Hi,

1 year ago, I decided to create my own arcade cabinet from scratch with those ideas :

- based on a RaspberryPi.

- recycle many electronic devices that I didn't use anymore

- find plywood where i can

- and definitely not classic.

- bonus : as i made my plan i realize that I could use empty space as a bar.

A lot of research and a working hours later, I finally did it.

What you will need

- 6 m2 of plywood at least,

- a raspberry Pi 2 with a power supply and 16Go sd card,

- a screen with a HDMI cable,

- LED lights,

- a sound system,

- an arcade kit (buttons, joystick and connections to USB)

- paint, masking tape

- screw, wood glue

Let's go.

Step 1: Original Arcade Cabinet - Woodworking

Little gift, my plan is here. Everything is in millimeters and I don't have electronic plans ;-)

So I start with woodworking. cut , glue, screw... a lot of fun !

I don't have a lot of tools, I only used a jigsaw for all pieces.

As, you can see on photographies, i use palette wood cubes to make my base an two wood cleats to make it strong.

After cutting every pieces, when I start assembly, I used screw and fast setting wood glue.

The result is pretty strong and stable.

Step 2: Painting

Woodworking is done, next step painting.

First of all, I apply an undercoat to protect the structure and make paint more colorful.

As I made triangular pattern, I use a lot of making tape. To have this result, i start by applying masking tape then paint white and green in two coat.

And once again for black color.

The result is a mix between Nintendo character Yoshi or 1UP.

Step 3: Light and Sound

For this step, I only use old equipments out of order.

For light, I used an old set of Ikea LEDs . A lit bit of welding and a new power supply do the job.

I install then on the top of the arcade for enlightened screen and pad. A good hole saw made the job.

Same for sound, an old Logitech 5.1 out of order turned into 2.1 enough for retroGaming.

A little joint with the wood glue and some paint to make it nice.

Step 4: Pad

the gamepad is the master piece of the arcade because it can be move.

Inside, there is power supply, raspberryPi 2, joystick and buttons, USB hub.

I choose to use a full kit from a french website. The kit is made of 17 buttons, 2 joysticks, a PCB and all wires. There is also a power supply for LEDs

Regarding Raspberry operating system, i choose Recalbox, very convenient, user friendly and a massive community for support.

So, when i move it, I just need to unplug HDMI and sound cable.