I mailed my 1×2 to a scrap piece of MDF to get more accurate measurements for the distances between the edge of the router base and three of my bits (3/4”, 1/2”, and 1/8”). I was careful to always measure from the same edge since the base is not symmetrical. I also measured both sides of the cut so I can make a precise dado cut based on the near or far side of the cut. I took off the 1×2 before taking this photo, so I just laid it back in there for illustrative purposes. So the numbers I wrote down are accurate, but don’t reflect the actual distance in the photo.
Here are a couple more photos from today:
I got three cuts done today. One thing I realized after making the first cut is that when measuring for the placement of the 1×2, I should measure from the edge of the profile rather than from the line that I drew as a guide. That way, if the line is off a little, the cut will still be good. For example, since I want the 3/4” dado cut to be 1/4” from the edge, and the far distance that I measured for the 3/4” bit is 2-1/6, I should place the guide 2-5/12” from the edge.
Luckily, the line that I drew for my first cut was pretty accurate, so measuring from the line worked out.
I also eventually came up with a pretty easy and accurate method for placing the guide. I get it mostly in place, then measure one spot along the guide and get it just right, and put a nail in the guide at that point. Then find another point along the guide, get its distance just right, and put a second nail there.
While waiting to get another good block of time for routing dado cuts, I cut a 1×6 board to 30″ and measured and drilled it for the mounting points on the TV.
One small issue with the TV is that I want to frame it in with MDF so that there is no gap where you can see into the cabinet. The reason this is an issue is that the TV has a little projection on the bottom that has the IR receiver and power indicator LED in it.
That would get in the way of the MDF that would go along the bottom of the TV. But I don’t need the IR receiver (since I won’t be using the remote) and I don’t need the power indicator to be visible. In fact, I think it will look better without it.
I opened up the TV and removed the smoke-colored plastic piece. Then I unscrewed the little circuit board that has the IR receiver and LED on it, and tucked it into the inside of the TV casing.
I put a piece of black duct tape over the hole to keep dust out, but i don’t know how necessary that is. It makes me feel better, though.
Once I had all the outlines marked on the first profile, I measured their positions from the edges so that I could get them exactly the same on the second profile.
For the second profile, I only marked the lines that were necessary for the dado cuts, since I didn’t need, for example, the edges of the TV marked to use as a guide.
For the first dado cut, I decided to do the 1/2” notch for the angled aluminum. I carefully measured the distance from the edge of the router base to the bit, and then temporarily nailed a 1×2 to use as a guide. This was a lot of trial and error. I think before I make any more dado cuts, I’ll nail the guide to a scrap piece, route a small section, and then measure the distance from the cut to the guide instead of trying to measure that on the router.
The router bit I was using was slightly narrower than the aluminum, so I had to move the guide about 1/8” and go back over the cut. I used a chisel to get the square shape on the end. On the other end, I pulled the router before the bit stopped spinning, and it walked and made a little extra cut. I will probably fill that with Bondo.
There were some details of the cabinet construction that I had not figured out before cutting out the profiles. I knew that I wanted the cross pieces (back, front, top, etc.) to be in from the edge of the profile by 1/4″. I knew that I wanted to make dado cuts to set the cross pieces into, and then glue them in, adding a 1″x1″ piece of wood along the seam, gluing and nailing it in place for added structural support. That description might not be clear, but there will be photos once I get to that part. I also want a piece of plexiglass in front of the TV to protect it.
I started by drawing out where I would make all the dado cuts. the bottom of the cabinet will be 2″ from the bottom of the profiles, so that I have room to add 2″ blocks on the corners that I can put furniture leveling feet in. The front and back will go all the way tot he bottom to hide the wooden blocks. Here is the dado outline for that part:
The back piece only goes part way up because most of the back will be a removable door.
For the marquee, I will make a 1/8″ router cut in the profiles and in the top board and speaker board (the horizontal piece just above the screen that the speakers will be mounted to) to hold that in place. Just behind the marquee will be a board with the LEDs on it. Here is the plan for that section. The speaker board goes back a bit past the curve for the screen because I need room to put in the speakers without interfering with the board with the LEDs.
I made a post already about securing the control panel. The problems left to solve were:
How to install the plexiglass in front of the TV after the cabinet is assembled
How to fill the gap between the top of the control panel and the bottom of the TV
For the plexiglass, I decided to make the speaker board removable (so it will be screwed into small blocks on the profiles instead of glued in). The top of the plexiglass will be behind the speaker board. I will have notches in the profile for the sides of the plexiglass, so to install it, I will have to flex it just enough to get it into the side slots and then install the speaker board to hold the top. Since the speaker board also holds the marquee, that solves the problem of installing that as well.
Here is the detail around the control panel and the TV:
The back only goes down a small distance, just like the bottom back piece only goes up a little, again to make room for the door.
Above the speaker board is an outline for the block that the speaker board will be screwed in to. A the end of the speaker board (to the right) there is a long narrow outline for the plexiglass. behind that is an outline for a cross piece that will serve as backing for the plexiglass and fill the gap to the top of the TV. There is an outline for where the TV will be, and at the back of the TV is an outline for a block that will help hold the TV. I will have a board that attaches to the back of the TV using the built-in mounting screw holes. Then that board will be attached to the block on the profile.
Right above the control panel will be a notch for the angled aluminum, and below it will be a block for it to rest on. I also drew the shape of the angled aluminum that will be along the bottom of the control panel. At the top of the control panel will be a couple of cross pieces to fill in the gap between the control panel and the TV.
Filling the bad slot cut with Bondo and re-routing it seems to have worked. Here is the cut I needed to repair:
I have never worked with Bondo before, but the instructions recommended only mixing a small amount at a time as it only has a 3-4 minute working time. Here is how much I was able to fill on the first round:
I wanted to find a way to secure the control panel without drilling holes in it, and also in a way that allows me to remove it without too much trouble in case I need to make updates later on. I also want the bottom of the control panel to be as close to the front of the machine as possible. I came up with the idea of using 1/2″ angled metal to brace the bottom and hold down the sides. I’ll drill holes in the metal so that I can attach the bottom brace to a cross piece of MDF, and the pieces holding down the sides can be attached to the profiles. Here are some photos to illustrate it better than I can explain.
Here is how the bottom will rest on the long piece (which will be cut to the width of the control panel.
And the smaller pieces will be on top of the left and right sides:
Here is where the short piece will be on the arcade profile:
I will route a trench for that piece so that it can be flush with the profile surface.
Here’s about how it will look with the control panel there:
The bottom of the sides will be supported by pieces of wood attached to the profile, so the panel will be sandwiched between the wood and the metal on the sides. By unscrewing the metal pieces, I can remove the panel to work on it.
On the other side of the control panel, you can see where the long piece will be, supported by a cross piece of MDF.
I plan to paint the aluminum black so that it patches the rest of the arcade machine.
I have not fully figured out how I will support the top of the control panel, but it may be more pieces of angled aluminum. It can’t be a solid piece because the big circuit board goes all the way to the top of the control panel. So any supports along there will have to fit between the mounting posts.
I’m going to finish off raw edges with T-mold in true retro arcade fashion. To cut the slots for the T-mold, I picked up this router bit.
I very carefully measured the depth setting and tested it on a scrap piece to make sure the slot would be exactly in the center. Here are some of the cuts:
Unfortunately, while I was finishing up the slot in the first profile, something went wonky. So there is a big section I will have to fill with Bondo and re-route.
I plan to also use T-mold for the pieces above and below the marquee.
I used a tape measure, straight edge, and protractor to draw the basic shape of the cabinet profile onto a 4’x8′ sheet of 3/4″ MDF. I used a little plastic cup (the kind that comes with liquid Dayquil) to trace out curved corners.
I used a circular saw to cut in from the edges, but once I got to a corner, I had to switch to the reciprocating saw.
Here it is all cut out:
It looks pretty good from a distance, but since the cuts were free-handed, it needs some work to clean it up. Also, the blade on the reciprocating saw didn’t stay perpendicular to the panel, which is obvious from this angle:
From this angle in the sunlight, you can see how wavy the monitor section is.
To clean up the edges, I used this router bit:
I laid the profile on top of another sheet of MDF, and lined up an edge that needed cleaning up with one of the factory edges on the lower sheet. The bearing rides along the lower sheet, and the blade cuts the upper piece exactly along the lower edge, giving a straight, 90-degree cut.
I did this for each of the edges on the profile. Since I was cutting away more material, I needed to redo the rounded edges. I retraced them and rough-cut them again with the reciprocating saw. Then I cleaned the curves up with a file and sandpaper.
One thing that pleasantly surprised me is that I was able to cut both profiles out of one sheet of MDF:
Once I had the first profile cleaned up, I lined it up on the remaining part of the MDF sheet and clamped it down. Then I used the same router bit to cut out the second profile, exactly matching the first one. Here is a photo of them still clamped together after cutting out the second side:
Here are the two profiles leaning on the wall:
Here is a fun picture of what’s left of the sheet that I cut both profiles from
With the control panel finally working the way I want it to, it’s time to start building the cabinet!
I made a marquee image that is 8”x30”. I added a 1/4” black border all the way around so that it can slide into routed notches in the cabinet. I bought a 9’ LED strip to put on a board behind it for illumination. Here is the image:
I had the marquee printed by GameOnGrafix (who I also plan to use for the cabinet side art), and I chose the option that includes two pieces of 1/16” plexiglass to sandwich the image between. Here is a photo of the printed marquee:
I came up with a profile design, which is nothing too original, but I made sure it would fit my control panel, monitor, and marquee. I also made it so that the controls will be about 40” inches from the floor so I can comfortably play it while standing. Here is the profile design:
The angles for the top are 10°, and the monitor is also tilted back 10° from vertical. The control panel is tilted forward 5°, and the angled section under the control panel is 45°.
The corners will be rounded a bit, with a radius between 1” and 2”.
The DuPont wires connecting the GPIO to the relays and power button are pretty solid, except on the GPIO itself. Since I am confident that these connections will not change, I made them permanent with some hot glue.
My Arcade Machine Build 