http://www.nexes.org/Site/Projects%20and%20Resources/Projects%20and%20Resources.html These pages reference interesting projects and resources that I’ve either come across or constructed myself. iWeb 1.1.2 http://www.nexes.org/Site/Images/highlighter_blog_header-2.jpg http://www.nexes.org/Site/Projects%20and%20Resources/Projects%20and%20Resources.html http://www.nexes.org/Site/Projects%20and%20Resources/FA874289-3AC5-4E3C-80C4-84D3FCA39C90.html http://www.nexes.org/Site/Projects%20and%20Resources/FA874289-3AC5-4E3C-80C4-84D3FCA39C90.html Sat, 25 Aug 2007 08:40:51 -0500 Finally, I glued four small pieces of wood to serve as drop-in guides for the screen cover, and dropped that into place. Once I fired everything up, loaded the OS, MAME, and a front-end, we were ready to go. Note that I also drilled some small holes for the speakers embedded in the cabinet, and the power switch for the monitor, as this tended to be a bit testy. Pictures of the final tabletop MAME http://www.nexes.org/Site/Projects%20and%20Resources/CBDD017C-9F69-4473-B0ED-45717A831FFC.html http://www.nexes.org/Site/Projects%20and%20Resources/CBDD017C-9F69-4473-B0ED-45717A831FFC.html Sat, 25 Aug 2007 08:50:46 -0500 For painting, I recommend using a primer, then covering with a few coats of the chosen color. Here, I used a metallic silver for my tabletop MAME cabinet. For the exterior surfaces, such as the monitor cover and the joystick/pushbutton control panels, I highly recommend a clear coat on top. It makes things look very professional. http://www.nexes.org/Site/Projects%20and%20Resources/5BE78A2E-5984-4F96-B00C-F0E6AAFD5502.html http://www.nexes.org/Site/Projects%20and%20Resources/5BE78A2E-5984-4F96-B00C-F0E6AAFD5502.html Sat, 25 Aug 2007 09:00:51 -0500 Drilling the joystick and button holes is a chore. Use a test piece of MDF wood for this, to make sure that you like the feel of the distance between the joysticks and buttons. As you can see from my pencil scribbles below, it took quite some time for me to find the spacing that I liked. http://www.nexes.org/Site/Projects%20and%20Resources/2E8135B3-D04C-4CD7-8A54-00AA1B0651D8.html http://www.nexes.org/Site/Projects%20and%20Resources/2E8135B3-D04C-4CD7-8A54-00AA1B0651D8.html Sat, 25 Aug 2007 09:10:15 -0500 The next step is to create the control panels that hold the joysticks and pushbuttons. We need three of them, each cut from the sturdier ½ inch MDF wood: • The wide control panel is 17 inches by 5 ½ inches. • The end control panels are 13 ½ inches by 5 ½ inches. Note that each of these will “overhang” the edge of the casing a little. If you don't want to do this, cut the panels back to a height o http://www.nexes.org/Site/Projects%20and%20Resources/18116DBE-2203-4CBA-86F4-82ECAC88996B.html http://www.nexes.org/Site/Projects%20and%20Resources/18116DBE-2203-4CBA-86F4-82ECAC88996B.html Sat, 25 Aug 2007 09:20:01 -0500 Here is the arcade housing with the monitor frame gently pushed into the top. Mine fit rather snugly, but I'll use L-braces later to determine an exact height that it can rest on. The monitor frame is holding the monitor and the cover has been placed on top. At this point, the basic shape of the tabletop MAME cabinet is starting to come together.