new nintendo cab dilema..

DPtwiz

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I am a ways off from this one, but i am still trying to figure out what to do. I make the standard nintendo cabinets, dk, dkjr, popeye, etc. These cabinets have 5 different wood thicknesses in thier construction. The biggest pain in the ass is the game sides, and the front panels.

These are 9/16" thick. if you buy and ply based material, it's undersized, so if you buy 5/8 ply, in reality its .5781 thick, VS 9/16" which is .5625 it's very negligible. Here's the problem : the only 5/8" i can buy locally is construction grade (no freakin way.. rougher than 36 grit sand paper and full of knots) 5/8" luan, (what i did use - takes tons and tons of high build primer to make it paintable) and 2 other 5/8" sheets, that are UV coated, or Clear coated, neither of which is compatible with paint.

I had told my supplier about this dilema, and told them if only i could get 5/8" in the imported birch i use all the time for 3/4" cabinets, i'd be happy. Well, they called me the other day and tell me they CAN get 5/8" imported birch. My first thought was 'HELL YES!" now i can make some kick ass nintendo cabinets!! Then they tell me i have to purchase an entire skid (48 sheets) and i DON'T get my 10% price break for taking a full skid, since it's a special order.

So what do i do? 48 sheets is enough to do 24 nintendo cabinets. I've only done maybe 2 nintendo cabinets since i started! I want a few for myself eventually, but damn.. that's alot of money and big chunk of space for that to sit for a few years till i use it all up. what to do?
 
That is a decision only you can make, can you afford to have that money just sit there for a few years? If so it would be pretty nice to make them out of birch.

Just wish you were closer or that I still lived in Ohio (ok, not really on that last part) so I could get some of your cabs.
 
hey brett, it's been awhile...hope you're doing well
what about using a thin veneer that's paintable over top of whatever is the right thickness?
 
unfortunately, that adds money, time, labor etc. Even the Luan i was using just doesn't have a uniform thickness across the sheet to be feasible. They were extremely labor intensive and costs to much to prime!
 
Do a pre-order to cover your material costs or at least reduce it.
 
That is a thought too.. I was also thinking about a limited edition cab painted with dk art installed..
 
Maybe you could keep the amount you need and sell the rest to a local contractor or something. Maybe Craigslist?
 
There are a bazillion different companies selling sheet goods. Make some calls to other companies in your area and I am sure you can find what you want in whatever quantity you want. It shouldn't be that hard to get 5/8th inch plywood in a lot of different variants in any quantity.

I remember calling my local supplier about materials for Nintendo cabinets a year or so ago. I found pre-primed plywood in nearly any thickness I wanted. The surface was super smooth and it made painting them as easy as pie.

Look around and save yourself some cash. :)
 
I'd buy one but shipping is the killer...

Can you get a discount on freight if you ship a bunch at once? like 6? a dozen? I know fedex freight can be pretty cheap (cheap as freight can be)
in bulk. I used to get 60-70% off list. Especially if you pickup from a terminal.

I paid $150 to ship my Juno First from a terminal in IL to a terminal in NJ near me.

If so, perhaps you could establish shipment receiving partner relationships in
areas of the country with large populations of KLOV's..

For example.. an area could be Eastern PA, NJ, NYC, Long Island, lower NY/CT, DE, even MD.. Basically a couple hour radius that most people wouldnt have a problem driving. It could be in central, NJ say...

Take orders and ship 2-4 times a year on a schedule to your shippng person in each defined area all the cabs ordered in the past X months for that area.
People could then pickup when they have time from your shipping partner.

You take care of your "shipment receiving partners" in some fashion.. a cheap or free cab, cash, store credit, whatever is worked out.
 
Where are you located? I'd love to sign up for one, but it all comes down to location, location, location! Having this sort of thing shipped is a killer.
 
Atlas, i wish what your saying was true lol i live by toledo, there just isn't many places to buy stuff except the big box stores. I have tried fed ex freight, they don't even bother calling me back. Guy in indianapolis, i am right by toledo, so your really close to me!
 
What blows my mind is that you have only made 2 Nintendo cabinets! Is it just that there are so many Nintendo cabinets out there?? I would say that you should take pre-orders.
 
The Nintendo metric dillema raises its ugly head yet again! I mean, you would think it would be easy to get metric everything since most of the world uses it. Apparently there's some sort of metric black market going on in the rest of the world and nobody will sell it to the States (at least that's what it feels like.)

What we need is a hook up in Japan or somewhere where this stuff is the norm and get a huge shipment.
 
The Nintendo metric dillema raises its ugly head yet again! I mean, you would think it would be easy to get metric everything since most of the world uses it. Apparently there's some sort of metric black market going on in the rest of the world and nobody will sell it to the States (at least that's what it feels like.)

What we need is a hook up in Japan or somewhere where this stuff is the norm and get a huge shipment.

What about Canada? They are metric.

And yes it is highly annoying, when I was making DK Cabaret control panels for Phet I had to plane the plywood to the right thickness. And planing plywood is not easy.
 
I can plane wood in the cnc, that's easy. The catch is once you get through the top layer, the core is rough. . Totally fine for control panels since its on the bottom side. The stuff I found in birch will work awesome. The problem is I have to buy 48 sheets, pay in advance, wait 4 to 6 weeks for shipment, then sit on it for God knows how long.
 
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