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I joined with this community at the beginning of April after discovering just how magnificently you could recreate my childhood love of pinball in the digital realm of today and at a fraction of the cost. With my heart set and wife approval given, I set off to see just how much money I could spend and how much sawdust I could create in a month.
I’ll do my best to list out all the parts I purchased with links so other first-timers who are thinking of doing the same can gauge just how deep down the rabbit hole they want to go (so far I’ve barely scratched the surface). I’ll also give my suggestions, frustrations, and things I learned along the way.
General Information
Playfield: Samsung UN40MU6290 TV – 40″ 4K
Backglass: Vizio D32HN-E0 TV – 32″ 720p
DMD: 16″ monitor, more on this to come but if you are impulse buying make sure you get an IPS monitor for better viewing angles (mistake #1 for me)I wanted to stay true to a standard body design and this 40″ was a perfect fit. This also allowed me to buy real pinball parts which means not spending extra for a custom sized lockdown bar. A ‘virtual pinball budget build’ is a bit of a catch 22, but every dollar helps.
More to come.
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The cabinet is made of 3/4″ MDF which admittedly was probably my first mistake. I was worried I wouldn’t get as nice of a finish if I used a sheet of Purebond plywood but looking back the MDF is just a touch too fragile and heavier than I would have liked.
I’m sure others will have their own personal opinions but when I make cabinet #2 I’ll probably stay clear of MDF with exception of pieced that will have exposed edges that are not vinyl wrapped at the end.
Having a decent garage setup I chose to use my dado blade to create grooves for the bottom and rabbets for the front and rear assembly. Here are the pieces cut and ready to be assembled. I tried to have as few screws on the outside of the body as possible so that if I ever did need to disassemble for some improvement down the road, I could spare the vinyl wraps that I’ll eventually be adding. Thus braces on the inside with pocket holes is how the whole thing stays together.
the 40″ TV I chose would have been a perfect fit had I decased it; however the LED panel was secured by the edge bezel and the LED ribbons were left super exposed, so I decided to groove out the cabinet sides instead so I could keep the TV innards protected. 1/4″ on the top side and 3/8″ on the bottom to give the finished product a uniformed border.
One thing worth mentioning, I have already removed the TV numerous times to access the cabinet body so I am glad I did leave the TV case on. Whatever your solution is, make sure it allows for your TV to be easily removed without damage.
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I thought the title of this thread was another spam attack!Â
 kidding.Mdf is heavier but I love how it routers and to be honest the sound is much better and dof toys feel better with mdf! Plywood will be ok too but gives a hallow sound on dof toys and a big sub never sounds good with plywood compared to mdf.
Looking good so far! Just eat more wheaties when you have to move it around
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Good luck with your build and don’t get your MDFÂ wet ;).
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Randr, that’s a good point. I suddenly feel better about my choice.Â
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Yes don’t get it wet but why would it ever get wet!? Just don’t leave it out in the rain I guessÂ
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Or play until the sweat pours
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I used MDF because I have used it all my life from car audio, arcade cabs, and everything in between…
this was my cab build not one screw used all biscuit joints and glue…
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also to seal the edges buy a gallon of white glue, mix it with water, like 2 parts glue 1 part water…
paint and seal the whole cab with the glue mix, you will have to seal the edges with multiple coats sand between coats in the end the edges will be rockhard, no furry or fluffy edges… also it will be much less susceptible to humidityYou need to login in order to like this post: click here
I also have used mdf a lot and never had issues with humidity or water damage and I have made a lot of stuff not just arcade related. I’ve also used super nice plywood and never had issues so maybe I just don’t have water issues but my mother In law spilled wine all over my mame cab and it sat there a while till after party and No real damage really but inside was painted too
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I’m glad to see the vast majority of people here use MDF. The cabinet that we have at work is an old Cyclone and they used plywood but perhaps that was just a cost savings play back in the day. Here I thought I had done screwed up!
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I think most pins are plywood but I’ve seen a lot where the bottoms are mdf only so not sure why. Either way your perfectly fine with what you have. Now get to work on it will ya!Â
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Quick update. I was nervous and somewhat avoiding drilling the holes for the legs in fear that I would ruin all of my progress thus far. I eventually just told myself to work through the problem and ended up creating a jig that would ensure that there was no way to ruin my precious cabinet. Pictures below.
Basically I cut a 2×4 at a 45 degree the length of the cabinet back height. Then put those pieces side by side to create a 90 degree wedge that the corner fit into. Screwed everything into two pieces of 3/4″ MDF so that I had enough depth to make sure that my drill bit stayed perfectly straight. Finished the whole thing up on the drill press with a 3/8″ forstner bit. Voilà !
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And with my cab now freestanding I couldn’t help but do a test fit to get an idea of what it will all look like when it’s finished.Â
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Looking great! Thanks for the update.
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looking good! be careful if you get it working in a test mode now you may never finish ;)
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Randr is on to something. I put mine togeter half finished. Took me over 6 mnd. before I tore it down for completion. Or. As it is today. Will it ever be complete is maybe another question. Keep adding and improving on it still.
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Btw your build is looking great. You have some woodworking skills that’s for sure
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