Pachinko Cabinet Finally Complete

[phunk311]

I bought my first pachinko machine a few weeks ago - Galaxy Railways. It came with some not so nice "feet" attached to the base and it was not very stable.

I had some extra MDF laying around from my MAME cabinet build, so I decided to build a pachinko cabinet. I looked around the cabinet forums and took a few design ideas from here and there.

I built it completely out of 3/4" MDF and it is not as heavy as I thought it would be. I did use some 1/4" masonite for the ramps since I needed them to bend. I put a decorative "dentil" molding on all the unfinished edges since cut MDF looks horrible and I did not want to use t-molding. The only issue is because of the molding, I have to put the machine in from the back because I used 7/8" molding and it sticks out a little.

I painted it with Rustoleum Premium black semi-gloss in a spray can. I think I put about four coats of paint on there, sanding between each coat.

I installed a nice l-pad volume knob from Parts-Express and a power switch that is wired to the transformer and the playfield lamp from Ikea.

It has a large, felt lined hopper up top with a sloped ramp and plexiglass front so you can see how many balls are in there. I have 2500 balls, but I think it could hold much more. The balls are fed down a tube (from my extra pool cleaner).

The lower hopper is felt lined and sloped forward. The spent balls are fed down a tube into the hopper.

Overall, I'm really happy with the way it turned out. No modern pachinko is whole without one! I'm just waiting on my card emulator dongle to arrive from Dave and I'll be in business!

[Ikaria]

Nice! I'll take two, please!!

[outdoorenth]

I love it! The plexiglass for the top hopper feeder is a nice touch. The silver balls look nice against the black cabinet.

Care to share the plans?

[luckydog]

excellent job

[hanabi]

Ohhh very stylish indeed!

Love the combo of the silver balls against the black and the molding sets it off beautifully!!

You must be really really pleased with the result

[KimbaWLion]

WOW!!!That makes my Galaxy Rail ways look really plain! I bought one of those Pre cut to assemble cabinets off ebay. It's made of Birch, has unfinished edges which makes it hard to stain and for me to deal with. I look at in pieces downstairs!

I was wondering how to make an easy on/off switch to attach to the cabinet. I have volume controls from Slots Patchinko that just hang in the machine that I could just transfer through. Some oh the newer machines already have working volume controls and I would have to think of something to bring it forward or I will just end up reaching behind

I need something I can have a few lined up together, with easy to get to volume and on/off switches. I can not do the full gameroom thing BUT I can have long tables with Pachis lined up and your case seems like its will really meet what I need to do in manner which looks awesome and at a price that is possible to make a few without growing broke!

Once again that is some job! I have to have the plans how you did that!!! I will have 3 machines REALLY soon and come August AT LEAST 2 more... I need the plans complete with on/off and volume just in case future pachis need it.. I NEED them now... You have shown me the light...
Once again AWESOME job!

[phunk311]

I don't have any plans drawn up or anything. I like to build as I go. I'll draw something up real quick and scan it.

Here are the parts I used:

3/4" MDF
1/8" Masonite
7/8" Dentil Molding
18" x 24" Acrylic Sheet
1" x 1" Corner Molding
4 Plastic feet with felt bottom
Pool cleaner hose
Lamp
Power switch
L-pad + volume knob
Black felt
Black semi-gloss paint
Liquid Nails
2" drywall screws
Extension cord

L-Pad with volume knob:
Parts-Express.com:L-Pad 15W Stereo 1" Shaft 8 Ohm | tweeters tweeter stereo pad PA network mounting midrange L-Pads l-pad l pad Crossovers ads 8 ohm

Power switch:
Parts-Express.com:SPST Rocker Switch | spst rocker switch rocker panel

Lamp:
IKEA | Integrated lighting | Bookcase integrated lighting | INREDA | Bookcase/ picture lighting

[pinball wizard]

nice cabinet

[phunk311]

Here is a quick sketch of the plans. Hope it makes sense. Any questions just ask.

[StuTalon]

Beautiful job - love the creativity of the people here - always inspiring to see new ideas!!

[Moparformances]

Nice looking Cabinet

[outdoorenth]

Thank you for the parts list and sketch. I hope to take a crack at building a cabinet soon.

[MrGneiss]

The molding looks really cool!!

[The80sMan]

WOW!! that's very nice, good job. How well does your stereo volume knob work? can you totally turn off the sound or at least turn it down to a very quiet level?

[phunk311]

I have the pachinko set to the lowest volume it will go. If I turn the l-pad all the way down it is completely silent. The l-pad provides much more detailed control and I can slowly increase the volume to a comfortable level.

[KimbaWLion]

Its ironic too! When I want to the link somebody said it was worthless for pachis!
You got to work fine!

[phunk311]

Yeah, I saw that comment on parts-express website but I ignored it. I think if you don't set your pachi to the lowest setting it might not work correctly and possibly damage the l-pad.

[mackoftrack]

Sorry to dig up an old thread. I was looking at the pictures of your cabinet and had a question. I see that you have a blue "pool cleaner" hose coming out of the lost ball chute on the back. How did you secure it to the machine? This has been one of my biggest challenges. I've been using epoxy putty to attach a short segment of PVC...

[Moparformances]

Sorry to dig up an old thread. I was looking at the pictures of your cabinet and had a question. I see that you have a blue "pool cleaner" hose coming out of the lost ball chute on the back. How did you secure it to the machine? This has been one of my biggest challenges. I've been using epoxy putty to attach a short segment of PVC...

that hose looks to be a bit ridgid..

something like this sucured.. should hold it in place

Pipe clamp products, buy Pipe clamp products from alibaba.com

[mackoftrack]

I suppose a pipe clamp would work, but I find that the "losing ball hole" doesn't really have a good area with which to mount a clamp. I've seen people mount a funnel or funnel-like container to the frame, but I'm curious what he used to attach the hose directly to the hole. Could the OP provide a picture of the area in question?