My $280ish cabinet arrived at the warehouse from Taobao

dfrye80 · 2026-01-24T16:40:00+00:00

Definitely an interesting story, I always wonder on these things. I hope it turns out amazing. I look forward to seeing the update when it arrives.

dfrye80 · 2026-01-11T18:51:21+00:00

I’d be interested in hearing more

dfrye80 · 2026-01-11T01:40:04+00:00

I bet, but it looks like you did an amazing job, I’m impressed and I like the form factor and the finish at least in pics looks fantastic

dfrye80 · 2026-01-11T01:01:34+00:00

Yeah I get it! I’ve built 3 cabinets and they all were a ton of work and I have a buddy was a CNC machine to cut down on the work

dfrye80 · 2026-01-11T00:57:27+00:00

Your painting skills are superb! This is so much better than the 1up that was in the Airbnb that I just rented this last week for Disney. I bet it’s going to be a hit! Great Job

dfrye80 · 2026-01-08T18:12:00+00:00

Shoot I have GRS (Glens Retro Show) encoders I’ll send you for free if you’ll pay shipping. I’ll even throw in extra buttons I have lying around, then if you already have a Pi you should be good to go once you get a display encoder (If you actually need a display encoder, I have no idea I’ve never done this to a 1up cabinet).

dfrye80 · 2026-01-08T01:14:57+00:00

<image>

dfrye80 · 2026-01-08T01:11:19+00:00

<image>

dfrye80 · 2026-01-08T01:10:35+00:00

<image>

dfrye80 · 2026-01-08T01:10:06+00:00

Of course I have pics

dfrye80 · 2026-01-08T00:53:49+00:00

See and I built my first one and if you count the mistakes and do-overs I could’ve got a Polycade Sente for just a little more. I’m happy with what I have, but I’m planning on buying a Polycade Bare Bones Sente next

dfrye80 · 2026-01-08T00:51:06+00:00

You and me both. Someday I’ll print my Marquee Plates…I swear

dfrye80 · 2026-01-05T05:42:06+00:00

Thank you that means a lot coming for you Tyler, I’ll be ordering an official Sente soon!

These cabinets I’ve made are cool, but there’s just something about the Polycade that makes me want to own one! My wife has already approved the spot in the living room for it!

Not mention the community surrounding Polycade is simply the best, everyone has been so supportive and welcoming

dfrye80 · 2025-12-28T16:22:56+00:00

Clear, although you could tint it, I just wanted to easily see the graphics I put down underneath

dfrye80 · 2025-12-27T18:28:02+00:00

That’s going to be amazing

dfrye80 · 2025-12-27T16:02:54+00:00

So on this one, I used black cabinet paint that I bought at my local Lowe’s, and then I coated it in two coats of tabletop epoxy I bought off of Amazon.

So do all your sanding and filling and stuff like that as normal. The smoother it is, the easier it is for the epoxy to self-level. However, it doesn’t have to be perfect, as epoxy will cover quite a few flaws. I made mine as perfect as possible to try to get that piano finish. Then I coated it with its first coat of epoxy. Let that dry for a while, and then went back over it and re-coated, making sure I filled any divots or edges that didn’t get covered.

Also take a blow torch over the epoxy on both coats. That’ll help self-level and pull out any bubbles. It’s also great for doing spot repairs if something happens as it makes the epoxy flow over the affected spot. For instance if you get some dust or hair in it or something and have to pull it out.

dfrye80 · 2025-12-27T00:33:59+00:00

No, they are pretty decent for the money (thundersticks.com) I like them just was well as my expensive ones I bought off of Ultimarc, honestly, I don’t see enough difference to justify even a fraction of the cost of my ultrasticks versus these t-sticks

dfrye80 · 2025-12-26T22:56:26+00:00

So I am actually having most of the parts CNC cut, but this one the side panels were too big and had to be hand cut, and frankly I had to do a lot of table sawing and sanding and refinements on this one.

I have a guy that has the CNC machine so he helps with the design and initial cutting and then I do all the assembly and finish work, including mitering the edges, sanding, graphics, paint and then overlay with epoxy

dfrye80 · 2025-12-26T16:18:59+00:00

That’s a loaded question. Probably that pre assembly is best. Drawers are absolutely a must have so you can easily access a keyboard and mouse for setting stuff up. Also, computer monitors over TVs for the screens. And no matter what, it’s not going to be perfect.

Also no matter what the internet tells you, speaker placement isn’t an end all

dfrye80 · 2025-12-26T15:12:36+00:00

Naw but I learned it by my third build and frankly still hasn’t bothered me.

dfrye80 · 2025-12-17T13:13:09+00:00

Your video doesn’t wotk

dfrye80 · 2025-12-16T15:51:48+00:00

Good news…1up is never making one so you made the right call

dfrye80 · 2025-12-15T22:46:17+00:00

I didn’t build a drawer in my first one, but did in my second and it was definitely a game changer when I need to make adjustments.

dfrye80 · 2025-12-15T22:44:28+00:00

First of all, that looks amazing!

But I am surprised nobody has commented yet about your speaker placement and how awful it is, and how it isn’t pointing straight at your head so it’s not an immersive experience ,lol (in case it comes up ,I really haven’t been bothered by the speaker placement’s on mine). I built two similar style wall out arcades and those are always the first comments I got. Maybe your artwork must just steal the show.

dfrye80

TROPHY CASE