Hey guys! It’s Mike, from The Geek Pub! And on this episode we’re going to make
this awesome BarTop Arcade cabinet using a Raspberry Pi! The first thing we want to do is layout the
side panels of the RetroPie Arcade Cabinet onto a section of medium density fiberboard. As alway, you can get all of the dimensions
in the plans at TheGeekPub.com. After drawing a rectangle the size of the
arcade cabinet, I used my angle finder and a straight edge to transfer the angles. I couldn’t find my square, so I just used
piece of known square plywood to make a 90 degree line for the front of the marquee. You’ll need a compass to draw the large
curved section of the side panels. Rather than buy one, I just used a scrap piece
of oak, a pencil, and bolt with a pointed end to make my own. You’ll need to make two tick marks from
each end. Wherever they meet is the where you’ll place
the center of the compass to connect the top and bottom. I used my table saw to cut out the rectangle,
and then made a second rectangle. The second one will be clamped under the first
one. This will allow us to cut out both side panels
in one go. I used my air compressor to keep the sawdust
out of my way. This keeps the line highly visible while I
cut out the side panels of the arcade cabinet. The best rule of thumb I can give you when
using a jigsaw is: Go slow! Take your time. It makes a big difference in the finished
product. Once the panels are cut, open them up on the
workbench like a book! You’ll have two identical side panels for
your arcade! I cut out a bunch of sections of 3/4 X 3/4
inch MDF to use as connection points inside the bartop arcade cabinet. These are inset exactly 3/4 inches. This not only makes the assembly of the arcade
cabinet easier, but has the benefit of leaving no exposed nail heads or screws on the outside
of the arcade cabinet. Where appropriate, rather than measuring I
simply used spacer of the right size. This ensures my spacing will be dead on accurate. You can cut these spacers from scraps. Simply pull them out and discard them afterwards. You can use also reuse the spacers as angle
finders and place holders when gluing and nailing in your connectors. The next step is to glue and brad nail the
side panels to the top and bottom panels. Be sure to make sure everything is square. If you don’t have a brad nailer you can
use screws or just use clamps and wait for the glue to dry. The 3/4 inch connector pieces we put in earlier
make assembly super simple. All you have to do is add glue and line everything
up. Again, I am using brad nails to speed up the
process. The brad nails are simple there to hold everything
together long enough for the glue to dry. I love the retro look of T-Molding on arcade
cabinets. In order to install T-Molding, we need to
cut a T-slot in the side panels and all of the components. You have to do this before final assembly
as the router will not reach everything after assembly. Now that we’re done with the routing, we
can simply install the remaining panels. We’ll start with the bottom panel of the
marquee. This board will be the bottom frame of the
LED monitor. Then we will install the front of the control
panel. This board is slightly inset for a 3D appearance. On the backside we just need to frame in where
the access door will go. I created this awesome drilling template that
you can get on TheGeekPub.com. Just lightly coat the back of it with spray
adhesive and press it to the control panel. Using the template makes it super simple to
drill out all of the holes for the joystick and the buttons. It’s also a fantastic reference sheet for
install the buttons later. I used my drill press and Forstner bit to
drill out the holes, but you can use a handheld drill and a paddle bit in a pinch. Once you’re finished, just peel the template
off and discard it. I cut a section of MDF the exact size of the
access panel in the back of the arcade and installed it using a piano hinge and a small
latch. This will allow future access to inside of
the cabinet for maintenance reasons. I used a couple of paper spacers to center
it and my square to make sure everything would open and close easily. The arcade cabinet has two speakers, one on
each side of the cabinet. Provided in the plans is a drilling template
for each side to make drilling the 120 holes much simpler. Just attach them with spray adhesive. And then get ready to drill and drill and
drill and drill. When your finished drilling, just remove the
template and use a sanding block to remove any burs, it will look like it was made in
a factory. The next step is to prime the MDF. Primer is critical if you want an awesome
finish. When I prime MDF, I like to use filler primer
as it fills in all the little imperfections. You’ll need to sand it with 220 grit sandpaper
before you paint it though. In my full-size arcade cabinet everyone told
me that it was easier because I had an HVLP sprayer, so for this cabinet I am using rattle
cans from my local home improvement center. I decided to go with flat black. With the cabinet laying on its backside, I
installed some polyurethane feet to keep the cabinet from sliding around not he table. I installed an electrical box in the back
of the cabinet and then drilled a hole to accept the power cord. This will be the electrical system for the
entire cabinet. In the electrical box I installed quad outlets,
exactly the number of plugs necessary to power the RetroPie Arcade! The next step is to install the T-Molding. I find the best way to get a smooth finish
is to use s small rubber mallet. Take your time and go slow and the results
will be fantastic. When you get to one of the 90 degree cuts
you’ll need to cut the track section of the T-Molding to allow it to bend around it. This really makes for a nice seamless look. In order to make the lighted marquee more
uniform in appearance, I like to line the inside of the marquee with reflective tape. Once that’s done I install an 18 inch LED
light from the local big box store. Installing the controls is very simple. Each joystick requires four screws, i recommend
pre-drilling these to make sure they sit flush. The tops of the joystick have a black washer
to cover the hole and then you just screw on the balls. Then its just a matter of inserting all of
the button into their respective holes. On the back of the board you just install
a large plastic nut on the back of each button. Now it is just a matter of plugging every
button into the correct socket on the controller board. I love these USB powered speakers because
they fit perfect in arcade cabinets and don’t take up much room. I just use hot glue to hold them in place,
and they be easily removed with a heat gun. This is where the really fun part begins. Final assembly! Start by popping the controller board in place
and and installing the monitor. I like to use this industrial adhesive velcro
to hold the components in place. It allows you to easily remove them later
for maintenance but will last forever. For cable management I use this two sided
velcro stripping to roll up the wires. You can get your marquee printed at any office
supply store’s copy center for about $5. Then you just need to cut it to fit the size
of your marquee. You’ll sandwich it between two pieces of
clear plexiglass. Don’t forget to peel off the clear plastic
protector it comes with. The marquee banner just drops into place. To keep it from coming out I just glued in
two small 1/4 inch pieces of MDF that I pre-painted black. The last step is to plug in the LED light! OK! Well I think this cabinet might have been
more fun than my full-size arcade cabinet and the reason why I think is because I used
a Raspberry Pi. Now a lot of you are probably asking “Why
did I use a Raspberry Pi?” Well the first reason is very simple. It costs $35 dollars. Literally anyone can afford to buy a Raspberry
Pi! The second reason is RetroPie. So RetroPie is preconfigured. You just download it from their website. There’s no configuration trying to figure
out how to get some front-end to work or some game to work. You just download the entire RetroPie image
and load it on your Raspberry Pi and you’re done. You’re ready to go. All you have to do then is drop your game
ROMs on. The third reason is that the Raspberry Pi
has GPIO. Now I did not use any of the GPIO features
on this cabinet. But if you wanted to have a game say where
if you crashed, the cabinet would shake. Using the GPIO off the Raspberry Pi would
make that incredibly simple. And then finally the fourth reason is no cooling. So the Raspberry Pi puts off almost no heat. So you can put the Raspberry Pi in here with
no fan and you are ready to go. If you wanted to use a PC in this cabinet
instead of a Raspberry Pi I would probably just add a fan to the back door and plug it
into one of the USB ports. Well guys, stay tuned for some future videos,
because we’re going to break this down a little but farther. We’re going to talk about the Raspberry
Pi and how to load RetroPie and some of those other things as well as how to connect the
control boards in a lot more detail. So look for those coming up. Well hey be sure to follow me on Facebook
and Instagram. That’s Facebook.com/TheGeekPub and Instagram.com/TheGeekPub. I post pictures of all of my projects as I
build them, so you get a sneak preview of what’s coming in the next video. Also consider becoming a patron on Patreon
by clicking this link here. That will help me fund projects like this
and I can make more videos. See ya next time.
Looks cool! Having worked with MDF, I'd like to advise against it. Plywood is stronger, lighter weight, better on tools, better around humidity, won't crumble when you hit a corner, often cheaper, and won't make as much dust. MDF is sometimes preferred for building DIY projectors and speakers because it expands and contacts more uniformly than plywood, but plywood is already far better than regular wood in that regard.
If you do any routing, be aware that the glues in MDF can rapidly wear down bits. Use turpentine to clean any cutting tools to help out with that. MDF is basically better suited to special cases, but not general cabinetry.
Please don't take this as negativity against the project. I think you did a great job making it look professional.
I've been wanting to build a full size one with my pi for a while and seeing the cabinet being made has been really helpful.
Well done. What I wouldnt do for your woodshop man. I really want to get into carpentry for projects just like this, but living in an apartment makes this project pretty much a non starter for me =(
I feel like these should be called Barcades
Here's the preamble I used to share this video on Facebook:
In short: awesome. Really nice to see.
awesome awesome awesome! Thank you for sharing this is a great project
Nice job! I built a full size with a PC and a Hyperspin front end. Such a fun project. I'd love to do another one.
Very-very cool! Wish I had a workshop with all the tools :(
The pc in my Mame cabinet is getting a little flaky. I might need to pi it.