Cool Arcade Machine!

This is my first instructable and I tried to take as many pictures as possable.
I will show you how I made a awesome gaming machine that you can play
racing games with a steering wheel, guitar hero games, and emulator roms.
I named mine "The Machine" and it works awesome and is a lot of fun to play on.
I will write more in detail in a week or so.
This will give you a good idea of what to do but some of the wiring and software
that I did I will have to add later.

The camera I used to take pictures makes the lights look super bright for some reason.
They are not that bright. lol

This can be a cheap project if you have most of the stuff already. 
Price can vary from ($100 to $800)
You will need:
drill
glue gun
sander
sand paper
screws
wood
plexiglass
spray paint
frost spray paint
fiberglass 
led lights
rope lights
computer
monitor
joysticks
game pads( wired Xbox 360 controllers works well)
Xbox 360 drums and guitar
steering wheel and pedals
lots of games (emulators and others)
speaker wire
Step Up & Down Transformer ( for led lights)

time and patience

I used scrap wood that was in my shed so it was free.
You can go on craigslist and find free wood.
I used 2x6's and 1/4" plywood.
I can't give exact measurements because it depends
on the size of the screen and computer tower.
I measured a standard door way and made sure I built
it so it would fit threw.
My machine is about 3 feet wide.
You also want to give enough room for two players to be 
comfortable so your not bumping elbows.
My setup is for a standard sized computer tower and a 
23 inch lcd flat screen. 
Make sure you make the height comfortable to use the joysticks as well.
Mine was about 4 feet from floor to joystick level.

In this step I made the top strong by using 2x6's
on top and made a cut out for where the monitor will go.
I used a hole saw on so I had enough room to put
the wires threw. I also made it hollow under the monitor
so that the computer tower would fit up right.
I didn't have a hole saw big enough for the speakers so
I made little drill holes in a circle and chiseled it out with
a hammer and chisel. I placed the speakers there to see 
how they fit.

I measured my monitor and cut out enough space for it and the lights on the side.
I painted the inside black and left the top of where the monitor goes open so I could
put lights behind the sign that I put on it.
The small wood piece under the monitor is there to hide the cut out I had to make
for the monitor stand because I didn't want to cut the stand.  
I also put a piece of plywood on top of the 2x6's where the joysticks are.
I only put 4 screws in the back to hold the plywood on so I can take it off easily.
There is also a cut out on the top back to put the rope lights so if I wanted to shut off the leds
It would glow red behind the sign.

I drilled out holes for the lights on the side of the monitor and around where the joysticks would go.
Then I set the monitor in and put the back plywood panel back on.
I used a transformer with a switch to power the led's. 
The picture shows how to setup the led's.
Each Led takes about 3 volts. The transformer I used
was 240 volts. So 240 Divided 3 is 80 Led lights.
Hook up The Tip 31 the way the picture shows.
The picture is just a example so it would actually
have 80 led's and the power supply is 240 volts.
Connect the 3.5mm jack to one of the holes on the splitter.
The other hole is for your computer speakers and the jack goes
into the back of your computer.
Next I used plexiglass and and frosted it.
I used a grinder and cut the glass.
It doesn't matter if you cut perfect because it will be covered with corner molding.
Make sure you paint before you put the plexiglass on or put a design if you want to.

I used the corner molding and painted it black over the red and painted them red over the black.
Use a sander to smooth out the edges before you paint so don't you hurt yourself on a sharp corner.
I used a hot glue gun and glued the joysticks down and drilled holes under the speakers to hide the wires
a little better. 
Don't drill threw the plexiglass because the wood under it will spray everywhere and get trapped under the glass.
It will show threw the frost and look crappy. lol
If you don't want any wires to show from the joysticks then measure and drill the wood first and then the plexiglass.
Make sure you clean of the surface and then put the plexiglax on the plywood.

I named my arcade "THE MACHINE".
I used boat letters for the words.
I added lights behind the sign to make it glow.
Then I added the sticker I made.
I just went online and looked for images and glued them on.
I mounted a webcam/mic and I used a wireless keyboard 
and mounted the receiver as well.
I rewired my computer power to a switch above the left speaker.
and another switch to the right of the left speaker.
the one to the right turns all the power on.
(lights, monitor, stereo)
The one on top is for the computer.
I used a power strip and took the switch out and rewired.

I made a cabinet to hide the computer and wires.
I also made it so you can mount the the steering wheel.
I added plywood on the inside of the door and bolted it
using the corner molding on the inside. 
One bolt on top of the plywood inside and one on the plywood
outside next to the handle.
I made a cut on the inside piece of plywood and made it angle down
so you can open and close the doors without them hitting each other.

I left the bottom compartment open for storage for the wheel and pedal and what ever else you would want to put in there.
I used the corner molding around the edges and inside to give it a nice look.
I also added fake gauges to the front so you can see them when you play racing games :)

Inside I used a home stereo to power the speakers and give it a good sound.
I upgraded the computer to 4gb of ram, added a Nvidia GTX 260, windows 7 64-bit
and a 600watt power supply. I hooked up a xbox 360 controller, ps3 controller,
guitar, drums and the 2 joysticks. 
Then I added rope lights.

For the joystick games I used emulators and roms.
I put Nintendo, Atari, Super Nintendo, Genesis, Nintendo 64, Game Gear, and Game Boy.
For the Guitar and drums I used Dolphin (wii emulator).
Then I added lots of PC racing games (Sonic and sega all-stars is really fun! for split screen.)
Lots of NFS games as well!
Then I added the FPS games for the Xbox 360 and PS3 controllers.

You can find all of the emulators and roms online!
Have fun and play some games!
The End :)