So feel free to crush my hopes and dreams. I have little to

>>1186314
You can do it with just that.

Protip: Use cabinet or furniture grade plywood, not MDF. It's lighter, lasts better, won't fall apart if you get it wet and easier to screw and glue.

>>1186318
Will it say cabinet or furniture grade, or is there a code or something else to look for to indicate that?

>>1186321

Just regular plywood and not OSB/MDF/Hardboard etc. It will be marked specifically as "plywood" and also say which type of wood it is made with. The regular stuff is usually spruce.

>>1186314
It can be done.
I did it, I built a half sized cabinet. Used a Jigsaw, I ruined single 4x8 sheet of MDF. Had to buy a second sheet, ended up buying a tablesaw too because the jigsaw thing was almost impossible.
I ended up dumping a stupid amount of time and money into it. Turned out decent, till it fell off the back of a truck...

>So feel free to crush my hopes and dreams.
ok
A full size cabinet is going to take, what 4 full sheets?
Thats ~100$ in MDF, thats ~$180 in high grade plywood
That doesnt include all sorts of other hardware and molding that will nickel and dime the fuck out of you.

You can buy broken down machines all day long for 100$
My first machine I bought I paid $40 because it had a bad monitor.

Converting an old unwanted cabinet is cheaper will end up looking better in the long run.

I agree with >>1186348 , its better to repurpose an old cabinet, and cheaper.

If you insist on making it from scratch, there's a full subreddit dedicated to that (/r/cade).

I'm currently making a bartop in MDF.

Woodworker here. I dunno about using good plywood for an arcade machine. Aren't they normally laminated? I'd never burn ab or even bc plywood for that. Especially not 7+ ply cabinet grade stuff. MDF or partial board is the way to go. You just use brackets or corner boards for all your joints, slather then in glue and seal the whole thing before laminating or painting it. I've seen MDF lowers hosed by broken plumbing and not swell because the water can't get to the wood.

>>1186348
I've thought about getting an old cabinet, but I haven't been able to find any locally.

If I do, would modifying the control panel be harder than building one from scratch?

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>>1186539
>If I do, would modifying the control panel be harder than building one from scratch?

Largely depends on what kind of cabinet you end up with.
Something like a Mortal Kombat cabinet has a very easy control panel to completely build a new one. Its just a piece of wood with Tmolding on the front of it and a piece of plexi on the top. Even the ones that hang over are easy.

Some cabinets have pressed sheet metal for their control panels. My Alien Syndrome cabinet had one, so all you had to do was drill new holes in the metal. It would have been tough to build a new one, its on a large hinge with a clasp at the bottom so mounting a piece of wood would have been difficult.

Pic related, it had a good layout to just pop some new buttons into.
Id watch out for metal control panels on cabinets that use only trackballs or other stuff that may be hard to get a good layout on.

>>1186314
Yes those tools are fine. Use clamps and a straight edge to run your circular saw along for straight cuts. Use wood glue and screws for fastening.

Use Happ controls - buttons and joysticks. Use an Ipac keyboard encoder you won't regret it.

Oh, and don't use MDF its so frigging heavy I sold my last cab with my last house so I wouldn't have to move it from basement.

My current cab is a re-purposed Arch Rivals cabinet that had been re-purposed as a Mortal Combat. I built custom control panel so I could play Defender, Stargate, Asteroids, and other multi button games.

>>1186314
The best part of restoring a factory cabinet is you don't have to route T-molding grooves. That's a bitch, and the T-molding can make or break your cab cosmetically.

>>1186591
Any particular reason for Happ? I've already purchased Seimitsu sticks and buttons

>>1186598
Your controls will be fine. I've just always had good luck with Happ, and particularly like the Happ Super joysticks, 4 or 8 way and adjustable shaft for wood or metal control panels.

>>1186597
>That's a bitch

Its not too bad. Get a routertable and a decent whiteside slot cutter and its easy

>>1186597
>T-molding grooves
On a scratch build, I'd use backing blocks instead of t-molding, no?

>>1186539
Where have you been looking? Try calling an arcade rental company; might have to travel a bit depending on where you live, but they'll either have a dead cab or know where to look.

>>1186622
>I'd use backing blocks instead of t-molding, no?

I dont understand what you are saying.
The trim on almost every arcade machine is just plastic T molding along the edges

>>1186636
I have gotten a few on Ebay, funnily enough
Just search closest near you

>>1186314
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/controls/32666873436.html
http://www.homedepot.com/p/MDF-Panel-Common-1-2-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Actual-1-2-in-x-49-in-x-97-in-M31240849097000000A/202332602
buy these and make a bartop. Use a raspberry pi and retropie and fill it with roms.
If you do a good job and you want one, then make a full cab. They are really a waste of space desu.

>>1186680
What am I supposed to use for a display in your condensing dream

>>1186680
I bought a KeyWiz and they are worth the money

>>1186314
You will need a router to cut the slots needed to attach the T bands(the blue stuff on the edges) you can also use iron-on edging but it will come loose a lot sooner. I have seen T bands like that last over 50 years so if possible use those.
It also wont cut you while iron on melamine can if it starts to come loose.

>>1186751
a small 3:4 monitor from a thrift store

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I feel for you bro. Wanted on for years but didn't have the skills or tools. Well I started mine after years of self doubt. I decided if I scaled down I would encounter less problems and minimize losses if I mad a mistake. So now I present to you my progress and hope it will inspire you to give it a try. The worst that can happen is you learn something from your failure.

>>1186321
>Will it say cabinet or furniture grade,
Plywood is rated by the finish on the sides. an 'A' surface is blemish-free and sanded. 'B' has no obvious defects, but is often remediated. 'C' has no large voids, but is not pretty. 'D' is 'LOL, whatever came off the scriber'. Add an 'X' to the end for exterior treatment.

Cabinet grade is usually AB or AC.

You can also go for 'Baltic Birch' which is an eastern european plywood style with very thin center laminations, such that the edges look good exposed.

>>1186348
>A full size cabinet is going to take, what 4 full sheets?
You could do it with 3 sheets easily. Maybe even 2 if you are careful and smart with the plans.

>>1186314
Buy a broken arcade cabinet. Seen them as low as $50. Refurb it

In the same boat OP, planning on making one with plywood and those exact tools myself, just waiting for the buttons to arrive from AliExpress.

>>1186348
If I were to buy an old cab and refurbish it, what is the best way to remove the old side art and replace it with my own?

I imagine something like vinyl is fine to put on there, right?

>>1188359
Looking good mate, hope in due time you'll post the finalized version of your project here
Good luck !

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As long as your not an autistic sperg it should be relatively easy.

As long as you keep the arcade shape simple you won't need any complex math to cut the shapes to the right size.

Ill assume your going to use a emulator or pc, the controls would be fairly easy to hook up, only really needing basic soldering at most.

As long as you have money and time you should be able to do this. I just wish I had those things rn :p

>>1186314
>My question is- would I be able to accomplish it with only a circular saw, jigsaw, and a power drill? Or would I need more than that?
Those are pretty much the ideal tools, actually. Throw in a router for pretty edges, or at least a random orbital sander for smooth ones, and then just make sure you have halfway decent saw blades(any appropriate tooth count Bosch for the jigsaw, and even the nice expensive fine finish Diablo blades for the circular are only $50). Quadruple check your measurements and the angles before you start cutting so that the left and right sides match up.

Out of curiosity, with a modern LCD based arcade cabinet is it better to have the screen directly in front of the player, or to do the mirror thing that old school cabinets did?

done one before, make sure you have a good plan to follow and you'll be fine. one we made had large sticker sheets that went over the panels with tekken and things I think printed on there. looked pro.
the only had part is configuring shit

>>1190620
The old mirror cabs only used mirrors in the first place to save a bit on cabinet space and to avoid killing the user's eyesight with a bright white CRT; unless you're restoring an old cab there's no real point.

>>1189016

most arcade/vending companies will have to sand them off and repaint them because the glue can be upwards of 30 years old and some are painted on