68 replies to this topic

[Brer Frog]

It’s a start - my 27” mini-pin cab budget build.

I bought a 27” Dell IPS monitor for the playfield & am using an older 19” 5:4 monitor for the backglass. The plan is to use my desktop PC for the time being & eventually dedicate it to pinball after I build or buy a new desktop PC. It's an AMD Quad Core 3GHz with a GeForce GTX 750Ti SC video card.

I went with a mini-pin so I could move it around, which is also why I used ½” plywood in order to keep the weight down.

Plus I had a ½” x 4’x8’ sheet that I didn’t use for another project because it was warped. I figured if it could be salvaged that would serve two purposes - building a min-pin and getting the plywood out of the basement that’s been there for several years. I got most of the warpage out by wetting & clamping/weighting the plywood which actually worked quite well. Most everything was done in the garage with some basic power tools.

So far the main cabinet is built & the 27” monitor does fit. I have some buttons ordered & when they get here will do the exact playfield & button layout. According to my plans everything should fit, but sometimes things just don’t go as planned.

 

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[mrarcade]

Cool build. When I get my Stellar Wars together I want to do something like this, maybe with a 32" tv.

[Brer Frog]

I did think about using a 32" which would be nice. But when I looked at 32" HDTVs I said to myself why not go a few more inches to 39" and make it full size. I had to put a limit somewhere.

 

Another reason for using a 27" playfield is that it's a monitor. From reading several forum postings it appears HDTVs typically have more flipper lag. I could use a 32" monitor but they seem to cost quite a bit a more than 27" ones.

 

Plus the free 19” monitor for the backglass might look better with a 27" playfield. The 19" is slightly larger than the main cabinet. That means the backbox will be about 2" wider than the main cabinet & should look OK.

[chokeee]

Do you hane any "dimensions" plans? I think about 27" cab and. your cab looks high. Could u share the plans?

[Brer Frog]

I have a full size plan of the side view & will try to make a digital image that can be posted.

[Brer Frog]

Here’s the cab dimensions. The total length is 31.5”, which includes the thickness of the front panel. I made the front panel overlap the side panels but recessed the back panel between the sides, as I've seen in several other builds. That way you don’t see the end grain of the sides when looking at the front.

When I drew the full size plans I forgot about the front panel & cut the sides to 31.5”. Later I cut off the thickness of the front which was slightly less than 1/2". Therefore the side panels are about 31-1/16” long. Add back in the front & it's back up to 31.5" total

Inside cab width is 14.75”, which makes the outside about 15-11/16, which is the width of the front panel.

I didn’t think of this at the time but the back & bottom are both the same width & could have been made with a single cut across the plywood giving a 14.75”x48” piece. But with my 18-3/4" tall back and approximately 31“ long bottom, that’s just a bit longer than 48”. Darn. But if the back was just a bit shorter and/or the bottom also a bit shorter, I could have squeezed both panels out of the 48” width of plywood. Just something to consider when trying to make the most of the plywood. I’m just going to add a short filler piece to the bottom.

 

It does look high. But if I want to use real pinball legs & have the lockdown bar height at about the typical 36", Then the cab has to be a certain height. Plus if a PC & misc stuff goes in the cab there has to be room. I have seen shorter mini-pins which do look better proportioned, but I don't want to be hunched over when playing. I could make a shorter cab & sit on a stool or chair & have thought about that, I plan on using wood legs so I can cut them to whatever length is needed. We'll see how things progress. Worst case is I just cut off a few inches from the bottom of the cab.

 

I have ideas about the backbox but nothing written down.

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[Brer Frog]

For playfield glass I’m using .220” thick acrylic plastic. The Big Box stores all have it for about $20 for a 24”x18” sheet. The 24” just covers the playfield monitor with a fraction of an inch to spare. I’m hoping this works out OK because the next size up costs quite a bit more. Lowes will cut it for free so I ended up with 24”x15-3/8”. They have a heavy duty glass/plastic scoring “machine”. The first store ended up with bad snapped line & didn’t have a another sheet my size. The second store got it right. It’s a thick sheet & was questionable if it could be scored & snapped. After scoring it took two of us to snap it. I held down the sheet while the hardware man used 2 hands to snap it. Success.

[Brer Frog]

Progress is being made, but slowly.

 

I have the buttons. Disconnect terminals for the buttons are on the way. Wire samples are on the way,

 

Drilled flipper button holes but had some chipping problems when using a screw tipped spade drill bit. It cuts too aggressively in my opinion.

 

Did a lot of trial fitting of monitor & flipper button locations to make sure everything will fit OK. I don't have a lot of wiggle room because the acrylic plastic playfield "glass" is just slightly larger than the monitor's length.

[Brer Frog]

Here’s some photos.

First one is a corner & hole that’s patched up. I don’t have a table saw & used a circular saw with a guide for the cuts. The front panel was off just a bit. To keep the cabinet square I sanded off the wide part of the front panel after it was assembled. Did one edge by hand & one with a belt sander. Neither one came out pretty so some wood filler was used to form a square edge. The spade bit chopped the edges of the flipper button holes So those also had to be touched up. I have another thread about drilling holes. Some advice - don’t use the screw tipped spade bits. They cut way too fast & caused chipping.
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A couple inside pix. The cab does not have a bottom yet & what you’re seeing is a wood grained table top. Looks like a nice bottom though!

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Then a pix with the acrylic plastic “glass” for the playfield. It’s just sitting there & has the protective plastic on it.

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Then the keyboard encoder from an old keyboard. This will get me started & it’s free.

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This is a budget build mainly because I’m trying to use what’s on hand. But I don’t want to skimp where it relates to game play. So I did buy a new monitor & have a GeForce GTX 750Ti SC video card that I bought for VP.

Next step is getting the playfield monitor installed.

 

 

[Binkles]

I did look at using a keyboard encoder, but dragged out the iPac from my cocktail cabinet.

My cabinet looks like crap, but I love it as it hasn't cost me a cent, and once I get playing, I'm not looking at the cab

Yours looks great, and will keep following.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Brer Frog]

As previously mentioned I had a sheet of plywood, & also have some 1"x2" and 2"x2" pieces of lumber. The 2x2 will be used for the legs which I've seen done in another build. I plan to squeeze the cab into a limited space so the straight legs will actually work out better than real legs which spread out at the bottom. I can always change the legs if needed/wanted.

 

The pin cab is going into an home office setting & I'm trying to figure what color would look appropriate. Maybe a gray or charcoal that would sort of match other equipment. Maybe put a stripe or two on it.

Edited by Brer Frog, 11 June 2017 - 05:53 PM.

[rickh]

I just finished my second mini cabinet using a 27" playfield and 17" back screen.  My first cabinet was a bit shallow and the back box was bolted to the main cabinet like an actual pinball machine.  My new cabinet uses a piano hinge so I can fold the back box down onto to the playfield for easy storage or shipment. I haven't figured out how to upload images, but soon as I find out I will share them.

 

Regards,

 

Rick  

[rickh]

Album: Ricks Mini cabinet

8 images

0 comments

Here we go.  Just uploaded it and published it to the new cabinet section along with dimensions. Contact me for any details.

 

Regards,

 

Rick

[Brer Frog]

rickh,

 

I would be real interested in seeing your mini pinball.

 

I plan on having the backbox removable. That way I can take it apart if I have to move it around in pieces. Obviously a mini-pin won't weigh as much as a real pinball, but I'm not getting any younger.

[Brer Frog]

Looks like our messages overlapped.

 

Your mini looks really nice.

What are you using for legs & did you use tempered glass for the playfield?

[rickh]

Brer,

 

Everything I did was home made.  The backbox bezel is 1.6 mm thick acrylic with a black mask.  The playfield 'glass' is 4mm Acrylic, it also has a mask(blackened sections near the edges).  I recently found a place that has tempered glass and may use them as a resource, as they are about the same price ($30 USD).  

 

The legs are made from hot rolled steel angle iron cut, shaped, drilled and painted.  I also brazed a nut on the lower ends to accommodate levelers.  These are other methods for mounting levelers without need of welding.

 

BTW- On my first cabinet I used two large bolts to secure the back box.  To remove the box, the trim, glass and playfield had to be removed.  The piano hinge fixed all that.  

 

With the back box folded, the complete system is easy to move.  18 Kg - ~40 lbs.  

 

Regards,

 

Rick

[Brer Frog]

Rick -

 

You did a real nice job on everything. 40 lbs is pretty light. What did you use to build the cabinet with?

 

Also, how did you make the lockdown bar?

 

A 1/2" thick 4'x8' plywood sheet weighs about 40 lbs. I've probably used about half a sheet and still have to build the backbox. Now I'm curious what my basic cab weighs so far & will try to weigh it

[rickh]

 Breh, 

 

Thanks for the kudos.  I am using 1/2" fine finish grade plywood and using a 1/2 sheet exactly for the entire cabinet.  Let me weigh the machine, it might be closer to 50 lbs.  As for the lock bar both machines use 1"1/2" x 3/4" x 17" oak.  I also use oak for the corner braces in the cabinet to secure the legs and lock plate to.  Really not much to this cabinet.  Hardest part is creating the mounts for the monitor, as each monitor is slightly different.  I settled using the LG 27 monitors as they have very square corners, IPS display, and really decent price. 

 

Regards,

 

Rick

[Brer Frog]

My empty cabinet weighs 20 lbs and the 27" monitor weighs 9.6 lbs.

[rickh]

Brer,

 

I finally weighed it and I was waaaay off.  It was 71 lbs.  I weighed my first cabinet and it was 55 lbs.  The aluminum legs (flimsy), shallow cabinet, and lack of PC case were the two major differences.

 

Sorry for the mis-information,

 

Rick

Brer,

 

What kind of controls are you adding?  Pinscape or VP?

 

Regards,

 

Rick