Category: MAME

Bit of a slow week – the family was here for Thanksgiving, and I didn’t work much on the cab. Here are some pictures from last weekend. The woodwork is all but done now, and my next task is to wire the control panel. This is actually non-trivial, and I need the right tools for… Continue reading Building a MAME cabinet 18

Another weekend, and more cabinet work. Staining and varnishing I’m still putting off until I have all the woodworking done. In the week, I picked up some Lexan from Home Depot and today I finished the control panel. First, I routed the area for the trackball mounting plate, since I want to lay the Lexan… Continue reading Building a MAME cabinet 17

Today I tackled the control panel. I hadn’t done anything on paper; I just laid out the controls on the board I had cut. This turned out to be quite easy, although I had to pay attention to the mirrored-ness of the thing when I made cuts from the other side. I started off by… Continue reading Building a MAME cabinet 16

After many weeks of what seems like slow progress, the project is now accelerating. Today I stood up the cabinet for the first time and cut all the remaining boards. I decided to stand the cabinet up with the boards I won’t need to stain and varnish, and I decided to do this step before… Continue reading Building a MAME cabinet 15

I have three things left to do before I start assembly: Fit ledgers for the monitor shelf Fit the keyboard tray runners Stain and varnish the sides Although I ordered the monitor last Saturday, it hasn’t arrived yet. I’ll probably get it early next week. So for the moment I’m holding back on the precise… Continue reading Building a MAME cabinet 14

Did a bit more today. I clamped the sides together again and sanded the corners round, so that the t-molding will follow a nice contour. Then I pre-drilled the monitor ledgers. I haven’t actually positioned them yet because I just ordered the monitor yesterday: a Samsung 204B will be the display for this cabinet. I… Continue reading Building a MAME cabinet 13

Today I got to work with the ledger boards which will support the monitor shelf and the various panels. To avoid external screw holes, I’m pre-drilling countersink holes on the ledgers from the inside. The first thing I did today was mark all the way around the side 1 1/4″ in from the edge. This… Continue reading Building a MAME cabinet 12

Another weekend, another bit of work on the old cabinet. It’s starting to come together now. I popped over to Home Depot to pick up another ply blade for the saw, a couple of jigsaw blades to replace the one I’d snapped, and some 1″x2″ oak for ledger boards. At least, I thought it was… Continue reading Building a MAME cabinet 11

Today I did some more work on the cabinet. Little by little, it’s progressing. I figure the trick is just to keep at it. So I tackled the somewhat daunting task of routing a 3/4″ groove at the base of the sides to slot the cabinet base into. I had some trouble attaching the router… Continue reading Building a MAME cabinet 10