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I'd like to build a raspberry pi based MAME machine for my college, but to get a box to actually put the machine in, its either a lot of time and effort to buil

I'd like to build a raspberry pi based MAME machine for my college, but to get a box to actually put the machine in, its either a lot of time and effort to build one (I do not have woodworking skills, nor the desire to learn) or a lot of money to buy a shell, which I don't have. So it will likely stay a daydream. It would be nice to see people playing together in the lounge, though.

astrange 5y ago
> I'd like to build a raspberry pi based MAME machine for my college Has anyone ever come up with an entertainment project using a small computer that isn’t turning it into an emulation box? It seems like it’s the default dad project too.
eropple 5y ago
I happen to be a woodworker when I'm not a software developer and FWIW, and building an traditional-style 90's plywood cab (with some affordances; how you mount the panel is an Open Question) is pretty trivial stuff with a drill, a jigsaw (if you want rounded corners), a few pieces of sandpaper, and a circ saw (you'd need a router for traditional T edge banding but you can get flat edge banding right on Amazon). You can get the tools on Craigslist for $40 to $60 if you look hard enough. The consumables (hole saw, drill bit, screws, dowel, glue) are maybe another $20 to $25), and a couple of sheets of plywood are the most expensive at about $60 per. Not the cheapest thing in the world, but firmly in beer-money territory if you've got interested friends. (And then you've got folks like me who drop a thousand dollars on a gizmo to not have to think about the construction process nearly as hard, but shhh, we're cautionary tales.) I can't help you with the not wanting to learn part, but, having never built one, I'm pretty confident I could do it in a day. Pretty confident that it's a weekend project for a couple of college kids. And learning how to use your hands is a pretty rewarding experience, I find.
- unwind 5y ago
  As an armchair woodworker with a tool buying/daydreaming complex, please share what gizmo(s) you refer to. Thanks. :)
  - kd5bjo 5y ago
    At a guess, it’s probably something like a Festool Domino. You dry-fit the pieces and draw a line across the joint surface wherever you want a tenon. From there, the whole process is pretty automatic.
    - JKCalhoun 5y ago
      I assumed large CNC machine, ha ha. (I'm not there, yet.)
      - eropple 5y ago
        CNC is the one thing I have trouble getting my head around. It's cool, it's absolutely cool. But it doesn't fit my conception of "woodworking" very well. It's more of that "wood machining" side of things, which I respect but I'm not into. I like the Domino because it makes easier a process I know I can do through slower means. I have used a dowel jig, I have used pocket holes, I've chopped mortises. But usually I just want to put two pieces together so I can clamp them and glue them and get on with the next thing. But most uses of CNC with wood seem to be "do things a person can't really practically do in a home shop" and I don't dig that.
    - eropple 5y ago
      That's the one. The Domino is magic. And the after-market accessories are nice--the 3D printer people have gotten to work on this. I have an imperial conversion depth gauge for mine and stopped eyeballing millimeters. It also cost a thousand dollars. But it's the sort of tool that has the obvious design and affordances to make me happy to pick it up and use it, and the things are unkillable--they last twenty years at a minimum. Festool is the sort of company that recognizes that customers are for life and they do a lot to support customers, too, even with thoroughly out of warranty stuff.
JKCalhoun 5y ago
As another responded, building a cabinet is a pretty good first woodworking project, not really that hard. A cabinet can be as simple or complex as you want. Extreme example: a large cardboard box in fact is how I have often begun many of my past MAME cab builds. I make the cardboard prototype to test ergonomics, fit of the various components — surprisingly you can play on them if you go all the way to install and wire the buttons. Sheets of plywood or MDF (hate that stuff as a woodworker though) can be purchased at a big box store — maybe they can cut them down to size a bit for you to transport? A long ruler and an inexpensive circular saw will allow you to cut the sheets of plywood down to the right size. An inexpensive jigsaw as mentioned if you wanted your cabinet to have a few curves (seen plenty of functional if boxy cabs though that are just as fun to play). A drill to make holes to install the buttons, glue, drywall screws... It can be done with few tools. Honestly such a project can turn into a gateway drug to more woodworking and tools. As mentioned, you may want to build a 2nd one and add T-molding around the edges to dress it up and look for legit. So a router and slot-cutting bit are added to your growing collection of tools in the garage. Purchase a $400 track saw and after the beautiful and precise cuts you will never touch your circular saw again....
- eropple 5y ago
  Funny that you mention a track saw. Because my TSO rail square just showed up... Also, I don't even think MDF is a necessity for this, is it? The cabinets I babysat at the arcade in college were all three-layer or graded-density particle board.
wccrawford 5y ago
I'm assuming you want to build a full-size machine that mostly looks like it could have really been in an arcade... And you're right. The wood alone for such a project is very expensive right now. I know because I started it a while ago with scrap wood, and I'm rethinking how I'm going to do it with cabinet-grade plywood. Add in all the knowledge and effort to design and build the cabinet, and it becomes quite a task if you aren't already a woodworker with those tools. If someone is really into it, I think it's a great project and they should absolutely do it. But I don't recommend it for people who merely want the end product.
- eropple 5y ago
  Arcade cabinets are made of low grade sheet goods, including just particleboard (not even MDF). I'm thinking about making a furniture grade arcade cabinet personally (and mounting a CRT into it), but I'm a cautionary tale, you need not make my mistakes.

astrange 5y ago

> I'd like to build a raspberry pi based MAME machine for my college Has anyone ever come up with an entertainment project using a small computer that isn’t turning it into an emulation box? It seems like it’s the default dad project too.

eropple 5y ago

I happen to be a woodworker when I'm not a software developer and FWIW, and building an traditional-style 90's plywood cab (with some affordances; how you mount the panel is an Open Question) is pretty trivial stuff with a drill, a jigsaw (if you want rounded corners), a few pieces of sandpaper, and a circ saw (you'd need a router for traditional T edge banding but you can get flat edge banding right on Amazon). You can get the tools on Craigslist for $40 to $60 if you look hard enough. The consumables (hole saw, drill bit, screws, dowel, glue) are maybe another $20 to $25), and a couple of sheets of plywood are the most expensive at about $60 per. Not the cheapest thing in the world, but firmly in beer-money territory if you've got interested friends. (And then you've got folks like me who drop a thousand dollars on a gizmo to not have to think about the construction process nearly as hard, but shhh, we're cautionary tales.) I can't help you with the not wanting to learn part, but, having never built one, I'm pretty confident I could do it in a day. Pretty confident that it's a weekend project for a couple of college kids. And learning how to use your hands is a pretty rewarding experience, I find.

unwind 5y ago
As an armchair woodworker with a tool buying/daydreaming complex, please share what gizmo(s) you refer to. Thanks. :)
- kd5bjo 5y ago
  At a guess, it’s probably something like a Festool Domino. You dry-fit the pieces and draw a line across the joint surface wherever you want a tenon. From there, the whole process is pretty automatic.
  - JKCalhoun 5y ago
    I assumed large CNC machine, ha ha. (I'm not there, yet.)
    - eropple 5y ago
      CNC is the one thing I have trouble getting my head around. It's cool, it's absolutely cool. But it doesn't fit my conception of "woodworking" very well. It's more of that "wood machining" side of things, which I respect but I'm not into. I like the Domino because it makes easier a process I know I can do through slower means. I have used a dowel jig, I have used pocket holes, I've chopped mortises. But usually I just want to put two pieces together so I can clamp them and glue them and get on with the next thing. But most uses of CNC with wood seem to be "do things a person can't really practically do in a home shop" and I don't dig that.
  - eropple 5y ago
    That's the one. The Domino is magic. And the after-market accessories are nice--the 3D printer people have gotten to work on this. I have an imperial conversion depth gauge for mine and stopped eyeballing millimeters. It also cost a thousand dollars. But it's the sort of tool that has the obvious design and affordances to make me happy to pick it up and use it, and the things are unkillable--they last twenty years at a minimum. Festool is the sort of company that recognizes that customers are for life and they do a lot to support customers, too, even with thoroughly out of warranty stuff.

JKCalhoun 5y ago

As another responded, building a cabinet is a pretty good first woodworking project, not really that hard. A cabinet can be as simple or complex as you want. Extreme example: a large cardboard box in fact is how I have often begun many of my past MAME cab builds. I make the cardboard prototype to test ergonomics, fit of the various components — surprisingly you can play on them if you go all the way to install and wire the buttons. Sheets of plywood or MDF (hate that stuff as a woodworker though) can be purchased at a big box store — maybe they can cut them down to size a bit for you to transport? A long ruler and an inexpensive circular saw will allow you to cut the sheets of plywood down to the right size. An inexpensive jigsaw as mentioned if you wanted your cabinet to have a few curves (seen plenty of functional if boxy cabs though that are just as fun to play). A drill to make holes to install the buttons, glue, drywall screws... It can be done with few tools. Honestly such a project can turn into a gateway drug to more woodworking and tools. As mentioned, you may want to build a 2nd one and add T-molding around the edges to dress it up and look for legit. So a router and slot-cutting bit are added to your growing collection of tools in the garage. Purchase a $400 track saw and after the beautiful and precise cuts you will never touch your circular saw again....

eropple 5y ago
Funny that you mention a track saw. Because my TSO rail square just showed up... Also, I don't even think MDF is a necessity for this, is it? The cabinets I babysat at the arcade in college were all three-layer or graded-density particle board.

wccrawford 5y ago

I'm assuming you want to build a full-size machine that mostly looks like it could have really been in an arcade... And you're right. The wood alone for such a project is very expensive right now. I know because I started it a while ago with scrap wood, and I'm rethinking how I'm going to do it with cabinet-grade plywood. Add in all the knowledge and effort to design and build the cabinet, and it becomes quite a task if you aren't already a woodworker with those tools. If someone is really into it, I think it's a great project and they should absolutely do it. But I don't recommend it for people who merely want the end product.

eropple 5y ago
Arcade cabinets are made of low grade sheet goods, including just particleboard (not even MDF). I'm thinking about making a furniture grade arcade cabinet personally (and mounting a CRT into it), but I'm a cautionary tale, you need not make my mistakes.