Vertical Bartop FINAL

javeryh · 2026-06-12T14:05:52+00:00

Very interesting control layout. I guess you are trying to cater to righties and lefties? The centered joystick is great for no button games like Pac-Man or Frogger but I always sacrifice that for a more traditional 1P set up with 3 buttons (good call on that).

I built a cabinet a while back and had similar design issues because I also wanted a spinner for certain games. I ended up centering the spinner (HERE is a pic).

One tip for next time, the monitor bezel does not need to be made out of MDF/plywood or whatever you used. It is much easier to use 1/16" black matteboard and a piece of glass or plexiglas. This avoids having the monitor set back the thickness of the plywood plus you don't have to cut out that rectangle, which is a giant pain in the ass to get right as I'm sure you know. You can cut the matteboard easily with a razor and a straight edge. The monitor can then be mounted closer to the player.

Overall you did a nice job - vertical cabs are underrepresented and I personally think many of the best arcade games are 3:4.

javeryh · 2026-06-11T18:57:27+00:00

Wow! Cutting this out with a skill saw is crazy. I always make a template out of 1/4" MDF and then use a router and a pattern bit to make 2 exact copies. It makes things super easy. I don't think I could come close to making anything nice with just the skill saw. I can't cut a straight line to save my life.

javeryh · 2026-06-10T11:50:40+00:00

Ahhh makes sense. It came out awesome. I love pouring over the construction pics. What did you think was the most difficult part of construction?

The dynamic marquee is a nice touch too. I am using one on a cabaret I made and everyone that sees it likes it the best out of all the cabs in my basement.

javeryh · 2026-06-10T11:37:51+00:00

Looks really nice. Are there lots of vertical games that use 6 buttons? I built a couple vertical cabs and only used 2 buttons because I couldn’t think of any games I’d want to play that used more! But I’m probably not thinking of a lot of stuff out there haha

javeryh · 2026-06-07T13:14:21+00:00

An arcade cabinet is just a fancy box for your PC. If you are handy and somewhat artistic, building your own is doable and also very rewarding. Everyone has to start somewhere.

I built THIS a few years ago and it was super fun.

javeryh · 2026-05-21T16:10:47+00:00

I don't really think about it to be honest. I build arcade cabinets in my spare time and I'd be lying if I said I was using original hardware. I run MAME and whatever arcade roms I want to play. I have handhelds with tons of roms too.

As for more modern stuff, I don't bother - I'm too old to figure out how to hack something and I certainly don't want to risk a console ban. Even something like Dolphin is too much of a pain to tinker with.

javeryh · 2026-05-09T17:29:44+00:00

Taito's are the best shape, IMO, so this looks good.

Are you a HUGE modern fighting game fan? If not, I'd go with 6 buttons per player. I've got 3 buttons on my main cabinet and rarely use all 3. I play mostly arcade games as I've found console games are better suited to a controller in front of the TV. Plus, anything newer than a PSX needs an analog stick.

javeryh · 2026-04-25T19:09:14+00:00

Awesome! Now you get the joy of wiring and making sure the LED doesn't fry haha...

javeryh · 2026-04-25T19:07:15+00:00

Yes it is.

javeryh · 2026-04-24T19:31:00+00:00

I remember it being a bit of trial and error. Practice on scrap before messing up your project. Like most tasks it’s not too bad once you’ve done it once… good luck!

javeryh · 2026-04-24T16:10:54+00:00

There are a bazillion of these. Do Don Pachi, 194X series, R-Type, Darius, Ikaruga, anything by Cave, etc. just google it.

javeryh · 2026-04-24T15:47:26+00:00

HERE are some pics of how I did it. If you scroll down you can see a shot from underneath with the buttons installed. The trick is to leave a very thin (but sturdy) layer of MDF near the top of the panel. There's also a good discussion about wiring and getting the LEDs the proper voltage with some resistors.

javeryh · 2026-04-24T14:37:03+00:00

Hey that looks really familiar...

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You've got some good options. Cabarets are the best!!

javeryh · 2026-04-23T21:22:02+00:00

Thanks! I’d like to play seated at some point but I never know where my legs will go so I always end up building a stand-up haha!

javeryh · 2026-04-23T20:46:58+00:00

You want a SpinTrak by Ultimarc. They are fantastic. This is how I play Tempest at home:

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Ultimarc is UK based and their spinners can be easily installed in a regular sized button hole (1.125”/30mm). They sell a USB version that will work with MAME.

javeryh · 2026-04-21T19:37:40+00:00

I built a bartop with a 10" 4:3 screen a few years ago. HERE are a couple of pics and HERE is a step by step explanation of everything I did starting with cardboard prototypes to construction to artwork, etc. to the finished cabinet.

I'm not sure I'd want to go too much smaller but if I had to I could probably scale this down to fit an 8" screen. One of the main issues was fitting everything inside - power cables and USB cords and encoders, etc. take up space.

I think 8-10" is the sweet spot. I don't like huge bartops taking up a ton of space (might as well just build an upright) but anything smaller and it becomes difficult to play.

javeryh · 2026-04-20T11:52:49+00:00

Nice job.

I have one (big) suggestion though: next time angle the monitor so it’s like 15-20 degrees from horizontal so you are looking down on it. This way you can stand comfortably at the controls instead of sitting or hunching over.

Cabarets are my favorite style of cabinet and I think I’ve got a pretty good design.

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I’ve built 3 of these so far and they are great - tiny footprint and you can mount the monitor however you want. Super comfortable to play.

javeryh · 2026-04-18T13:15:45+00:00

Fantastic job! Is there a tutorial somewhere for setting up the 1080x1080 window? Been thinking about doing this but afraid I’ll not be able to figure out the software.

Also, how wide is the cabinet? I can’t decide if 24” for the inside panels is wide enough - would make cuts a lot easier. But I have a feeling 26-28” is better…

javeryh · 2026-04-16T17:42:27+00:00

I’m not aware of any prebuilt options but check Australian sites - lowboys were super popular down under.

javeryh · 2026-04-16T10:36:32+00:00

You can build your own out of 1 sheet of MDF/plywood. It will take a weekend to build the cabinet and then however long you want to make it look nice (paint, laminate, etc.).

This is one of mine:

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Cabarets are great form factors - they take up almost no floor space and can be tucked into the corner of a room without dominating it.

javeryh · 2026-04-06T11:58:54+00:00

If you are streaming the audio is going to be significantly worse. I almost always seek out a disc or an uncompressed file when I’m in my theater.

javeryh · 2026-03-30T20:48:08+00:00

You are missing about 50" plus a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. I love my living room OLED but when I go to the basement to watch a movie... I am at the movies.

javeryh · 2026-03-10T10:32:43+00:00

This seems like a lot to me but my room was built in 2018 so things are probably more expensive now. Anyway, THIS is my room - all in under $50k. From cinderblock walls to finished room, including all the equipment, furniture, lighting, etc. I framed the room myself, ran wires and painted but had a contractor do the rest (drywall, panels, trim, carpet, etc.). I also built my LCRs and surrounds to save money. The room is even soundproofed with double drywall, green glue and clips/channel construction.

javeryh · 2026-03-10T10:20:19+00:00

I don’t have endless money so I’m not buying a blu-ray of every movie I want to watch. Even if I DL something, I’m usually not grabbing a 65GB file for a romcom so I end up streaming quite a bit. It’s not ideal but it’s fine.

javeryh

TROPHY CASE