plexiglass. Also note that the side with paint will look rough and was placed facing the monitor. The other side is smooth and has a nice glossy finish to it.
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The bezel is the black part that surrounds the monitor hiding what ever else is inside. This part took me some time to plan and measure. I made the bezel using poster paper I bought at Office Max. Later I plan on remaking the bezel and folding it so it isn’t as flimsy around the monitor screen. I believe the plans to create the bezel using this method can be found at the BYOAC forums. The end result looked good and didn’t require any materials other than the poster paper and some staples.
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As of right now, I’m still working on this project but the actual cabinet construction is complete, other than the top part of the control panel. I haven’t finished the top piece of the control panel because I haven’t decided what my control layout is just yet. I’ve read that it is better to have the overlay of the control panel finished before cutting the holes. That way I’ll be able to cut the holes in both the control panel overlay and the control panel at once assuring that everything will line up. I still have to gather all the parts I need for the insides of the arcade. Thanks to my good friend Michael, who was kind enough to give me his old console controllers, I will strip them and wire them to the control panel. This will allow me to have an interface into an Xbox360 and a PS3 console. Once I proceed further on, the project of wiring everything together I’ll post more information. For now, that’s it.

More Pictures!