Sephicade

Here's a project I've always wanted to make. A little bartop arcade. Retrostyle. The core will be a Raspberry Pi 3 running an emulator, Retropie. 2 players!

It starts out with plywood.

A simple design for the cabinet. Just the basics. 

Sourced the arcade buttons and joystick from Amazon. I went with Sanwa style. Old school Japanese arcade setup.

Hooked it all up for the first time. Programmed the Raspberry Pi was super easy.

For lights, I went with some cheap IKEA LED lights. For sound, I took apart cheap computer speakers. 

Took apart an old computer monitor. Giving it a second life.

Photoshopped some artwork onto the deck.

and... SephiCade is finished

And now, it's loaded with 5000+ craptacular 70s, 80s and 90s games! Consoles ranging from Atari 2600 to Sega Genesis to NES/SNES. Someday, I'll probably finish off some more artwork for the sides of the cabinet. For now, I can just get pissed off never being able to beat any of these games.

Adidas Shoe Box box

This project is of an ADIDAS shoe box made of wood. And oversized and holds 16 pairs of shoes. 

quick sketches. Cut/parts list. A simple build

First 2 walls cut. Man, it’s big.

The main box. Glue up

The drawer. Glue up

Lid all assembled

Mocked up all the elements. It is BIG. And heavy.

Box, lid, and drawers painted.

Installed a set of full extension slides with pull-close. Also 100lbs capacity! Though the drawer is 39lbs. haha

European hinges. Ugh... needs very specific sized holes made. 

Feet

Logos painted in. And pistons installed. The pistons allow for a safe soft open. The lid is heavy and needed this to control the speed and weight while it settles into the fully open position. Also tried to put in a few soft close. The full weight of the lid proves they do very little to slow the close. 

And the finish product:

Clamp rack

My clamps are out of control. I just dump them all on the floor or where ever there is space. My workspace is ridiculous. So, they need to be organized. A couple of scrap plywood pieces were all that’s needed. A quick build

Skyloft: More framework

Andrew, my brother-in-law, has given his hand in helping out with this project. Great handyman. The extra help totally helps!

A totally over-engineered floor! I love it. This thing is going to be earthquake proof!

The floor will be 3/4" plywood. Nice and sturdy.

Rare photo op with me and my daughter.

Bracing the roof with 4x4 crossbeams. I maybe over engineering it here. But, I was thinking I might use it to hang stuff later. Either 

Day #3 starts with sheeting the walls. Using 1/2" plywood.

Skyloft: Breaking Ground

Before we started, I made a trip to city hall to check to see if I needed a permit to build my fort. I figure it's going to be big and they might say something. Now, I don't REALLY have to ask them. I can just build it and hope no one says anything. But, I don't know all my neighbours. And it only takes one person to make that call and bust me out. Figure I'm not willing to risk all my efforts and money to be forced to tear it all down after it's all finished! So, I went the correct path.

After City Hall, I also made a call to BC One Call. They are a service that takes your all you info (what /where/when you're digging) and forwards your information to all relative utility companies. Like Gas, Hydro, telephone, etc. I get an either 'yah' or 'nay' from each respective companies via email. If there was a 'nay' from just one company, my project will have to be redesigned, relocated, or worse.. halted.

Fortunately, It was a green light from everyone! And no permit was needed. As my design was within all maximum dimensions.

The tent was put up the night before as it was raining all week. The slightly moist ground was actually our favour as it made digging easier.

Time to recruit family members to help!

Staking in the lines for the corner post's squareness.

Reason why I needed so many help at this stage is because it's the most critical to the entire build. Without a properly straight and true foundation, everything else above it will fail.

All the studs on the floor of the shed will be pressure treated lumber. It's going to be in close contact with a lot of moisture. (i.e. snow in the wintertime) Making sure this thing lasts! I'm too lazy to replace parts when they break down.

Love the quick set concrete! 30 minutes and we can continue to work again.

End of day 1. Had a pretty productive day. Have all the framework done for the shed.