FINALLY decided to start my build - several ?s first though...

[Sternrulez]

I'm most definitely a 'noob' as far as building a cab is concerned, but after months and months of salivating over various tables my gf and I have finally decided to take the plunge. We sealed a deal today to buy an old 6-card bingo table (that is still 95% working actually) for a mere $350 DELIVERED!! That may seem high to some, but it's incredibly hard to find lower-budget tables for sale in this area, and I honestly think if I were to build a cab I'd end up spending close to that anyway. Here's a pic of it so you'll know what I'm talking about:

They'll be bringing it next next week, but I have a few questions before I start gutting the machine.

1) I've viewed countless tables, and every one seems to have the playfield monitor angled towards the rear of the machine. Would it not make more sense to angle it toward the player? I've noticed some nasty reflection from the backglass in a few pics, and wouldn't the rear angle make it more difficult to see the upper portion of the table? I could be completely off-base with this, but that's the impression I'm getting from the pics I've seen.

2) Since this is an older machine, I'm assuming I'll be limited to a 32" monitor for the playfield, but since there don't seem to be any buttons on it, would a reciprocating saw be a good idea to use to cut the holes or should I get one of those "boring attachments" for a drill that would cut the entire hole at once?

3) I would like to incorporate MAME controls into this machine as well, and was thinking about putting them on the side, as putting them on the front would interfere with the operation of the machine when playing pinball. However, I'm not as concerned with aesthetics as I am safety...i.e. will the added weight cause it to become side-heavy and cause the machine to fall over? What I'm basically asking is if anyone else has tried doing this and found the best way to implement them.

4) Finally (for now anyway), the links I've seen for the plunger/nudge assembly from Nanotech are no longer working, so am I to assume they are out of business, and if so are there any other retailers that offer a similar item?

I apologize if these questions seem stupid to all of you, but I wouldn't be asking if I could find the info elsewhere and in the future I'll do my best to keep the stupidity to a minimum..lol! Thanks in advance for your help!

[RenegadeFred]

Does that bingo pin have an actual Metal lock bar? I've seen many of the old bingo pins before but all of them had wooden lock bars with screws and various buttons in them.

1. I don't believe the monitor is angled towards the rear of the cab, most of them are flat, with the wood coming up at an angle. But I could be wrong.. I don't see why anyone would angle it away from the player thou, besides leaving it flat, giving it more depth and realistic look like a real pin.

2. Measure out the inside of that cab, you should be able to get something bigger then a 32" for sure. The bingo pins are close to a normal sized pin. Buy a hole saw attachment for the drill. With a reciprocating saw you'll be doing a lot of unessesary patching. Save yourself the headache's...

3. Never done it, but why not just have one or two removable boxes (plug them in via usb maybe?) you can set on the play field and use the backglass as your mame screen? I would think looking down while playing wouldn't be the best idea? But eh its your cab, you decide on that.

4. I have no clue..

A few other side notes.. be prepared to do some heavy lifting. The amount of wires and mechs those old pins have is just crazy... on top of that they are extremely heavy (Mainly the back box). The table itself I've seen people actually frame them and use them as wall art.

[mameman]

to drill holes like flipper buttons etc, buy fostner bits in the size you need them. much cleaner than anything else.

you don't want a nanotech plunger, most say they are crap. Virtuapin has their own now that by all accounts are great, assuming you can get hold of one, sounds like a bit of a backlog.

never seen a successful dual purpose pin/arcade, unless space is a major concern i would keep them seperate. If you wanted a combined unit, this is probably not the way to go.

If this machine is working, then you should not kill it for a VP. Never sits well with this community. (steps down from soap box)

[Agrajag]

If this machine is working, then you should not kill it for a VP. Never sits well with this community. (steps down from soap box)

What he said. If you don't want to fix that last 5%, sell it on to someone who will get it up and running again. Better to buy or build an empty shell than to destroy a piece of history.

[DJ Wheels]

Seriously, empty or beyond repair cabintes are not that hard to find. It would be a sin to gut any machine in this condition, but especially one this old! You could probably make a few bucks off if you can get it up to 100%. In Pa. there are places like TNT Amusements that frequently have cabinets, I bought one myself for $50. I have an extra cabinet (NFL Football) in my garage that I got for free if you want it, needs a little TLC, but that's half the fun. You could try craigslist and ebay also.

[russdx]

virtuapin are selling some sort of arduino based plunger now to replace the nanotech one.

[flipper]

Don't gut a machine of that era.

Take "DJ Wheels" very kind offer of a free cab. If you have to travel, turn it into a adventure. Maybe you can give your machine in return if he would like it, after all your planning to destroy it and you will get your base cab.

Swap it man and feel so much better for it.

While i know it has taken you ages - it would break many hearts - think about swapping it, or keeping it to do up - you now can go and get a freebie.

Just do it

P.S - i sound like Nike

[MTPPC]

That bingo machine is worthless. I know a guy who has a dozen of them a couple hours from me and can't give them away. I think it would be fine to swap it with DJ Wheels, but if he doesn't want it, it will end up in the dump anyway. To repurpose one of these cabinets is probably the only way to honor one of these boring machines that otherwise will suck your time and be boring to play.