Home Sign Up!

Explore Community Submit

Furniture grade cocktail arcade cabinet

by mydian_nightshade on May 30, 2007

Table of Contents

intro: Furniture grade cocktail arcade cabinet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

step 1: Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

step 2: Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

step 3: Part dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

step 4: Preparing the pieces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

step 5: Creating sub assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

step 6: Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

step 7: Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

step 8: Metal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

step 9: Component installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

step 10: Final assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

step 11: 1 Year look back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

step 12: extra photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Customized Instructable T-shirts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
intro: Furniture grade cocktail arcade cabinet
I'm a product designer, videogame geek, and apartment hobbyist. I got bitten by the MAME arcade bug, and needed to get a wedding present for my friends Dorothy and
Arvon, so I decided to design and construct an arcade cabinet that would be unobtrusive and could hopefully become a family heirloom.

Using the cocktail arcade form factor, I focused on simple, classic games like Pac-Man and Galaga which are displayed in portrait mode on screen. Sticking to these
classic games also limited the complexity of the interface, meaning I could go with a simple 4 way joystick, a trackball, a couple of play buttons, and some menu buttons.
While I wanted to go simple and elegant, I also wanted it to be versatile and upgradeable. My version only has 2 play buttons, but are arranged so that 4 more could
easily be added, and the trackball makes running a jukebox or GUI pretty simple.

The styling I chose for the cabinet is meant to evoke the WHOPR computer from "War Games" and still feel like a piece of furniture. The wooden sides are slatted to
allow for air circulation and as a place to mount the speakers. The shelf surrounding the monitor cabinet is there to add space under the glass for the controls and act as
a shelf for little Japanese toys and trinkets. The sides and back of the unit are fairly plain since it's probably going to end up living out it's days as an end table.

This instructable is meant to be a record of how I made the cabinet, it is NOT meant to be about making a MAME computer ( although I do include the parts I used ) The
resource I used for setting up the electronics was Project Arcade: Build your own Arcade Machine" Machine" by John St. Clair available from amazon.

This entire project was built in a messy corner of my tiny studio apartment, and cost around $600, but I did use my office's drill press, band-saw, spindle sander, and
belt/disc sander mainly for working on the aluminum components. I also "farmed out" the production of the sticks to my dad who has a table saw. It should be noted that
all my dimensions are in inches and the dimensions I give for the pine wood pieces in the materials section are 1/4 to 1/2 inch over in terms of width and 1/4 in thickness.
This is just how their lumber is marked. The original design was created in SolidWorks.

step 1: Parts
Scrounged Components:
power supply
motherboard (I recommend epia mini-itx, which have built in sound + video)
video card
sound card
monitor (I used a 17 inch CRT)
memory
hard drive
keyboard
amplifier
power strip
slot loading combo drive ( not scrounged )

Happ Controls.com:
joystick ------------------------50-6084-1125R----23.55
trackball ----------------------56-0300-10----------161.40
microswitch button (x2)---49-0577-00----------0.91
momentary button (x3)----58-9100-L------------2.25
shielded speakers (x2)---50-9005-00----------11.25

McMaster Carr:
36 x 40 x 1/16 perforated aluminum----9232T171-----57.12
24 x 12 x 1/8 aluminum sheet------------88685K16-----31.36
36 x 2 x 1/8 aluminum strip---------------9134K132-----27.62
brass screws---------------------------------92114A110----3.40
adhesive backed felt------------------------8764K3--------21.08
1 1/2 dia aluminum rod--------------------9038K2---------6.40
stainless steel push button--------------???
casters-----------------------------------------???
3/8 inch dia aluminum tube--------------???

One Day Glass:

1/4" solar gray, 24"x24" pencil grind edge,
custom cut 2" radius on corners, no temper clamp marks----26.00

http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
Home Depot:
24 x 48 x 3/4 inch thick plywood sheet
12 x 72 x 1 inch clear pine
10 x 72 x 1 inch clear pine
4 x 72 x 1 inch clear pine (x3)
3/4 inch square clear pine for 50 sticks
black paint
black primer spray paint
spray lacquer (clear)
mahogany stain
1 1/4" Sheetrock screws
sandpaper
solder
wood glue
epoxy
wood putty
Clear glass table top bumpers

step 2: Tools
japanese pull saw
1/2" chisel
block plane
cordless drill
circular saw
jig saw
dremel cutoff disc
random orbit sander
quickgrip clamps
circle cutter drill bit
1 1/4" paddle bit
1/2" and smaller twist drills
soldering iron
carpenters square
drill press
metal file
2 foot length of 2 1/4 dia black steel gas pipe
spindle sander*
table saw*
band saw*
standing belt/disc sander*
staple gun*
biscuit jointer*
double sided tape*
spring clamps*
* optional

step 3: Part dimensions

bottom-----------------------22.5 x 22.5 ( with 1 1/8 inch radii )
front face---------------------18.5 x 17.73
back face---------------------18.5 x 18.5
front side (x2)--------------( see drawing )
back side (x2)-------------15 x 4
back shelf------------------( see drawing )
shelf (x2)--------------------( see drawing )
box side long (x2)---------18.5 x 3.5
box side short (x2)-------17 x 3.5
box top long (x2)-----------18.5 x 3.75
box top short (x2)----------11 x 2
brace--------------------------17 x 1.5 ( 10 deg angle planed along the edge )
triangle (x8)-----------------( see drawing )
sticks (x50+)----------------3/4 x 18.3

http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
step 4: Preparing the pieces
For the base, you can probably get them to cut the 24 x 48 inch piece of plywood in half with their panel saw at the store before you check out and then trim it to a more
exact dimension when you get home. I used my cordless circular saw and trimmed off the corners with a jigsaw.

To make the front and back parts you will need to glue up 2 12 inch wide pieces. I didn't have any long pipe clamps, so I pressed them together by hand, stapled across
the joint, and then put a heavy weight on top of the drying piece. If you've got a biscuit joiner, use it! This worked out pretty well since later on they both get a brace
somewhere across the grain and the joint. You might notice that there's not quite enough wood to make up boards of the exact length after taking the saw's kerf into
account. Don't worry - the front gets 10 degrees trimmed off later and both pieces can be up to a 1/4 inch too short before anyone will notice.

From the 10 inch wide board you should cross cut off enough to make the 2 front side pieces and then you can rip the remainder down to make the back sides and top
sides. The rest of the pieces can be cross cut to length and then ripped or planed to the correct width later. Some pieces need very specific notches and radii to be cut so
that the pieces will fit together. Look to the provided measured drawings for proper dimensions.

--- EDIT ---

I've added a second layout image so you can see how to get the needed parts from two 2x4' 3/4" thick MDF sheets (medium density fiber). This will make the unit very
heavy, but is a cheaper and simpler way of building an arcade cabinet. If I was going to mass produce them, this is how I'd go :)

step 5: Creating sub assemblies

There are 3 sub assemblies which should be completed before the final cabinet assembly. The front assembly consists of the front piece, the 2 front side pieces, and the
brace. The back assembly consists of the back, the 2 back side pieces, and the back shelf. The notches on the back shelf should face towards the front. The monitor
cabinet is made from the 2 long box sides, the 2 short box sides, the top long pieces and the top short pieces.

I didn't use any fasteners, just wood glue and clamps so far - the glue joints are pretty long and not under any major stresses. If you feel like you need stronger joints, you
can just add square strips which will add glue area or you can screw into these pieces and avoid having to screw directly into the edge of the boards.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
step 6: Assembly
I used 20 1 1/4 inch sheet rock screws and 5 minute epoxy to mate the sub-assemblies. 3 screws go up through the bottom into the side pieces and 2 go down through
the side shelves. The monitor cabinet is not mechanically attached to the rest of the unit, but it will cover the 8 screws going through the side shelves. It's best to store the
whole thing upside down until you install the casters. The front and back skirts are not terribly strong.

In order to mount the CRT into the monitor cabinet, I stacked up 2 triangle pieces in each corner and trimmed them to position the screen as close as possible to the top
surface of the table. I epoxied up each triangle pair with the grain running in opposite directions before trimming them to the correct thickness. After the triangles are
installed into the monitor cabinet, you have at least 2 inches of wood to screw into to mount the CRT.

Image Notes
1. disembodied CRT
2. computer guts
3. monitor cabinet

http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
step 7: Painting
Wood putty, sand and paint the whole thing. Use the best process you're comfortable with because the look we're after is lacquered wood, which I don't really know how
to do :P
Stain the 50 square sticks red.

step 8: Metal
I used my cordless circular saw to cut the perforated aluminum sheet in half and some 2 1/4" black steel gas pipe clamped to a table to bend it to match the radii on the
shelf and bottom parts. Positioning the bends the correct distance apart is pretty important - one end should just touch the front side and then once the 2 bends are made,
you can trim off the excess on the back side. The perforated sheet's top and bottom edges have a small border with no perforation - position this on top.

You can use some heavy card to make templates of the screen surround pieces and then cut them out on the band-saw. the corners of these pieces are mitered an then
force fit into place.

Use the circular saw or band-saw to cut out the 2 control plates. For the upper game control plate, choose the number of buttons you think you'll need and cut them on
the drill press. I used a paddle bit for the 1 1/4 inch game buttons, but that was pretty nasty. Using the circle cutter was just as bad, but try using some lubricant to cool
the metal and keep the cutters from sticking. I used the circle cutter only to cut the track ball, and ring holes. The outside of the ring was cut out on the band-saw. All the
other holes are done with traditional twist drills. The most difficult part of shaping the aluminum is cutting the disc slot. I masked off the area with lots of masking tape to
protect the surface in case my hand slipped and then cut the slot with a dremmel cut off wheel. I then cleaned up the slot and other holes with a metal file.

The knob is made by squaring up the ends of the rod with a file or disc sander. Centering the axle of the knob is extremely difficult without a lathe, but I got as close as I
could and then trimmed the existing edges of the knob on the sander to make it concentric. With the axle (3/8 inch aluminum tube) installed I mounted the knob in the drill
press and held the metal file against the corner to grind the chamfer. Then I notched out the hash marks with a file.

Neaten up the edges so you won't cut yourself on anything and get the faces to the point where you're happy with how they look. Glue the ring to the front plate with
epoxy or super glue, using the knob to help center it. To keep dirt and fingerprints off the raw aluminum, coat them with clear lacquer spray. Coat the perforated sides
with black primer spray.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
step 9: Component installation
Assemble the monitor cabinet by screwing the CRT into the triangles and applying strips of felt to the bottom of the box.

To assemble the side panels, you'll need to find the center and screw on the first stick. Make sure it's vertical, because this is where the rest will be positioned from. To
correctly space the sticks, I made 2 spacers by taping a 3/8 inch stack of pennies together and then clamped the next stick in place. Now you can screw through the
holes in the perf, but make sure they're positioned away from where the sides will touch the side shelves and bottom part. When you get to the bends in the metal, you'll
probably need to plane off the corners of the sticks to make them fit correctly. The speakers are just screwed through the same perf holes and into the sticks.

Cut a slot in the front where you want the disc drive and front control panel. Make the slot so that the slim drive fits snugly and then use a dead CD to help position the
control panel. Make sure the CD doesn't rub on the edges of the slot so you don't scratch up all your discs. Mark the position of the buttons, knob, LCD, and bolt holes
and then drill. Now you can bolt on the front control plate. To connect the knob to my amplifier, I crushed the aluminum tube axle a bit and then pushed it over the amp's
knurled axle. There is a layer of felt on the back of the knob to keep the aluminum surfaces from grinding.

The way I built the main control panel was probably not the best, but I didn't want to have bolt heads interrupting the clean metal face, so I epoxied the joystick and
trackball in place. You'll also want to put a strip of felt on the top edge of the front assembly, where the panel rests on the body.

The last step is to punch a hole in the bottom large enough to pass the power strips cord through. The only part I'm skipping over is the shelf I installed inside to hold my
amplifier, which is way too hardware specific to cover here.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
step 10: Final assembly
To attach the side panels to the body, I used the same brass screws that hold the sticks on. Make sure all your electrical connections are good and everything is glued or
screwed in place. The front control panel is bolted on and the game control panel is wedged in place between the 2 side shelves. The last step is sticking on the 4 clear
rubber bumpers which the glass top rests on.

Now your cabinet is ready to play!

step 11: 1 Year look back

So on a wintery February night I delivered the cabinet to Arvonn and Dorothy, who were ecstatic. Arvonn is a huge geek and immediately stripped it down and installed
his own build of linux . Later while moving across the country or playing with the hardware, the CRT broke and was replaced with a cheap LCD, so now when they want to
play, they remove the glass table top, and tip the monitor cabinet up on it's side. They were having trouble with the LCD's viewing angle distorting colors and the smoked
glass blocking too much light.

Looking at the comments in the instructable, I've decided to add some ways of making the whole thing a little simpler. First off, the whole thing is much easier to build if
you use MDF instead of pine. I've added an image showing the layout on page 4, but it's reproduced here as well. Second, one of the most annoying parts of construction
was accurately building the side covers - it is pretty much totally unnecessary to use the perforated metal. Just make two curved end braces per side. Thirdly, I wish I had
put some hinges on the thing. Right now the sides are screwed on and the top just sits there. You'd need to find some of those "European" kitchen cabinet hinges which
have a virtual axle. Along with that you could put some desk braces on the lid to make the cabinet adjustable.

The finished product is a little larger than I'd like, but works very well. If I was to make it again I'd try to make it more modular and upgradable. Technology is always going
to move forward, and it would be great to be able to take advantage of it. Also - make sure to get samples of all the buttons you want to use - button feel can really vary
and the ones I chose for the top 3 feel really crappy :(

http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
step 12: extra photos
These are just some extra photos for the Instructables book contest.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
 Related Instructables

Homemade
Arcade Joystick
Arcade Cabinet Using mame/ Extremely
with Ambient (video) by building a cheap arcade
Light Effects by spoonty Arcade Cabinet mame cabinet Arcade Cabinet Nintendo DS Mini Bartop button by
Cyberia2016 by jhlambe by slimguy379 - Play arcade arcade stand / Arcade Cabinet Tomcat94
games old skool charger by by cryo95
by themakeclass beauwalker23

Advertisements
Customized Instructable T-shirts

Comments
39 comments Add Comment

corey_caffeine says: Oct 4, 2008. 7:30 PM REPLY

this looks like it would make a nice case for my gaming computer

ikoda says: Aug 23, 2008. 10:30 PM REPLY

Where did you get the buttons?

tornadoboy says: Sep 9, 2008. 6:15 AM REPLY

Happcontrols.com is a good source for such things

mydian_nightshade says: Jul 18, 2008. 4:35 PM REPLY

Hi everyone, I've just entered this project in the Instructables Book Contest and was hoping for advice on anything I should clarify, illustrate, or photos I
should change. The cabinet is thousands of miles from me right now, but I have more photos and was considering making one for myself. Let me know, and
wish me good luck!

technodude92 says: May 23, 2008. 3:08 PM REPLY

Nice cabinet. What CAD Program did you use?

mydian_nightshade says: May 24, 2008. 9:37 AM REPLY

SolidWorks - I use it all day at work as an industrial designer, so I know the program very well, and don't have to pay for or pirate my own copy.

technodude92 says: May 28, 2008. 7:48 PM REPLY

That's what i though. I have a student copy thanks to my involvement in battlebots iq, it expires sometime this year :( but it is definitely an awesome
piece of software to use.

egadsman says: Nov 12, 2007. 12:00 AM REPLY

how much did you pay to make this in total? (please specify if in US or AUS dollars)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
 mydian_nightshade says: Nov 12, 2007. 8:18 AM REPLY
$600 US, although I found donor parts for the monitor, motherboard, ram, hard drive, keyboard and amplifier.

RFilyaw says: Apr 4, 2008. 4:25 PM REPLY

A good way to get cheap computers for this purpose is to check with any community colleges nearby and see if they are holding any auctions or just
selling off old computers. Computers as old as Pentium II could emulate games like that. (Assuming you own both the system and game that you are
emulating, for legal purposes)

mydian_nightshade says: May 28, 2008. 8:32 AM REPLY

That's also a good way of keeping toxic CRT's out of landfill. My university had computers destined for the dumpster laying in the hallways every
night.

CRT is actually preferable over flat panel LCD - My friend used a cheap LCD - it didn't have the brightness to go through the smoked glass and
with the flat cocktail screen orientation, the viewing angle of the LCD really screwed up the picture unless you were looking at it straight on.

rocknrollskwurl says: Aug 3, 2007. 2:33 PM REPLY

whats the cheapest i could make something like this, cosmetics aside.

omnibot says: Nov 20, 2007. 6:51 PM REPLY

Probably zero bucks .. given that you can scrounge up an old computer and some wood. Guessing some dumpsterdiving could produce an old smoked
glass-door or likewise from, say, a hifi-cabinett or bar. Could be hard to find the paint n such chemical things in a dumpster.

mydian_nightshade says: Nov 21, 2007. 7:54 AM REPLY

The purpose of this instructable IS to make it look good. I don't talk about how to assemble any of the electronics at all. If you want to know about that
read the book I mention in the 4th paragraph.
And no, you can't make a MAME arcade for zero bucks. Unless you have really incredible dumpsters by you, you can not scrounge up a couple
hundred bucks in Happ controls. The buttons may be cheap, but the joystick and trackball are $15 and $160 respectively. If it doesn't have arcade
style controls, you may as well be playing on your cell phone.

TieDyedPie says: May 20, 2008. 1:12 PM REPLY

I've scrounged up one three-player arcade cabinet before, complete with buttons and joysticks. Keep your eyes open, something will come up.

killerjackalope says: Feb 22, 2008. 2:46 PM REPLY

Running it on an old computer and scavenge an old joystick, adapt it to your needs...

omnibot says: Dec 8, 2007. 11:09 PM REPLY

Ah .. but with some skilled work recycled materials could be made to look quite well even on a small budget.

(still loving this idea)

andyhuntdesigns says: May 27, 2008. 4:35 PM REPLY

Yeah, this is beautiful, but definitely could have been cheaper. I'm looking at an optical trackball on ebay as I type this that is only $35. I have
to build one of these. Great work!

pepsivanilla93 says: May 7, 2008. 4:37 PM REPLY

I'm about to make one of those with a pac man plug in play controller

mwwdesign says: May 5, 2008. 7:46 PM REPLY

Great job. As an industrial designer myself, I can really appreciate your skill and approach used in this. Very nice work, all the way.

:)

rustlabs says: Apr 4, 2008. 4:18 AM REPLY

man thats awesome. the finished product looks sweet!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
 Astinsan says: Oct 26, 2007. 2:14 PM REPLY
I would of stuck with a more stable lumber product. CDX/ACX changes its shape in humidity. MDF or Particle board would be a better medium. If your doing
it for weight I would do a stabilized CD / AC like MDO.

mrgalleta says: Sep 14, 2007. 11:42 PM REPLY

Looks great! Congratulations!

NachoMahma says: Jul 8, 2007. 1:08 AM REPLY

. Great job!

LasVegas says: May 31, 2007. 10:46 PM REPLY

From one Mame fanatic to another... Great job!

carpespasm says: Jun 2, 2007. 7:17 PM REPLY

seconded, i made my own cabinet a year or two ago and it's very fun, i might have to make a smaller one to replace it some time since it's so huge
though

LasVegas says: Jun 2, 2007. 8:34 PM REPLY

Mine's a bit large too... A restored original cab. http://mame.how.to/

lemonie says: Jun 1, 2007. 3:12 PM REPLY

As a scenod thought, the original Namco Space Invaders (one of which can be found here http://www.trenthouse.com/) have a wee bit more room for your
beer and an ash-tray...
It's still a very cool build regardless.

Zujus says: Jun 1, 2007. 2:40 PM REPLY

Really neat instructable! ;)

Honus says: May 31, 2007. 11:34 PM REPLY

A beautiful piece of work and a great instructable- I so want to make this!

zuixro says: May 31, 2007. 8:49 PM REPLY

Wow! This is great! It looks like it would be easy to add another control panel to the other side to make it two player.

mydian_nightshade says: May 31, 2007. 6:27 PM REPLY

Thanks for the comments guys, but I have a question: I just noticed that I accidentally categorized it under craft and RIDE instead of craft and TECH - is
there any way to change it?

ewilhelm says: May 31, 2007. 8:27 PM REPLY

On the bottom of the right sidebar is a category interface. I've also done it for you.

NikonDork says: May 31, 2007. 6:33 PM REPLY

Excellent Instructable - Very thorough, and detailed. The finished product is absolutely gorgeous! Thanks very much for posting this.

Erik Lindemann says: May 31, 2007. 6:18 PM REPLY

Very sexy if I say so myself.

ewilhelm says: May 31, 2007. 5:43 PM REPLY

Gorgeous!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/
 nagutron says: May 31, 2007. 5:43 PM REPLY
Not only geektastic, but a nicely-designed piece of furniture, to boot.

lemonie says: May 31, 2007. 5:34 PM REPLY

Space-Invaders rock (or other similar choice of word)
I want one of these.

lebowski says: May 31, 2007. 4:35 PM REPLY

that is awesome! thanks for posting.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Furniture-grade-cocktail-arcade-cabinet/