Tonight while Catya and Zach were off doing stuff, and after a frustrating afternoon of successfully NOT getting an LDAP server working, I decided to put in some time on the cabinet.
I needed some minor parts, so I went by Home Depot and picked up some basic assembly hardware (screws and some electricians bolts and nuts, etc).
Most of tonight was measuring, measuring, and re-measuring, THEN cutting... the pieces for the console 'box'. This was a little tricky because it's angled, but after screwing everything together, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.
I also installed the second joystick and re-mounted the first one with the correct bolts.
I'm short a couple buttons, and I'm considering getting the trackball sooner than later. Probably off to an arcade supply store later tonight / tomorrow to quick-order some buttons.
In all the blogs, websites, and books regarding building Mame cabinets, one thing is said over and over again. Plan, plan plan. I'm really glad I took quite a long time planning, drawing, re-drawing, and sketching components of this thing before I started cutting wood. So far I haven't had to 'go back on' anything, or re-think anything on the fly. Since everything is already measured out, the assembly is not running into any problems along the way.
Some minor geekynotes...
I have mad, deep love for Irwin quick-grip tools. These are one-handed rubberized wood clamps (or anything, really) that you can put in place very quickly. They hold things incredibly well, and since I work primarily on sawhorses for cutting, these things are awesome.
It's funny also that my workspace is getting CLEANER the more I work on it. With my new tool cabinet, I'm getting things organized as I'm working. This is the most use I've gotten out of my shop space in a while, and it's nice knowing where tools are and what I have and don't have.
I may be able to start work on the base cabinet by this weekend. We'll see!
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