Step 2: Supplies!
Careful planning is your key to succes. Make sure that you know exactly what you need beforehand.
We're just two students, we don't have all the money in the world, so we wanted maximum fun for minimum cost, we tried to save everywhere we could.
Even though we built two machines, I'm going to make this guide as though you were to build one, which is probably your situation.
Here's what you need to build a cabinet just like ours:
Materials
Hardware:
2x a sheet of MDF (1,2cm x 244cm x 122cm) - €34
1x a 200 pack of screws (3,0mm x 25mm) - €4,70
1x a plate of acrylics (0,2cm x 160cm x 66cm) - €11,50
3x pinewood bar (1,8cm x 1,8cm x 270cm) - €11,40
1x a pair of kitchen door hinges - €5,80
Total hardware: €64,40
Paints:
1x 750ml MDF Primer - €15
1x 750ml satin lacquer - €18
Total paints: €33
Arcade controls
2x Classic arcade joystick - €24
14x Arcade buttons (in several colours) - €31,50
1x 1 player start button - €2,75
1x 2 player start button - €2,75
3x cheap gamepads - €9
20x joystick microswitch connectors - €2,80
30x button microswitch connectors - €5,40
Total controls: €77,20
Miscellaneous:
1x 150g MDF filler - €4
1x fluorescent tube light + armature for the marquee lighting - €20
1x extension cord (for the computer, screen and speakers) - €8
Total misc: €32
Total: €206,60
This excludes the computer, screen and speakers, since these were things we already had, and they will be easy to find if you don't have any. You don't need a very good computer since it's mainly going to run very old arcade games. The screens we used are 19" 4:3 Acer LCD screens. It also excludes tools, glue and some other stuff that we had laying around, but chances are, you have this as well.
The supplies listed above were all bought at a local hardware store, with exception to the ones with a link provided.
Quick tip: Ask at the hardware store if they can saw one of the sheets of MDF at the inside width of your machine (in our case 600mm), this will save you a lot of work, and you probably don't have a saw that big anyways.
We're just two students, we don't have all the money in the world, so we wanted maximum fun for minimum cost, we tried to save everywhere we could.
Even though we built two machines, I'm going to make this guide as though you were to build one, which is probably your situation.
Here's what you need to build a cabinet just like ours:
Materials
Hardware:
2x a sheet of MDF (1,2cm x 244cm x 122cm) - €34
1x a 200 pack of screws (3,0mm x 25mm) - €4,70
1x a plate of acrylics (0,2cm x 160cm x 66cm) - €11,50
3x pinewood bar (1,8cm x 1,8cm x 270cm) - €11,40
1x a pair of kitchen door hinges - €5,80
Total hardware: €64,40
Paints:
1x 750ml MDF Primer - €15
1x 750ml satin lacquer - €18
Total paints: €33
Arcade controls
2x Classic arcade joystick - €24
14x Arcade buttons (in several colours) - €31,50
1x 1 player start button - €2,75
1x 2 player start button - €2,75
3x cheap gamepads - €9
20x joystick microswitch connectors - €2,80
30x button microswitch connectors - €5,40
Total controls: €77,20
Miscellaneous:
1x 150g MDF filler - €4
1x fluorescent tube light + armature for the marquee lighting - €20
1x extension cord (for the computer, screen and speakers) - €8
Total misc: €32
Total: €206,60
This excludes the computer, screen and speakers, since these were things we already had, and they will be easy to find if you don't have any. You don't need a very good computer since it's mainly going to run very old arcade games. The screens we used are 19" 4:3 Acer LCD screens. It also excludes tools, glue and some other stuff that we had laying around, but chances are, you have this as well.
The supplies listed above were all bought at a local hardware store, with exception to the ones with a link provided.
Quick tip: Ask at the hardware store if they can saw one of the sheets of MDF at the inside width of your machine (in our case 600mm), this will save you a lot of work, and you probably don't have a saw that big anyways.
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