328 replies to this topic

[Draco1962]

Awesome job and thanks for sharing your list of components! I am considering the cocktail kit from Xtension Arcade in the not-too-distant future for use with my Xbox/360 consoles and HTPC setup. The primary monitor will be an HDTV wall mounted with a smaller secondary (19" - 22") monitor within in the adjustable cocktail monitor mount. My question for you is how would you rate the construction of your cab for a pre-fab kit?

[Adultery]

Looks pimpin'!

Only thing I can think to suggest is LED strips instead of rope lighting. They make rad under-cabinet lighting that would really add for a nice finished look.

[ClassicGMR]

Draco1962, on 14 May 2012 - 12:41 AM, said:

My question for you is how would you rate the construction of your cab for a pre-fab kit?

I put it together myself in about an hour and a half. Of course that was for a whole cabinet which came in three boxes total. A cocktail table may take less time.

It is very sturdy and fairly heavy once the Tankstick and monitor are installed in it. It is assembled with a combination of wooden dowels and hex screws. It has a nice glossy finish to it that looks very nice in the living room. There isn't anything on it that feels cheap.

I have one alignment problem with the whole thing. The door is just slightly off. It sticks out on the hinge side maybe 1/8" if that but it is not flush. Hard to see but of course I see it every time. It's the way the door was predrilled.

The magnets they use to hold the door and keyboard drawer closed are pretty strong. Not an issue with the door since it has a handle but the keyboard drawer is flush. I went to the store and bought a 12" black strap like you'd find on a backpack, doubled it up, added 2 plastic washers of different sizes and screwed that to the inside of the panel so I can open it without wrestling with it for 30 seconds and pinching my hand in the process. If you look at the last picture of the unit you can see the strap I added right in front of the power supply/keyboard.

There's no actual back panel to the cabinet. This isn't so bad for most people but I have to have it up against the window AND directly under an overhead light. This causes light to always come in the back over the monitor. My solution was to take one of my old black, heavy curtains(matches very well actually) and hang it on a black bracelet-quality cord I mounted across the back using the top rear bolts to hold it in. From the front and sides you wouldn't even know it was there but blocks the light perfectly.

I wasn't "dancing in the halls happy" with the shipping though. They put the cabinet parts in the box with bubble wrap around the edges but only those - not sure how to describe it - paper-thin cotton sheets(?) between the wood. I have at least 5 places showing nicks that I had to touch up with furniture marker. There's a few more but they are inside the cabinet and you cannot see them. They came UPS ground so there was plenty of time and bouncing opportunities during shipment.

Now I have no basis of comparison as I wanted to use a real arcade machine but never got my hands on one. Arbitrarily rated I'd have to say 7.5/10 (including the nicks/shipping annoyances). It's a good cabinet but has enough minor flaws to be annoying to the builder. None of my friends even see the flaws though.

Adultery, on 14 May 2012 - 01:14 AM, said:

Looks pimpin'!

Only thing I can think to suggest is LED strips instead of rope lighting. They make rad under-cabinet lighting that would really add for a nice finished look.

I'll have to add it to my list. I used the rope light because I had it lying around the house from an old yard sale run a few years ago. I like it but I would LOVE it if they ran all the way around the monitor. I would also want them to move. These just are on. I'd like a set that I can change so it looks like it is rotating around the monitor.

[Draco1962]

You may also consider attaching a piece of black heavy card stock or poster board to the back. Similar is down with assembled shelves and entertainment centers to block the appearance of reflected light.

[Kustom Kid]

I avoid this thread like the plague because every time I see all of these amazing cabinets I want to build one. Keep up the good work everyone!

[Chaos.Tiki]

Build one. It is very rewarding.

[Adultery]

Indeed it is. I wanna build another one! Bar top with touch screen? Yes please!

[Kustom Kid]

When I'm done fixing the house up I will. We've lived here 3 years and figured it was time to "make it ours." I have a few things in the kitchen left to do, the master bedroom, and the spare bedroom. My son's room, living room, utility room, and yard were pretty easy to do, so I should be done with everything by the end of summer. I've actually already built the computer for the cabinet, so it's just a matter of designing and building a cab to put it in. I'm already planning on a Tank Stick, rigging up 2 SNES controllers, and 2 wireless Xbox 360 controllers. There are a lot of amazing cabinets here which gets the creative mind going.

[los abrazos rotos]

Heres a few pics of my Discs of Tron themed mame cab running GameEx.. Its my first one & I've just I've just finished it!

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