Gameboy Color Coffee table underway! (updated first post)

[jay_red]

A while back I discovered the awesome NES controller coffee table, and immediately wanted to do something like that, but was not sure what. One night, my Wife and I were talking about it, and she had the greatest idea, make a fully functional Gameboy Color table! The wheels in my head started turning, figuring out what would be needed to complete it, and I started getting things in order. After some searching online, I could only find one person that did the same thing, but they offered no details or anything.

The electronics part was no issue, I immediately thought of using a gamecube with gameboy player attachment, seeing as I have no less than 3 cubes laying around. I got a player with disc from a member here for a very good deal. I had a strange 19" LCD tv that I was going to use, it was thin enough that it would be no issue. The controls are something that I am still getting situated, the buttons should be no problem, but the D-pad will pose the hardest part.

My main sticking point was the actual building of the table, electronics are no problem, wood working is another story. This caused me to basically put it on hold till I could figure out what to do. I also had some other projects I was working on so it was not a huge deal.

One night, walking through Wal-Mart, I see something that catches my eye, a coffee table that has a top that lifts up, and has storage! I stewed on the idea of using this table as the base for a couple of weeks, it was $80 and basically would get me to a place that I could do the rest of the work comfortably. Tonight I took the plunge and got the table, it is a little smaller than my original plans, but i should be able to scale it all down. Sadly, the TV i was planning on using will not work, as it is too wide, and I will have to mess with the gamecube, as with the player attached, it is about 1/2 inch too tall to close the top.

Here is the table I got:


Here is the original print out I made (I will make this to scale, then get a piece of lexan cut and place over the top)


I will be on the look out for a 17inch LCD monitor, and will use a composite to VGA converter for the video duty. And I know what a lot of you may be thinking, yes, this will be impractical to play, but thats not the point!

EDIT: Some semi finished pics of the table top:

[Aramonde]

Did you get the idea from this?

[dsheinem]

very cool! keep us updated with lots of pictures!

[samsonlonghair]

Sorry to rain on your parade, but I've had bad experiences with Wal*Mart mainstays furniture in the past. It's all made out of particle board. It swells, stains, snaps, and breaks in less than a year.

I'd like to suggest you find a different table before you start sinking a lot of work into this custom project.

[jay_red]

Sorry to rain on your parade, but I've had bad experiences with Wal*Mart mainstays furniture in the past. It's all made out of particle board. It swells, stains, snaps, and breaks in less than a year.

I'd like to suggest you find a different table before you start sinking a lot of work into this custom project.

I was worried about the quality of the table myself, but it is surprisingly solid, and I had read some reviews and everyone mentioned how sturdy it was, and no issues. It is pretty damn heavy, like over 50 lbs. I know that it is just particle board with laminate over it, but the top will be covered in the print and the Lexan sheet. As long as the legs dont fall off, i am not too worried about it.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Sorry to rain on your parade, but I've had bad experiences with Wal*Mart mainstays furniture in the past. It's all made out of particle board. It swells, stains, snaps, and breaks in less than a year.

I'd like to suggest you find a different table before you start sinking a lot of work into this custom project.

I concur. I have a Wal-Fart bookshelf in my game room (it was the cheapest I could find) and the bastard is already sagging and leaning and falling apart in general. Time to upgrade.

[SpoonyBard]

As long as you aren't mounting a CRT to it, i'd imagine the table will be fine for what you're doing. It's far from the best stuff, but the Wal-Mart furniture isn't just going to turn to dust looking at it. As long as you're not rough on it, i'd think you'll be fine.

Glad to see it starting to come together! It's big, completely impractical and should be a whole lot of fun along with being a neat conversation piece!

[jay_red]

Glad to see it starting to come together! It's big, completely impractical and should be a whole lot of fun along with being a neat conversation piece!

Just the way I like my projects!

In other news, I was successful in finding a proper monitor for $15, so I can resize the "gameboy" and print it again Figuring out the controls is still the main sticking point, but im sure I can think of something.

[BurningDoom]

Sorry to rain on your parade, but I've had bad experiences with Wal*Mart mainstays furniture in the past. It's all made out of particle board. It swells, stains, snaps, and breaks in less than a year.

I'd like to suggest you find a different table before you start sinking a lot of work into this custom project.

I concur. I have a Wal-Fart bookshelf in my game room (it was the cheapest I could find) and the bastard is already sagging and leaning and falling apart in general. Time to upgrade.

Me too. I've got a nightstand. And the bottom of the drawer starts to fall out about a year in. I can't put anything that weighs more than a half a pound in it, now. I just use it in my man-cave for extra comic plastics & boards and empty CD & DVD boxes, now.

[jay_red]

I have started to brain storm on how to make the d-pad and buttons ( I may not go with the 100mm push buttons after all). I started looking at all the spare parts I have kicking around, and the large spring off of an IL joystick caught my eye. I then grabbed some micro switches and made a d-pad out of card board. After a little bit of testing, I think I will be able to make a self enclosed d-pad, I still need to work on some other aspects, but the wheels are turning. As for the buttons, I applied a similar idea, but started looking for plastic cups in the cabinet. I found one that would be the perfect diameter, and would just need to be trimmed down to size, then add a spring and micro switch (removed from a sanwa style button) and it should be good to go!