Termites in cabs?

I've heard of exterminators using a heat chamber to cook out any bugs where chemical treatments weren't a possibility. Bugs are bad, well most are...
 
Unless you have a cabinet that is say one of a kind or prototype...I would burn any cab with termites and salvage the parts from the cab...why even mess with that...plus depending on where your game is you can risk infesting other cabs or even your home...forget that. I'm all about restorations etc..but termites are a whole other deal...
 
I've heard of exterminators using a heat chamber to cook out any bugs where chemical treatments weren't a possibility. Bugs are bad, well most are...

Some use microwaves to kill bugs. You only need to raise the heat to 130 degrees to kill dry termites.
A Nice 100 degree hot summer and black plastic wrap will raise the temp enough to cook a cab.

Now there are those collector who say Just burn the cab and get another one. I am seeing a trend from fellow collectors of having to drive further and further away to pick up the cabs they want. Art work is not cheap. Buying a reproduction cab is not cheap. I can only count on one hand the people who are willing to spend more on a game than they can sell it for (yes, I am talking about father pain ). It is coming to a point where some cabs are just getting harder to find because they get converted into a XXX n 1.or mame bought for parts to be stripped and sold.

While we can all admit having any type of bugs in your cab is something no one wants. We post our ideas, suggestions and what worked for us. I posted a Low tech solution. Another posted his solution using a termite company. This gives the person with this problem an option or something to try other than burning a cab.

If I ever run across a roached out termite invested prototype game. I going to glad I ran across this post a different options.
 
Sounds like powderpost beetles

You could try and treat it yourself with timbor or boara-care (boric acid), unlike treatments like coppergreen it is oderless and colorless.

Honestly, I'd calla termite company, strip the parts out fo the cab and get them to put it in the next house they tent! - I think they will get a good laugh out of it adn do it for little / no cost.
 
If you soak the entire cabinet in Dursban, it will kill the beetles or termites. But.. it will make anyone that comes in contact with it sick, so probably not what I'd do.
 
I've had to deal with a few termite cabs, none of them are with me anymore. I had an old woodgrain cab that was either a Vanguard or Time Pilot but besides the termite damage it was busted up and no cp but it had a nice monitor. Pulled the parts and junked. A Ms. Pac converted to a Capcom Bowling that the cab looked nice but termite damage. Since it would need a full restore but would still have the termite damage it got tossed. Both common games so I didn't feel bad at all and didn't want to take any risks.

As for rarer cabs it gets a little tougher. I got a working Joust cocktail but it was literally dripping wood. The slightest tap or movement and there would be a pile of termite pellets on the ground. I ended up pulling it all apart and traced out every wood piece with a router where I could and reproed the edges and curves that were too far gone. So the original cab is gone but a new one now houses all the parts and it is an exact replica so I feel good about that one too.

The other was a Shark Attack cocktail that was all original. You don't see them but not only had the termites had their way but apparently so did some rodents. It was so bad just poking it with your finger would make a hole in the cab. With the combination of urine and termites the only thing holding it together were the metal parts. All I could do was take lots of measurements and lots of pictures to make another cab one day. Glad I did because as soon as I started to strip it it fell into pieces.

As for the first two I could have treated them and rebuilt but the thought that somehow maybe one or two termites are still alive in there somewhere would always haunt me. The second two were hard because they were rarer games but they were gone long ago and nothing I could do would have saved them except a total rebuild. So if you do ever find a proto you might have no choice but to put it down.
 
My Tempest empty cab was in a house fire that melted the t-molding. I guess I won't have to worry about termites in it.
 
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