A False Start

I had initially started the project in the first week of March and was working with the Ultimate Arcade Cabinet II design documents from MameRoom.com. However, having built the base it quickly became apparent that a cabinet of that size would be too large for our living room. Due to this rather than continue further I made the decision to start again - this time adapting the existing design into my own custom design and at the same time taking inspiration from other cabinet projects (restores and custom builds) on the Internet.

Due to the design being adapted to fit a smaller space I would have to use an LCD monitor rather than traditional CRT. However, with scan lines and other features now available in most of the emulators I would be using I felt I should be able to get something like the image from a CRT without the additional footprint a Tube TV would add.

Having designed the cabinet in Google Sketchup I was ready to start the build process. Unfortunately this was not to be a quick trip to the shops as here in the UK many of the items required cannot simply be purchased off the shelf. Far and away the hardest part to source for the project was the slot cutter for the Router that would allow the installation of the T-Molding, not to mention the T-Molding itself. In the end I wound up purchasing both from www.t-molding.com as even with the shipping from the US it was far cheaper than attempting to purchase the parts in the UK and also came with an assurance that the cutter would be the right size for the molding ordered.

All other parts I was able to purchase from UK stores and often locally - I will detail where things were purchased as I go along. I purchased the wood from B&Q and made good use of their free timber cutting service to get some large 2440mm x 1220mm boards cut down into rough panel sizes that I could then shape back at home.

The parts from the US arrived within a week and I was able to begin the project 3 weeks later than planned on the 24th March.