My Cabinet: "The Hollywood"

[Tower5]

So I recently got my first pachinko, a Star Wars. Having gone to Japan twice in the last year (the first time for Expo 2005) and a fan of pinball, it seemed a natural fit. The problem was where to put the machine once I got it. I had always thought about putting movie posters in my family room, where we watch DVDs, then...a revalation. Why not use a movie themed pachinko with a marquee style frame? Problem was that all the cabinets I've seen have drawers on the bottom and strange funnel looking areas to dump the balls on top. Not bad for general play, but not high with WAF (wife acceptance factor). Below is my solution:



The first step was the frame, but notice...no holes on the side. It would ruin the illusion (while the three holes seem to provide adequate ventillation for moderate play, it's unplugged the rest of the time). Not having access to the side meant I had to contact Arby for a key. Now access is no problem. The side I am working on here is actually the bottom. I'm drilling the hole for the plug. The second hole is a for a trap door.


Here's the trap door installed. Note that I've placed the box for the balls inside. Instead of opening a drawer I put a bin under the cabinet and unlatch the trap. The balls fall out (very quickly I might add) into the bin (if I'm not careful a few might fall to the floor).


Here's a close-up. No, I don't really lock it (balls aren't that expensive). I just like the latch for it's ease of use. It's no problem to reach under (without looking) and flick it open.


Here it is mounted to the wall. You can see that the internal box (for the balls) is narrow (but long), so it takes no additional space (that's a traditional eight inch wide board). I used the space next to it to hide the stock black power chord (note the white chord which I use to run to the wall [it also tucks back up for a nice clean look]).


This is a shot inside the box. As you can see, I have two small ramps which funnel the balls towards the hole. This is more effective than you might think.


I added furniture pads to keep the machine at an equal height within the cabinet. Note that I've added additional hinges for support.


Here's my wife adding the "wife approved" removable molding (note the velcro). I want to be able to swich out movie-themed machines (maybe Indiana Jones).


Installed (well, I leveled it out later).


A closer shot of the "Now Playing" sign (actually a small box which feeds into the top hole you saw earlier). The sconces are from Lowes (a chain hardware store).


The finished product! So what did we do when we finished? Watch Star Wars, of course.

Hope this gives everyone some ideas. I am by no means a carpenter, just a guy with a table saw. Thanks for reading!

[Chris]

Very nice looking cabinet & thanks for taking the time to share this.....

[Tower5]

My pleasure. I remember looking everywhere for ideas and this combines my interest in home theatre with pachinko.

[hanabi]

Thats a real nice Cabinet!

Thanks for the Pics and Info...

I just Love this site

[Tulsa]

Very creative!

Now you just need a popcorn machine!

[fhagar]

Great looking job. Thanks for the pictures.

[Tony Junior]

Very nice, very clever!

[Sid]

very good work!!!

[Tower5]

I'm definitely thinking about it. Maybe if I can figure out a way to combine pachinko and popcorn (e.g. the popcorn passes through a field of pins [kidding of course]).

[hanabi]

Never Mind Popcorn......

What about the Chocolate !!!!

[Tower5]

Raisnettes might work.

[slotter]

Great cabinet. Very classy!!!

[wally]

Very good looking unit. Its fun to think up things and making them come to life. Again, looks great.

Ps. Love popcorn

Wally

[Tower5]

You hit it on the nail Wally. For a guy like me who's only made a couple things in his life, it's amazing to me that you can imagine something and then, with a bit of effort (and a table saw), see it become real.

[brockly25]

wow thats nice .. i like that alot .. Question that close to the wall is it eazy to play sitting in a chair? if so whats the hight to the floor ??? but that looks nice

ever though selling it on Ebay could make money for another pachinko
cant never have too meny

[tornadoclaw]

Where did you get or how did you make the "now playing" sign?

[Tower5]

It's 36" off the ground which makes it pretty much at eye level. Generally, you just walk up and play it; the idea being that the average citizen isn't sure what it is until you pull down the chord and fire it up (this actually happened just a couple days ago). Otherwise, you can use a stool (as pictured) which gives you enough space to play (chair wouldn't work though). Have a great weekend!

[Tower5]

The sign is homemade. We went to Michael's (a local craft supply store) and bought a stencil sheet. Next we tried paint, but it bled, so we switched to a fine silver ink pen. Worked great (very exact). The box on top is basically that piece of wood and another in back which are both attached to the two sconces. The box (open on top obviously) covers the hole which feeds balls into the machine. You also need two low ramps (like I built for the inside box) to persuade the balls toward the hole ("here little balls"). Anyway, the whole idea is to clean up the elements (necessary for function) that take attention away from the beauty of the machine. Cheers!