MAME.
I'm sure everyone has heard of MAME by now, and may have even seen cabinets that people have made. I hadn't seen the cabinets, but figured I should make one, it was only once I'd started that I discovered a whole on-line community of people had the same idea before me.
I bought all the wood, huge CRT screen etc... and made a hinged door on the back of the cabinet that I had made. I realised then of course, that to open it the cabinet would have to stand around 3-4 feet out from any wall I put it against....so instead, I made two little brackets and attached two steel prongs to the bottom of the door. The prongs would slot into the brackets and then hinge up to the top where there were two lock-bolts to hold it in place.
After it was all up and running and painted, I decided that now was the time to put the wheels on, so I struggled with the weight of the thing to get it to my bench...when I saw that the whole of the back door was attached.
Aha - thought I! If I remove the door then it will be lighter and easier for me to move.
I unhooked the top bolts...and what transpired appears in my memory in slow motion.
The door, the same door with big spikey things on, obviously became unhooked and gravity doing it's job admirally, pulled the door, complete with spikey things towards the Earth. By way of my big toe, breaking it in two places!
Stupid (or determined?) bar-steward that I am, wrapped the toe up in bog roll, put on a sandle (shoes were going nowhere near it) and went back out to complete the job. Dropped a bloody screwdriver on it within minutes.

(pic of it getting ready for painting)
sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/39473_457070515151_7227884_n.jpg
sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/39735_456654285151_7251574_n.jpg
sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/40645_456680645151_5611029_n.jpg
sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/40645_456680650151_7497763_n.jpg

The next one I made was a table-top job. If that door fell on my foot, I doubt I'd even notice.


(pic. Revised foot-friendly version)
sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/301631_10150402822485152_830454453_n.jpg
Vid:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BjWlcvNA7U&feature=autoplay&list=UUMuo7GXHDBGbDt-5eShClhw&playnext=1

I have spates of hobbies, when I discovered HDR photography, I made this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oABlGZx7kk&list=UUMuo7GXHDBGbDt-5eShClhw&index=8&feature=plcp

When I discovered the Ardiuno, I made this (please excuse the frame rate):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLWpHlkVW2c&list=UUMuo7GXHDBGbDt-5eShClhw&index=1&feature=plcp

I'm always making things really. Mostly though, all I seem to make are dustbin fillers.
(dchurch bah, Thu 11 Oct 2012, 12:45, 1 reply)

MAME rules!
I'm just updating my roms as we speak and should have a full set of 157.u1 by the end of the day.

I've filed your pics away for the future as the very next thing on my build list is a cabinet!

Keep up the tinkering! :-)
( JamHamster My eyes, my beautiful eyes!, Thu 11 Oct 2012, 13:27, closed)