My new slicing device

After yesterdays little mishap, I went to the hardware store today and picked up this funky new jigsaw.



Did you know that jigsaws that weren't made 50 years ago actually have like, safety features and stuff? I'm in jigsaw heaven. What with a dust blower, protection from the blade, and some actual power, I just don't know what to do with myself. And you can't beat that colour either.

So what have I done with my new jigsaw? Well I went to town on the MDF and finished cutting nearly all the remaining pieces. I was gonna do them all, but I thought I'd leave a couple for tomorrow. Here's the current pile of squares and rectangles:



I also bought a couple of spade bits at the hardware store while I was there. If you haven't used one of these before, I recommend you do - they're lots of fun! Check out all the cool holes I made...what could these be for I wonder?



Alright, you guessed it. How good does it look with the buttons in there? I can't wait to put the nice black overlay on the control panel. I should be patient though...




As if there wasn't enough excitement today, I also received in the mail some samples from t-molding.com. These guys were very kinda to ship me some free samples, as they usually only give free shipping within the US, and not down to little Australia.



I think I shall probably go with the bright blue colour - should go nicely with the black paintjob I've got in mind. Although, the yellow would also look pretty nice. Then again, the orange would match my new jigsaw...such decisions!

Control me baby

I found something else to do while Dad's jigsaw is making it's way to hardware heaven. Here's the control panel layout, all the little crosses are where the buttons will go. 1P and 2P buttons go in the top row, then two sets of a joystick and 6 buttons go underneath. I'm lookin forward to drilling those holes and seeing what it will look like! Unfortunately that will have to wait till I visit the hardware man.

Jigsaw disaster!

Well I was making some very good progress today until Dad's jigsaw from the 1960s decided to pack it in. Looks like I'm gonna have to visit the hardware man tomorrow and get myself a new one. Lots of pieces cut out today, not too many more to go. Most of these pieces run parallel to the front of the TV, keeping the two sides of the cabinet together. Oh and don't forget to check out my excellent makeshift saw-horse :)



And check out the angle cut! If that angle on the right doesn't yell "8 degrees" at you, I don't know what does.

Then there were two

I cut out the other side today. They're not a perfect match, but certainly good enough.

Cut, Cut, Cut

Today I start laying out the plans and cutting the wood. Did I mention I had purchased three sheets of 4'x8'x5/8" MDF? Good cheap durable stuff. So, today I pencilled in the dimensions for one of the cabinet sides. I know its hard to see in this photo, but you should be able to make it out - especially if you look at where I start cutting with the jigsaw. For those who are interested, the 2" drill holes are to give the edges nice smooth corners.



And here's the result after some very tiring jigsaw cutting:



I'll attack the other side tomorrow.

And so it begins...

Welcome all you explorers. For those who haven't guessed, this blog is going to follow the creation of an arcade machine, from the slow start, to a hopefully successful finish. So far, I have decided on the plans to follow, purchased most of the parts, and scoped out all the best links on the web. Here's what I have in mind so far:

I'll be building the cabinet myself, using a TV for the screen, and connecting this to a low-powered PC that runs MAME. Specially purchased buttons/joysticks will complete the look.

Using Ultimate Arcade I Cabinet DIY plans from Mame Room

Creating a two-player cabinet (as opposed to a four-player cabinet)

Each player will have one joystick, and six action buttons. There will also be 1-player and 2-player buttons, a button on each side of the machine for pinball flippers, and a power button. These were ordered from the top team at Ozstick

I'm undecided on the computer hardware at this point. I'm probably looking at something like a p3 733, which should run most MAME games, as well as SNES and SEGA games. I might even try and fit a few N64 games in there.

Other things I have bought include a coin slot, an IPAC keyboard interface (an interface between the buttons and the computer, so that hitting a button appears just like a keyboard stroke - see Ultimarc for more info), and a black overlay, for protecting the control panel. All puchased from Ozstick.

Here's some of the hardware I purchased. Clockwise from the top-left, we have the coin slot, most of the buttons, 1Player and 2Player Start buttons, IPAC keyboard interface, and one of the joysticks:



To save those of you who are new to the game having to search the web too much, here are some links I highly recommend:

Build Your Own Arcade Controls - One of the best arcade resources on the net

Ozstick - Australian Arcade Suppliers

Ultimarc - Creators of the IPAC keyboard interface

Arcade Art - Lots of nice artwork to stick on your cabinet

Arcade Paradise - A great tutorial on building your own cabinet

How to build an arcade cabinet for use with MAME - Another excellent tutorial

RetroBlast - Some nice reviews on arcade hardware

Mame Room - Home of the popular Ultimate Arcade Cabinets

T-Molding - The best way to give your cabinet that final touch