No planes for a few days.

Nice Job Mark.

I like it Mark , is there any tools you didn't get out lol , keeping that a secret is surly a job in itself !! I see you did get an airplane in that one pic . You are truly a good man and nothing is more loving than Homemade . Eric

getback wrote:I like it Mark , is there any tools you didn't get out lol ,

Actually, I had to order a mandrel and cutting blade to route out the slots for the pink T-molding for the sides.

The "Any Excuse for a New Tool" Mark

She's gonna love that!!! Like Eric said.. the fact that it was custom-made by you, makes it extra special!

Noted elsewhere I tend to peek around at the background of photos of you guys houses

Many times it makes me grateful that I have several external shops so I can keep the mess confined out side of the main house and the Turkey dinner from sharing smells of dope in the dinning room

Plus I can conveniently surprise my wife or grand children with Christmas evening placements under the tree they have NO CLUE about and no time to shake and giggle

I love being Santa

batjak.... cool project, I am sure it will be cherished by your lady for a long time

A great idea and a way to show you care. Homemade gifts are the best.

I am still thinking and looking for ideas as to what to get for my wife. Time's running out so I may have to get her some jewellery again

But using a router in a living room... Dude, you must have a pretty good vacuum cleaner

fredvon4 wrote:Noted elsewhere I tend to peek around at the background of photos of you guys houses

I note the same behavior in myself. Other people's houses and especially their shops interest me for some reason.

Maybe a "video shop tour" thread is in order Not that I have anything to show...

 Go plug the tree in !!! its outside  My bedroom is a workshop , saw ,sander, work table , hand drill , wood ... SHOP VACUUM !! Where is the airplane stuff

Now I want one...

That is AWESOME. That electronics kit makes it pretty attainable too.

Phil

Don't forget the coin slot so as to turn it on for play! The $$$ can be used to fund grandkids' college (or buy more airplane stuff *snicker*)

Oops!  I left the rechargeable battery and charger where she could see them last night.  This morning she asked me about them.


Wife - What are you drilling?
Me - ::Uh-Oh::  Ummm?
Wife - What are you drilling?
Me - ::think, think, think:: Drilling?
Wife - The battery on charge.  What are you drilling?
Me - ::think, think, think **PING!**::  Oh! You remember the Bottle O’ Engines I got a couple of months ago with the kinda rare engines?  I’m building a display stand for them…
Wife - ::Airplane stuff. Meh::  Oh, okay.


The Pooh Mark

That's funny. I'da just said, Your Christmas present.

I intercepted my Christmas present from the UPS guy. It's a big self healing cutting mat. I can't wait to see how it works.

KariFS wrote:

fredvon4 wrote:Noted elsewhere I tend to peek around at the background of photos of you guys houses

I note the same behavior in myself. Other people's houses and especially their shops interest me for some reason.

Maybe a "video shop tour" thread is in order Not that I have anything to show...

I could probably show you some nice kitchen utensils because it is there where the eggs of my RC birds hatch..

Well, with the wife home all day, I didn’t get to do much on the project.  After she turned in I finished up the control panel woodwork.  I marked and drilled holes for the buttons and the joystick, then I routed out the recess for the stick in the back of the panel.  I had to do the router freehand, so it’s not precise, but it works.  I mounted everything to see how it looks.  I’ll have to see if I can find some pink arcade buttons online later.






This is about all I’ll get to do until she goes back to work on Tuesday morning.  Then I’ll have to put it in overdrive to have it finished by Thursday evening.

The Five Speed Mark

Wow. That is quite a piece of work. I cannot wait to see the finished product. Heck, if this was me in your situation, she wouldn't get it till next year.

The wife wasn’t feeling well and went to bed early, so I got some more time to work on this tonight.  I don’t know that I said what I’m making this out of before.  The sides are ¾” MDF.  All the rest is ½” MDF.

First, I went ahead and cut a hole in the front panel for the reset button.  Then I trimmed the bottom plate at the rear sorta even with the back panel.  Then I sanded it flush with the back panel.  My crappy Harbor Freight sanding tool wasn’t working, so I had to do it the hard way with a block and sandpaper.  

Then I cut off the top of the back panel about even with where I’m going to put the top plate.  Yeah, I know.  Crooked cut on top.  But after I mount the top plate, I’ll sand the top of the back plate flush and make it nice and pretty.  After taking off the excess top material from the back panel, I sectioned the back panel into an upper cross piece, a bottom cross piece, and a center panel for an access door.






Here’s where it’s at right now.  The black button on the lower right is the reset button.





Things left to do:
1) Get a different hinge.  The one I have is unsatisfactory.
2) Get some sort of locking mechanism for the back.
3) Mark the location for the speaker on one of the sides and route out the location until the thickness of the MDF in that area is only 1/16” thick.  Then drill a bunch of holes for the sound to get out.
4) Get some plexiglass and cut it to shape to go in front of the monitor, drill a 1/32” hole in the face to allow the power button to be pushed in the monitor if necessary, and then paint a black border on the back so that only the screen shows.
5) Make a cross piece behind the control panel with a slot in it for the plexiglass to sit in.
6) Make side rails to support the plexiglass.  I’m thinking I should have plenty of ¼” spruce in my scrap box to make that work.
7) MAYBE get some ¼” MDF if Home Depot has some and make a plate to go between the plexiglass and the monitor.
8 ) Slot the top piece for the top of the plexiglass.
9) Cut a hole in the back for the power switch.
10) Make up a socket for the power cord in the back.
11) Cut a hole in the back for a cooling fan and mount it.
12) Setup the router and route the sides and front for the pink T-molding.
13) Get some laminate and apply it to the sides and back of the cabinet.
14) Fix the monitor stand so that it site vertical. It's canted a little counter clockwise.
15) Fabricate a power cord to go from the power switch to the monitor and the Jamma board power supply.
16) Mount the Jamma board and the power supply in the cabinet.
17) Wire up the control panel, reset button, and speaker.
18) Test everything.
19) Anything I missed
20) Find a box and wrap it up for Christmas.


See?  I’m almost done!

The Kidding Himself Mark

For someone who can build a plane in two days that should not bee a problem ?// I am sure you can make it come together , HAPPY HOLIDAYS !! Eric

That is just awesome!! Your Mrs should enjoy her Mrs PAC man immensely! Nothing better than a hand made gift.

Its looking good Mark

Well, the wife stayed home sick today, so I don't know how I'm going to get this done without her knowing about it.  I have a couple of things to do that'll make a lot of noise, and some painting to do...

Ah, well.  At least I got a couple of hours in last night after she went to bed.

I couldn't find the kind of piano hinge that I wanted, so I used the smallest hinges I could find.  I cut the hole for a lock and installed it, along with some blocks for the latch and to hold the door in place on the sides.  Then I made up a shelf for the plexiglass to sit on (very time consuming) and installed side rails for the plexiglass also.  Then I drilled and mounted the top cap.  I marked the location for the speaker, but that's the noisy part.  I have to route out the 3/4" MDF to 1/16" to fit the speaker in and make the sound holes.  

Doesn't sound like much, but it took a while just to do that much.






Things left to do:
1) Get a different hinge.  The one I have is unsatisfactory.
2) Get some sort of locking mechanism for the back.
3) Mark the location for the speaker on one of the sides and route out the location until the thickness of the MDF in that area is only 1/16” thick.  Then drill a bunch of holes for the sound to get out.
4) Get some plexiglass and cut it to shape to go in front of the monitor, drill a 1/32” hole in the face to allow the power button to be pushed in the monitor if necessary, and then paint a black border on the back so that only the screen shows.
5) Make a cross piece behind the control panel with a slot in it for the plexiglass to sit in.
6) Make side rails to support the plexiglass.  I’m thinking I should have plenty of ¼” spruce in my scrap box to make that work.
7) MAYBE get some ¼” MDF if Home Depot has some and make a plate to go between the plexiglass and the monitor. (Don't have time for it)
8 ) Slot the top piece for the top of the plexiglass.
9) Cut a hole in the back for the power switch.
10) Make up a socket for the power cord in the back.
11) Cut a hole in the back for a cooling fan and mount it.
12) Setup the router and route the sides and front for the pink T-molding.
13) Get some laminate and apply it to the sides and back of the cabinet.
14) Fix the monitor stand so that it sits vertical. It's canted a little counter clockwise.
15) Fabricate a power cord to go from the power switch to the monitor and the Jamma board power supply.
16) Mount the Jamma board and the power supply in the cabinet.
17) Wire up the control panel, reset button, and speaker.
18) Test everything.
19) Anything I missed
20) Find a box and wrap it up for Christmas.

The Hard Pressed Mark

Tell her you're building a field box for a friend

wow mark thats wicked! maybe have a hole in the plexi glass so you can put a small pice of dowel in to turn it on from the out side

Well, I finally got it done, and with a half hour to spare.  The wife stayed home from work sick three days, so my build time was seriously impacted.  I finally finished it up at 11:30 after she went to sleep.  So, I got it done before Christmas…

I had to do a lot of searching to find the right shade of Ms. PacMan blue, but I did it.  Here’s a decent shot of the color.




And a shot of the game opening screen.  I was going to shoot a video of it booting up into the game, but my camera battery died as it was starting to boot.  I’ll get some video when the wife is playing it tomorrow (today).




So, I am finally done getting ready for Christmas…

I hope Y’all have fun today,
The Squeeker Mark