Atari cabinet building/restoring materials thread

joeycuda

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My goal with this information is to most accurately build 3 or 4 Atari cabinets for projects that would otherwise be parts cabinets, due to very rough cabinets. I have a swollen Football that a rat called a home, a Quantum that is waterlogged swollen, and will attempt to scratch build a Black Widow. Also need to make some replacement panels for a SW cockpit. All of these games would be pretty rough without cabinet replacement or certain pieces at least. That out of the way-

In the beginning, I thought substituting certain (better) materials might be a good idea, as long as they looked the same to the eye. Plywood for certain panels and matte black Formica laminate instead of the heat/pressure applied vinyl you see on the interior of Atari cabinets.

I wanted to use plywood for the side panels, so did that for a Missile Command cabaret. Since the sides would be covered on the inside with black Formica laminate and on the outside with woodgrain laminate, who would know? .....My experience was that the plywood sides warped badly before putting the cabinet together, so getting it square and assembled was fairly difficult and I had to clamp the whole thing to my cabinet saw top. Also, the woodgrain laminate has since popped loose in spots interior to the cabinet and around the edges. Could be adhesive or laminate failure, but I blame the plywood a little.

On the other hand, the matte black Formica laminate looks very close to the vinyl laminated particle board, but if using std grade, you need to account for the added thickness vs thickness of panel to equal .75" vs centering of the t-molding slot.

I think I've pretty much given up on subbing matte black or woodgrain laminate in place of the vinyl. Also, I've decided that even if particleboard is a crap material by fine woodworking standards, I am going to use it for all panels because:

1) PB is more dimensionally stable than plywood

2) PB provides a super flat surface for applying laminate/vinyl artwork

3) Most of all.. it is the OEM material. Any exposed, but painted edges must be particle board for the same appearance.

Obviously, what we don't like about particleboard is how fragile it can be and how susceptible to moisture it is. Just have to tell myself, in a HUO/collector environment, these shouldn't be factors. I do think that that any particle board panel I cut will be sealed with a few coats of Zinsser sealer, then lightly sanded. This will provide a slicker surface for applying adhesive vinyl and a bit more protection in the bare particle board areas.

My concerns/worries at this point are mainly:

1) The original laminate (black inner/white outer) on the particle board was probably heat/pressure applied, and already there when the sheet goods were cut into panels. I worry that the 3M black adhesive vinyl may not hold up over time like the OEM stuff and that the adhesive may fail, so that it lifts around the edges.

2) The new vinyl may shrink, leaving gaps around the edges

3) What is the best source for woodgrain vinyl? Is the 3M DI-NOC stuff that Happ sells "it"? Will it hold up well over time?

I'm not looking to spend anymore on any of this than I have to, but I also consider all of this valuable woodworking experience. If I build a new cabinet for something rarer like Quantum or Black Widow, I want it to be a dead on perfect replica as much as possible. This isn't about pleasing the community or holding value, as I would guess my replica cabinet restorations won't ever be worth as much as a pristine survivor, but..I want to be pleased with the project and part of the fun is in copying the process that the factory originally had, without their jigs, measurements, and tools.
 
well, i have some experience in this area :D What type of plywood are you using? I'm using an imported birch ply from china, it's cabinet grade and good both sides. It runs me 35.95 a sheet. I get an occasional warped sheet, but usually once the parts are cut, the excess is warped but the parts aren't.

I don't know what your using, but it may be materials causing the issue. I have hit and miss luck with 1/2" oak plywood for cutting back doors. Sometimes it's laser straight, and the next sheet i could cut into skis. For atari's i'm using white melamine for the sides, and using a semi gloss black vinyl to cover the insides, and then using black melamine for the other parts. It is particle core, so the exposed edges do look like factory. It does have a minor texture, but my experience with it, it does not show through the sideart, or the inside vinyl. You can see it on the black parts like the coin panel, but that's from 6 inches away in good lighting. normal lighting standing in front of it, doesn't really detract from original enough to notice.

Another topic entirely, and a gripe i have, is games like robotron.. they were plywood, but they measure a true 3/4" thick, where modern ply runs 1/16"th undersize. It only plays to my advantage for nintendo cabinets, because 5/8" ply is really 9/16" ply.

Let me ask you this.. can you look for a cabinet shop near you that has a cnc machine? I am getting ready to copy an atari football, and i have the entire woodgrain issue to deal with as well. I've picked 6 different wilsonart laminates that are somewhat close to Atari woodgrain, i need sample chips to compare to get the closest match i can. PM me if you can find a cnc shop..
 
Sounds interesting

I am doing almost the same cabs as you

Scratch Built Black Widow
Make some SW CP Parts (Mainly the arches)
Scratch Built Quantum
Make new sides for Battlezone

I will be using Particle board white Melamine for all cabs sides. But, I do live in a dry climate, so it should be OK
 
well, i have some experience in this area :D What type of plywood are you using? I'm using an imported birch ply from china, it's cabinet grade and good both sides. It runs me 35.95 a sheet. I get an occasional warped sheet, but usually once the parts are cut, the excess is warped but the parts aren't.

I don't know what your using, but it may be materials causing the issue. I have hit and miss luck with 1/2" oak plywood for cutting back doors. Sometimes it's laser straight, and the next sheet i could cut into skis. For atari's i'm using white melamine for the sides, and using a semi gloss black vinyl to cover the insides, and then using black melamine for the other parts. It is particle core, so the exposed edges do look like factory. It does have a minor texture, but my experience with it, it does not show through the sideart, or the inside vinyl. You can see it on the black parts like the coin panel, but that's from 6 inches away in good lighting. normal lighting standing in front of it, doesn't really detract from original enough to notice.

Another topic entirely, and a gripe i have, is games like robotron.. they were plywood, but they measure a true 3/4" thick, where modern ply runs 1/16"th undersize. It only plays to my advantage for nintendo cabinets, because 5/8" ply is really 9/16" ply.

Let me ask you this.. can you look for a cabinet shop near you that has a cnc machine? I am getting ready to copy an atari football, and i have the entire woodgrain issue to deal with as well. I've picked 6 different wilsonart laminates that are somewhat close to Atari woodgrain, i need sample chips to compare to get the closest match i can. PM me if you can find a cnc shop..

I have bought cabinet grade at Lowes for around $40/sheet. I just think the gain in durability and possibly being a bit lighter isn't worth it not being the original material and the increased risk of warpage.

I think you using the white melamine stuff is a great idea. I do wonder how well the black vinyl will stick to that, if it needs roughed up, etc.. There are plenty of panels in Atari cabinets that had white vinyl on one side..which I'd guess is scrap from the same sheet goods used to make the side panels (black on one side, white on other, art gets screened on). For these pieces, I will definitely use the white melamine PB, then put black vinyl on it, if needed. As far as the texture showing through on the front panel, you could always use matte black formica like they originally did, on top of the melamine pb.

I appreciate the idea on the CNC shop, but I think I will go it alone - only because I've already disassembled my own cabinet, cut a lot of the pieces, cut down particleboard for the side panels, and documented my original. A CNC cut cabinet would be WAY easier and more accurate, but I feel I'd have to throw out the work I already did. Good luck on your project.

I'm also planning on doing what you're doing with the Wilsonart laminate. I think I'll feel better putting the new sideart over laminate. Surely they have something close enough, and I think although mine looks very reddish/cherry, there were probably variations in the wood color.
 
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