For years I had been playing MAME on my computer. That all changed in November of 2005 when I set out to build my own MAME cabinet. For those of you that don’t know, MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is an emulator that emulates classic video games on a computer. What follows below is the chronicles of my MAME cabinet construction, from beginning to end.

I really only had one set of criteria going in. The cabinet that I built had to work with the X-Arcade dual joystick that I had been using on my computer for some time. After lots of research, I finally purchased a set of plans from Mameroom Designs. I opted for the Ultimate Arcade Cabinet I design with the X-Arcade control panel construction plans. I didn’t get the fancy full-size cutout templates, just the plans.

Next was a trip to the local hardware store for some supplies. Here’s a short list of what I purchased to get the project started:

  • 2 4X8 sheets of MDF 3/4″ thick
  • 68 1 1/2 ” L-brackets with screws
  • 2 8′ long 2X4’s
  • A box of 2″ wood screws

Here’s a list of tools that I needed for construction. I didn’t need to purchase any as I already had them:

  • Circular Saw
  • Miter Saw
  • Jigsaw
  • Drill / Power Screwdriver
  • 4 foot metal straight edge with measurements
  • Tape Measure
  • Router
  • Utility Knife
  • Clamps

Finally, time to get down to some construction. I carefully drew the appropriate pieces on the 4X8 sheets of MDF following the plans, using a pencil and the 4 foot straight edge. One thing I’m not very good at, cutting straight lines with a circular saw. The easiest way around this is to measure the distance from the outside of the saw’s base to the blade. Once you know the offset, run a long straight board (I used one of the 2X4’s) away from the line at the offset distance and clamp it down. You can now run the base of the saw up against this board and get a nice straight cut.

Once all of the pieces were cut, it was time to start construction. One thing I did as I cut out each piece…labeled it in pencil, according to the plans, so I would know later what it was. This is invaluable as other than the two side pieces, a lot of the pieces look the same. The majority of the cabinet is put together with L-brackets. Two 2X4’s span the bottom where the base meets the floor and the side pieces get screwed into it. Later, we’ll put 2X4’s under the monitor shelf as well. Below are a few pictures of the cabinet shell completed. Click on each picture for a larger view.

MDF boards cut to plan dimensions Base cabinet assembled Right side of the base cabinet

Once the base cabinet was constructed, I quickly realized I had forgotten something. It seems that I didn’t route the groove that I would later insert the T-molding into. T-molding is a nice decorative trim that goes on the exposed edges of the cabinet to give it a nice finished look. I had to remove all of the pieces from the cabinet that were going to receive the T-molding, route the grooves and then re-assemble the cabinet. I picked the T-molding and slot cutter up online. I did have one slight problem while routing the grooves as my router slipped on me and gouged one of the side pieces. I simply fixed it with wood putty, sanded smooth.

After construction of the cabinet was complete, it was time for some paint. This was one of the biggest mistakes I made during the construction process. I initially painted the cabinet with a semi-gloss black latex paint. The cabinet didn’t look right…it was too shiny. I had to sand down the entire cabinet with a power sander and repainted it with three coats of flat black paint.

Once the cabinet was painted, I installed the T-molding. They make a special cutter for cutting the T-molding but I used a utility knife instead. The T-molding simply pops into the groove that you’ve routed on the exposed edges. If the groove is too loose, a little hot glue will hold the T-Molding securely in place. If the T-molding runs over the edge a bit, you can trim it up with a sharp utility knife.

Next it was time to put the monitor and overlay into place. I had a 17″ white monitor that I wasn’t using, so this was my monitor of choice for the inside of the cabinet. Being concerned with the white appearance, I masked the screen area and spray painted the outside plastic of the monitor black. I then set the monitor into place, centered in the cabinet. Once the monitor was in place, I place a piece of Lucite over it. I made a few marks on the Lucite with a black Sharpie to indicate the bottom, top, left and right edges of the screen. I then masked the screen area on the back of the Lucite at these locations and spray painted the back of the Lucite with a flat black spray paint.

Front of the cabinet - painted Right side of cabinet - painted Left side of the cabinet - painted

You’ll see in the above pictures that the holes have been cut out for the speakers and there is a flourescent light which will eventually light up the marquee. The speakers are simply old computer speakers that I took out of the plastic housing. These speakers also had a subwoofer so I placed it inside the cabinet at the bottom.

I was lucky enough to come across an old Omega Race arcade cabinet that was no longer being used and did not work. After toying with it for a few months, trying to bring it back to life, I gave up hope. I sold the boards on E-bay to a guy who finally, after the purchase, got his Omega Race cabinet working. I decided to take the coin door from the non-working Omega Race cabinet and use it in my MAME cabinet. I didn’t want it for looks, I wanted it to actually work. I striped the coin door of all it’s parts and cleaned the metal parts with a wire brush (they had some rust). I then repainted the coin door.

After cleaning and repainting the door, the next project was getting the .25 cent lights to work. I wired the lights to a spare molex plug on the PC. There are plenty of on-line articles that describe how to do this, unfortunately the guide that I used doesn’t seem to be around anymore. Next, I wanted the coin inputs to actually register credits if a coin was inserted. This was accomplished by wiring the switches on the coin mechanism to the credit button on the X-Arcade controller. After a bit of experimentation, I finally had a fully functional coin door. You can still play without inserting a coin, it just adds the the realism.

Coin door opening Coin door closeup Coin door

As you can tell, I spent considerable time trying to make my cabinet as “realistic” as possible. I decided to take that concept a bit further. I added two buttons to the top of the cabinet. One powers off the computer, the other resets it. I bought these buttons at Radio Shack and then wired them to the power header on the motherboard and the reset header on the motherboard.

I also didn’t want to just throw a computer inside of the cabinet. To replicate a realistic cabinet, I removed all of the necessary components from the computer case. I mounted the hard drive to the base of the cabinet with screws and rubber washers. The rubber washers were necessary to cut down on vibration noise. I took a couple of the board mounts from the old Omega Race cabinet and mounted the motherboard to the base of the cabinet. I also mounted the power supply to the side of the cabinet, again using screws and rubber washers. Finally, I mounted a control board for the audio to the side of the cabinet. This board allows me to adjust overall volume, bass and treble.

Cabinet buttons - Black = Power, Red = Reset Cabinet interior Another shot inside - The big white box is the subwoofer

I ordered a nice marquee (I can’t recall the company name) and secured it to the cabinet, sandwiched between two pieces of Lucite, with marquee retainers from Happ Controls. I also ordered a set of speaker covers from Happ , after unsuccessfully trying to make my own out of wood, drain covers, etc. The speaker covers were a bit larger than I wanted and I had to cut the marquee retainer out around them. I also decided that the 17″ monitor was too small, so I replaced it with a 21″ monitor that I got on clearance for about $75. I had to repeat the monitor procedure detailed above to create a new piece of Lucite for the bigger monitor. I also added a wireless keyboard and mouse to the cabinet, placing the sensor next to the monitor, behind the black portion of the Lucite.

The new monitor, marquee and speaker covers New lucite to cover monitor

As the cabinet neared completion, I upgraded two more components. The first upgrade was a Bits Limited Smart Strip . This is essential to any MAME cabinet. The power strip allows you to set one device as the “control” device. When that device is powered off, other components that are plugged into the strip also power off. In my case, the computer is set to be the control device. When I power the computer off, the marquee light, monitor and speakers also get powered off automatically. The final piece of my MAME cabinet was to upgrade the X-Arcade control panel to something more robust. I opted for a SlikStik Classic arcade controller (no longer being manufactured, check out Mameroom Designs for alternatives). The biggest benefits to this controller over the X-Arcade; a dedicated 4 way joystick, a trackball and a tornado spinner.

A close up of the new controller Right side of finished cabinet The whole thing

As of the writing of this article, the trackball has stopped vertical movement, it only moves horizontally. I have e-mailed SlikStik regarding a replacement but have not received a response. I have since learned that they are no longer in business. No more Golden Tee for me, until I purchase a replacement trackball.

That’s it, from start to finish, the entire cabinet took probably 2 weeks to build, not including upgrades. Since the computer I used was a spare, the only expense to me, again excluding upgrades, was the lumber and hardware purchases. I didn’t keep an exact total, but my guess would be less than $300.