Save an Atari cab, or replace it?

Kalamath

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I know this is somewhat subjective, but it's on my mind. With the material these cabs are made of, once you get to the point of replacing side art, is there any real point to keeping the underlying cabinet stock? With all the work and money you put into a cabinet restoration, I guess it makes sense to "Fizgig" it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I want to demo all my Atari's. I don't NEED my machines to be perfect, and I'll go to lengths to clean them up and make them look nice, while patching up any small boo-boo's. I also guess, if the wood is solid with NO water damage at all, I could see saving it. Once the bottom has swelling though...

Case in point though, the Asteroids I have now is a mess which will need all new side art & repairs. I'm considering using it as a template to cut new side panels and just rebuild it with good plywood, so I have a more durable game that's built more like a piece of fine furniture.

Just thinking out loud here. My wife can take only so much arcade talk, so you guys are it! =)
 
73 views and no one wants to talk about it? Sheesh...you'd think I'm married to you all too! I thought you guys were arcade nuts. ;)
 
Well it boils down to you and your wallet, time and effort. I hear you on the just keep them nice without a lot of investment. However..if a game is literally falling apart from water damage..then you have only 3 options IMHO.

Part it out and hope to make enough back to maybe replace the game in question.

Try to repair the cab using any number of the various techniques listed on KLOV.

Use the old cab a template and transfer the hardware.

In the end its up to you.
 
Totally agree with what you said. What I'm getting at though is, IF you are looking at a restore vs. rebuild on the cabinet, what do YOU think is the better option and why?

I know you can salvage a press board cab by stabilizing or cutting in new pieces, Bondo, seal, etc but do you think it's worth doing vs. cutting a new cabinet out of plywood? I really question the practice of hanging, potentially, hundreds of dollars of artwork & electronics on a pressboard cabinet IF it's at the stage where you need to totally replace the side art anyway.
 
My personal choice is to look for another cab for the same game thats in better shape. Then I take all the leftover duplicate parts and re-sell them. This sometimes offsets the purchase of the replacement cab.
 
restore or rebuild I say replace. I think it will be worth the extra cost if you plan on keeping it and not sell. just my 2 cents tho esp on those cabs
 
also if you can strip yours and restructure then u might be okay, if it swells when then thats a diff story and probably a little more extensive to save
 
It all depends on what is available to you and how much time and money you want to spend on a project.

I'm in the process of restoring a cabinet that most here would have trashed in a heartbeat.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 

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If you're putting full cabinet vinyl/sideart back on it, like you would with say Asteroids, I strongly recommend you don't use plywood for the sides or panels where vinyl or Formica type laminate will be applied. For something like furniture or cabinetry, you would definitely want plywood for the wear and strength properties, as well as ability to hold a screw. However, for the arcade cabinet, it's often best to go back with OEM material. My biggest reason though is while plywood is fairly 'dimesionally stable', it's not as stable as MDF or particle board. Plywood will 'move' a tiny bit more and often won't stay as flat. That movement can cause issues with laminate/vinyl separation, etc.. In addition, particle board (or MDF) is a formed, perfectly flat surface that would just need a primer or sealer coat, then finish sanding before applying adhesive vinyl. Plywood isn't near as perfect, so would need a high build primer and more likely some filler.
 
definitely try to save it instead of replacing it with a new scratch-built one. cabs get tossed away too easily these days and once they're gone, they're gone. there's nothing like an old (smelly) cabinet base, it just feels (and smells) right!!!
 
If you're putting full cabinet vinyl/sideart back on it, like you would with say Asteroids, I strongly recommend you don't use plywood for the sides or panels where vinyl or Formica type laminate will be applied. For something like furniture or cabinetry, you would definitely want plywood for the wear and strength properties, as well as ability to hold a screw. However, for the arcade cabinet, it's often best to go back with OEM material. My biggest reason though is while plywood is fairly 'dimesionally stable', it's not as stable as MDF or particle board. Plywood will 'move' a tiny bit more and often won't stay as flat. That movement can cause issues with laminate/vinyl separation, etc.. In addition, particle board (or MDF) is a formed, perfectly flat surface that would just need a primer or sealer coat, then finish sanding before applying adhesive vinyl. Plywood isn't near as perfect, so would need a high build primer and more likely some filler.

QFT: THIS right here is it. In the interim since I posted this thread I've seen evidence of this. I'll definitely stick with any of the Ataris I have since none have bad water damage, just some minor edge issues here and there. So often you see damage on these cabs, and it starts at those unfinished edges...raw wood under T-molding, totally vulnerable to water damage.

I think something that will go a long way to keeping these cabs lasting even longer than they have, aside from keeping water away from them, is better prep & finishing. Namely, edges and bottoms will be sealed, primed & painted before artwork. I'll also fully wrap when using vinyl, into the T-slots.

These little things take extra time, and that was money for the builders, so it wasn't done. We can do it better.
 
If you are talking about that Asteroids cabinet I sold you, I believe it was pretty solid structurally, and had zero to very minimal water damage if any at all. The biggest thing was that chunk on the side that I started to bondo.

I suggest you finish bondoing that spot, and any other spots that need it, sand it down, prime, paint, and put new decals on it if you want a new-looking machine. I really see no need to rebuild the sides with plywood, nor OEM material.

It really is up to you if you are up for the challenge to rebuild, but honestly, I think that cabinet did not really need that extensive re-building.
 
Hey Art! Yeah that cab got me thinking about the issue, but wasn't the sole impetus. We see so many particle/MDF cabs with water damage, I was questioning the value of doing full artwork on that type of wood structure. There are definitely reasons to stick with it however, and this thread has cleared them up, for me at least.
 
QFT: THIS right here is it. In the interim since I posted this thread I've seen evidence of this. I'll definitely stick with any of the Ataris I have since none have bad water damage, just some minor edge issues here and there. So often you see damage on these cabs, and it starts at those unfinished edges...raw wood under T-molding, totally vulnerable to water damage.

I think something that will go a long way to keeping these cabs lasting even longer than they have, aside from keeping water away from them, is better prep & finishing. Namely, edges and bottoms will be sealed, primed & painted before artwork. I'll also fully wrap when using vinyl, into the T-slots.

These little things take extra time, and that was money for the builders, so it wasn't done. We can do it better.

I'm working on a Paperboy now. While it doesn't have the typical swelling at all, the sideart was meh and just peeled off like the adhesive had completely failed/dried out. The edges are not perfect, as there are dings and very light wear. I plan to skim a light filler around the edges before I sand, then apply oil based white primer (sealing the particle board edges and t-molding slot), then sand slick before applying vinyl. Prep is 90% of the work.
 
If you're putting full cabinet vinyl/sideart back on it, like you would with say Asteroids, I strongly recommend you don't use plywood for the sides or panels where vinyl or Formica type laminate will be applied. For something like furniture or cabinetry, you would definitely want plywood for the wear and strength properties, as well as ability to hold a screw. However, for the arcade cabinet, it's often best to go back with OEM material. My biggest reason though is while plywood is fairly 'dimesionally stable', it's not as stable as MDF or particle board. Plywood will 'move' a tiny bit more and often won't stay as flat. That movement can cause issues with laminate/vinyl separation, etc.. In addition, particle board (or MDF) is a formed, perfectly flat surface that would just need a primer or sealer coat, then finish sanding before applying adhesive vinyl. Plywood isn't near as perfect, so would need a high build primer and more likely some filler.

I don't know where you heard that there would be a problem with putting vinyl on plywood. Especially since it is done all the time, and works well since vinyl is flexible.

And as for any problem with using laminate. This cabinet will not be laminated. But if it were, results would depend largely on what kind of laminate is used. (Stay away from Formica).

There are a multitude of plywood cabinets that were laminated at the factory with results that have lasted over 30 years. I have two cocktails that would prove that. So I have no idea where you heard there would be a problem.

And either way, priming the surface correctly is very important.

P.S.: And my Asteroids doesn't seem to have vinyl side-art. It looks to be screen printed. But I assume you are implying that there were factory runs where they used vinyl. (And I thought all Asteroids cabinets were made of plywood).

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
I don't know where you heard that there would be a problem with putting vinyl on plywood. Especially since it is done all the time, and works well since vinyl is flexible.

And as for any problem with using laminate. This cabinet will not be laminated. But if it were, results would depend largely on what kind of laminate is used. (Stay away from Formica).

There are a multitude of plywood cabinets that were laminated at the factory with results that have lasted over 30 years. I have two cocktails that would prove that. So I have no idea where you heard there would be a problem.

And either way, priming the surface correctly is very important.

P.S.: And my Asteroids doesn't seem to have vinyl side-art. It looks to be screen printed. But I assume you are implying that there were factory runs where they used vinyl. (And I thought all Asteroids cabinets were made of plywood).

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

I didn't say vinyl on plywood can't be done, but particle board is the superior substrate, due to pb being more dimensionally stable. It really is. That said, I've applied vinyl to birch ply and it looked great, but I sure as hell wouldn't put my expensive Black Widow art on a plywood panel, due to the research and experience I've had regarding plywood not being the recommended substrate for Formica and vinyl.

Here is a thread with some more info on that:

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=254727

"There are a multitude of plywood cabinets that were laminated at the factory with results that have lasted over 30 years. I have two cocktails that would prove that."

I don't think I said they weren't. I have cabinets with factory applied Formica type laminate on plywood, incl Joust cocktail, various Atari uprights for starters...

"P.S.: And my Asteroids doesn't seem to have vinyl side-art. It looks to be screen printed. But I assume you are implying that there were factory runs where they used vinyl. (And I thought all Asteroids cabinets were made of plywood)."

All of the Atari vinyl side art WAS screen printed, usually on vinyl. The sheet goods were typically 3/4" particle board with a heat/pressure applied vinyl laminate. I'd suspect the panels were screened, then the panels were cut to shape, making the registration marks go bye byes. I've never seen a plywood Asteroids cabinet.....

Here's a link to my latest woodworking project. I built a (small) kitchen full of cabinets. Full dovetail drawers, scratch built 5 piece doors, and I got this stuff installed to layout on the walls within 1/32" tolerances. I'm no pro woodworker, but I study the stuff, know enough to be dangerous, and am anxious to learn more about materials, laminates, and construction techniques. My main goal now is to reproduce things to copy Atari's cabinet process with an identical end result.

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=240306
 
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I have a fairly early asteroids (owl eye doors), and it's particle board with printed vinyl sides. According to, Ritiki I think?, the sides in factories were vinyled, cut, then printed, in order to make the process fast, which makes sense.
 
When I first caught this disease I was totally dedicated to the proposition of keeping EVERYTHING as original as possible. It was the revelation behind the religion. I started reading the threads here and was perfectly ready to start buying wood hardener and bondo by the rail load. Then I woke up (rather quite recently) one day with the knowledge that has come with owning and having owned some 35 or so of these damned things, and I've finally accepted that I will preserve the ones that still maintain a rather pristine condition (with minimal stabilizer, hardener, and bondo), and that I will not shy away from replacing entire kickplates, sides, and/or cabinets from scratch. I've accepted that what it's really about, after all, is reliving the experience of playing these great games as they were built to be played, and NOT in maintaining this [pretty much secret-- in that few, if any, others in my world would care] knowledge that this machine and that machine are all original and with matching serial numbers. (Damn. Am I rambling?)

Now what I'm working on accepting is that fine white cabinet-grade ply is NOT to be the medium of choice; that I am to use (Yuck!) particle board. But I'm almost there, too.
 
It's really a matter of personal preference.

If it's one of my keepers and I am going through the effort (new sideart, etc.) because the cab is damaged, I'd rather start with a fresh cab that does not stink. :001_stongue: I'd rather put my time and effort into other things than "severe" cab restoration.

Bill
 
You did say, "If you're putting full cabinet vinyl/sideart back on it, like you would with say Asteroids, I strongly recommend you don't use plywood for the sides or panels where vinyl or Formica type laminate will be applied."

I'm saying that plywood is a good option if done correctly, and with the correct materials.

As for my Asteroids cabinet, I can see the wood grain through the black paint, so I can only assume that it is some sort of laminate that was applied before the cabinet was painted. (Unless the laminate itself is black).

An Atari cabinet is a lot of work if you're restoring one.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
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