Applying T-Molding to my Nintendo Cabinet

[Ronald Reagan]

today I wanted to apply the original white t-molding to my Donkey Kong Jr. Cabinet.

I removed the black t-molding on my cabinet first and cutted the white t-molding to the exact length of the black t-molding. Then I softly hammered the white t-molding on to the cabinet.
Here is the result, which I am a bit confused about:



sideview



frontal view  



It looks great, with the white and orange colors, but I don't think you should see so much wood of the side of the cabinet. Are the wooden plates on my cab just to wide or should I buy wider T-molding? Is there any wider T-molding. For now, I just put the unoriginal black T-molding back on, because it covers up the wood more neatly.





width comparison.  

[Superully]

ouch, that doesn't look too good! you shouldn't be seeing any wood at all! i've read something about offset nintendo t-molding, but i'm not sure whether that would do the trick.

is that dk jr. one of paul's cabs? because if it is, everyone else is probably going to experience the same problem ...

has anyone else tried the new white t-molding on his machine?

[Ronald Reagan]

yes it is from Paul's  
and the T-molding is from the bulkbuy we did on this forum.
so I am also curious if others have experienced a similar problem and the way they attached it to their cab

[ckong]

That looks way off.  

I have the same real flat T-molding, but I didn't apply it yet. However, I did some measuring:
- the side panels of my DK cab are 15 mm width (15.1 mm to be exact)
- the existing applied T-molding is 15 mm width
- the real flat T-molding that I got from the group buy is 15 mm width.

So I suppose that the panels of your cab and your black T-molding are more than 15 mm wide. Perhaps Nintendo used ticker panels for the DK jr cabs, although that seems odd.

[Ronald Reagan]

indeed, the white t-molding measures 15mm
and the pannels of my cab seem to be thicker. I already noticed that when I picked it up at Paul's place.

[Superully]

if i remember correctly, someone on the klov forum was having the same kind of problem!

EDIT: here we go ...

[Superully]

and the pannels of my cab seem to be thicker.

how thick?

[gyruss]

That sucks!! Mine is the same size though.

[DarthNuno]

I've just check on my Popepe... it looks perfect for me 

Side :


Control Panel :


Maybe humidity changed the 'trench' width on your cabinets?

[Etienne MacGyver]

Your what is the same size    

and compared to what ?

I mean, the same size T-molding is oviouse, it was one batch

is your T-molding the same size as the cabinet, or is your cabinet the same size as mr presidents one ?

[level42]

Since the new (white) T-molding sits correctly on one side but not on the other I'd say you have the off-set T-molding.

[Ronald Reagan]

and the pannels of my cab seem to be thicker.

how thick?

The fitting black t-molding is about 17.5/18mm in width

[level42]

That's weird because the off-set cabs still do normally have the same thicknes of sides AFAIK.

I actually don't really think that black t-molding looks off-set either but it's hard to see on that pic. (Maybe measure center groove to both sides).

Since the US built cabs are particle board, it could have swollen over time, but this is pretty much and if it's consistent all over the sides that would not really be likely.

WEIRD !

Do you have pics of the type plate on the back of that cab ?

[Ronald Reagan]

the black t-molding has the T in the exact middle, so I dont think it is offset if you mean that with that specific term. It is in the exact center.

I dont know if it is swollen, could be. But both Gyruss and I already noticed when we loaded in the cabs (DK and DKjr) from Paul's place, that there was a significant difference between the two cabs sideboards. The DK Jr was much firmer on the sides. Also the material seemed a bit different.

here is the plate:

[level42]

In general, the Japanese cabs were from plywood (much sturdier) and the US built one's from particle board.

From what I've read on the US forums they are still the same thickness but (sometimes) with the off-set T-molding (which indeed means that the groove is NOT in the center).

Normally this is fixed by bondoing the entire groove and then cutting a brand new groove in the center. This is not going to help on this one since it's wider...

Unless you can find a white t-molding of that size, but it will never be flat like the repro stuff you got there now....