Awesome! Learn something new every day! Here's a shot of my test runs for the cabinetry. The corners of the acrylic pin were simple 45s done with a table saw. That made for horrific joints which needed a ton of sanding to prepare for the gluing. To combat that and make it ever more accurate to the original, I have since gotten a locking miter joint bit that I used in making other wood cases. One side acrylic, the other plywood. (Just for show/testing.) This is going to work just swell.

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Only while unassembled. The joining technique actually welds the pieces together and they become just as strong as a fully thick piece. What the joint does is give more surface area for the glue to act upon.

It's a one-pass deal. The bit that creates the joint is not adjustable. And aside from that, it is not as delicate as you may think. I have run off a few long slices of 1/4 while trimming up the sheets and they are not easy to snap. This stuff is tough and heavy. (Just the outer casing with no guts, play field or mechanisms is 200 pounds.)

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Thanks! Just happy I could finally get back to it.

I'll be using a different compound for those joints. You're correct, the capillary action required for the cement I usually use will not work there. I will still use it in other places as its greatest advantage is that the parts are already assembled when the glue goes in. The weldment I will be using on the mitered corners has a longer set time, is said not to craze and is supposed to cure "bubble free." We shall see. And yes, it should be monstrously strong.

I have a lifetime membership in the frugality club! Does that count? I found over the years that letting the bit do the work will make it last pretty long. Lots of patience with the process and occasional maintenance(cleaning) keep it going way past the average user. But then you're talking to a guy with a 22 year old washer/dryer set, 15 year old refrigerator and an inkjet printer bought in 2001 that still makes beautiful pictures. I drive my cars until the wheels fall off and don't get me started on some of my tools. The trick is keeping them cool. Heat is the biggest enemy of anything sharp.

That being said, I destroyed that beautiful miter-lock joint bit this afternoon by being stupid. You can't cure stupid. More on that after dinner.

So any of you who followed the last thread know I tend to advertise my failures as much as my successes because that's how we learn. After a long hard day of work I told myself to just go home and relax. But, we had already set up the shaper machine and the material was in my car, ready to go... Here's the machine, bit set. Extra high single piece fence. Vacuum connected. Ready.
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Here is how the cut goes for the end pieces. Up against the fence with an additional piece to help guide it through and keep it tight on the fence. Notice the little square added on the tail end to aid in the pushing...
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Problem is I did not allow for the screws holding it down to hit the bit on the way out. I could not find any handy flush screws to use so I grabbed some self-tappers with hex heads. No problem except for that bottom one.
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Bottom line: no human parts or acrylic pieces were harmed, but the bit is toast. ALWAYS check your clearances.

Well, that will do it. The harder the wood the more abuse they get. It is especially hard on the bits if you are cutting a slot where the bit is making contact over 3/4 of its' diameter. Multiple, slow passes is the only way. It takes more time, but... it will last longer in the end.

Depends on what you call reasonable. 1/16 to 1/8 inch per pass on a slot cut is tough in any wood, especially oak. So you line up a bunch of pieces and make a pass. Reset the depth another little bit and make the next. And so on and so forth. Trying to get it in one or two passes is hard on the bits and the machine.

Like everything else in life, accomplishing a given task requires two things: 1) Time 2) Money
If you do not have a lot of one, you best have a boat load of the other...

The new bit is in and cabinet cutting will resume shortly. Meanwhile, I needed to clear out some of the gear in the head to get a better look at the construction. Seems it is all connected. ALL of it. NO plugs! Challenge accepted!
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#gutted
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I'm also thinking that the light sockets that have pointy ends pounded into the wood may be a challenge. I'll have to remove one to see if there is a way to screw them into the acrylic.

A tale of two faces...

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Now it's starting to look like a project.

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Too damn much?

Too damn much? Calculating as I go. Will keep a running tally.

A bit chilly outside. A good day to work indoor s.

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Mother nature has me down hard for the couple of days so ill work on the computer side when I am able and not meds-addled. The new bond has arrived..

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Playing in the big boy shop today.

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And here's all the parts for the upper can / head.

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VERY productive day today. I took it all in to the big boy shop and got busy. All major cabinet parts, upper and lower, have been cut, trimmed and the miters have been done. Fit is excellent. I also cut out the holes in the back of the lower cab and the bottom of the upper where the wire harnesses pass through. Next I cut pieces for the play field and ball collection supports. The only major cut left is the coin door and the ventilation slots atop the head. There are a few more interior pieces to be made and then its on to the boring stuff. (Edging, polishing, drilling for bolt holes, etc.) Once that's done I can start assembling. THAT is the fun part!

Yeah, I caught that excuse over in the Jumbo thread. (How cool is THAT machine!??) I did a double a couple years ago. Wimp.

It goes well! Knee deep in the boring stuff as previously mentioned and looking forward to the end of it. Assembly is way funner! Then at some point it will be up to me and my generous benefactor as to how we will fill the cabinet out with working parts. This thing is going to weigh a ton. Tearing into the acrylic pin this past weekend only drove that point home. TPF 2018 should be my first working show with a booth, two acrylic machines and a product line and everything! Meanwhile I'll be hitting up ZapCon in Phoenix in late April. Looking to be a full year.

So how is life in the great white north? (75 here today) I am really looking forward to seeing the arcade game you guys are building come to fruition. Fortunately we are all too busy to be able to finish projects in a reasonable amount of time. Wouldn't have it any other way.

Back on track, folks and we're here to the finish. Took stock and inventory this weekend to see what parts had yet to be created. Nothing left but a few odds and ends. So we are moving on to placing the graphics and then assembly.

This lower level collects the balls after they have been released from the play field holes and runs them back to be loaded in the ball-o-vator.
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The head.
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And cabinet base.
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Spent most of the weekend on O/T at the day job but managed to get a little time in on it. The coin door opening is a two step process. First, I'll cut through the panel for the part of the door that goes all the way through.

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Next I will use a 1/2" router bit with a 1/4" bearing to cut the edge run. It will come out something like this -
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Once that is finished I will make the necessary cuts to fit the back steps into the lower cab.
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Once those are ready, I will trim the top of the cab sides for the rail pieces that go there. Once completed, I will go ahead and do the side graphics. I finally figured out just how I am going to do them. Should be either very cool and interesting or a complete hot mess. We'll see! When the graphics are completed I will go ahead and attach the side supports for the playfield and ball collection level and then assemble it. Slowly but surely it is getting there.

Shawn

I actually looked into this option with some samples from one of my plastic suppliers. Had some promise, but too many things in the way.

Got to tool up yesterday and got busy trimming out the back steps to fit flush in the case. We'll start by breaking out a rabbet bit set with a couple of different sized bearings so I can make consistent depths of cut.
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I'll set a basic depth of cut based on measurements taken on the case to give me a starting point. I'll make test cuts in a piece of scrap to make sure I am getting what I want and need.
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Once it is set correctly, I will go ahead and make the cut in the sides of the cab first.
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Once the cuts were completed with the rabbeting bit I had to rechuck to a 1/8" straight bit to finish out the corners.
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I just had to set the depth and slowly eliminate the curved area left behind by the other bit.
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All better!
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Now that both sides are cut and cleaned up I need to reset to the rabbet bit to make the companion cuts on the step. Again, I'll use a piece of scrap to match up my first scratch piece to make sure it is right.
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With luck, practice and some minor adjustments I'll end up with a flush match.
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Super heavy, indeed. Got back on it today after a short break full of overtime and broken pool pumps. (When the pool looks like a bass pond, mama ain't happy. And when mama ain't happy, well, you know... )

When I finished up a couple weeks ago I had fit the first step on the backside of the lower cab. Came out pretty nicely.
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Next I need to cut a couple of slots and do more work with the rabbet bit to fit the second step. This is the piece and cut I need to mimic.
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This shot is a test of the slot going through a test cut of the rabbet. The rabbet cut was performed and I am test fitting it in the slot.
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Next I marked out the lines for my slot cuts using measurements off the panel that would go there.
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Now it is just a matter of setting up a clamped fence to guide the router with the 1/4" straight bit. I'll make the cut in two passes. The total depth of the cut is 3/8" which will generate an awful lot of heat if done in a single pass. After the initial pass I'll reset the bit's depth against the side of the panel that will go in that slot.
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Once the second pass is complete, I'll clean out any debris and perform a test fit.
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So far, so good. The next task will be to cut the slots for the glass channels and round over the tops of the sides to accommodate the steel channel guides. I will also drill the holes for the securing bolts that hold the head to the lower cab. After that will come the graphics and support structures that go on the inside of the sides. Then, finally, I will assemble and glue the pieces together and get on with building the head.
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Another day at it, full steam ahead. And by full steam I mean as soon as I walked outside this morning my glasses fogged over. Ugh, I hate this time of year.

I decided to go with the holes before the slot cut because its easier. "Easier." Sure. Step one, mark out the locations and dummy proof the directions. (Impossible, but I try!)
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We'll start with a pilot hole since my marks are on the outside and the tee-nuts will go on the inside. So to speak. Don't you just love refraction?
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After drilling my tee-nut pocket on the inside with a forstner bit I drilled out the center all the way through at a 1/2" so the tee-nut would fit. I drilled a hole the size of the bolt in a piece of scrap and then joined them with the hardware to ensure my pocket was deep enough to engage all of the threads.
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Finished with the vertical step. The three shallow holes are to let the cabs mate flush where there are three corresponding bolt heads on the head.
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I repeated this process to the horizontal step. It's getting there... progress slow but sure.
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Now it's time to cut the slots for the play field glass. The original is 1/2" by 1/2" but I am uncomfortable with leaving only 3/16" of material outside the slot. I'll be ordering the glass custom sized eventually anyways, so I split the difference and made the channel 3/8" deep leaving 5/16" on the outside. That will help me sleep better. This is the channel I'll be cutting.
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The channel I'll end up with will be 1/2" across and 3/8" deep. My biggest bit is 3/8" so I'll cut the slot in three passes. The first will be half the depth by the width of the bit. So 3/16 by 3/8". For pass #2 I'll increase the depth to the full 3/8". The third pass will be full depth with my guide offset by 1/8". As usual, I'll be making test cuts first in a piece of similarly sized plywood.
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See why I do practice cuts? LOL Here's one side with my "fence guide" attached, first pass completed.
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End results, one down one to go!
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