Arcade Cabinet: Screen Panel

The screen area is made primarily of 1/2″ MDF, with several trim pieces to keep a glass panel in place.

I started by taping several pieces of paper to cover the entire screen-area on my monitor.  This gave me a template to cut the hole for the monitor in the MDF (below isn’t my actual monitor, but it shows the general idea of what I did).  After cutting the hole, I used my router to put a nice, rounded bevel on the cutout.

Multiple sheets of paper have been taped together to completely fill the screen area of a computer monitor
Cutting Stencil for Screen Cutout

For the top edge, I attached a strip of 1/2″ MDF. I previously routed 1/4″ off the area where the glass would rest.

Close-up of the top edge of the screen bezel section.
Top Edge of Screen Panel

For the bottom, I have a similar 1/2″ MDF strip routed to 1/4″ for the glass to rest in.  I also added an additional trim piece which matches the bottom trim piece on the admin panel. This trim piece also serves to create a slot for the monitor glass to rest in.  On both sides, I glued a 1/4″ thick strip of MDF, so the glass can rest securely on all 4 edges.

Close-up of bottom edge of screen bezel section.  Three layers of MDF are glued together, forming a rounded bezel, and a channel for the protective screen glass to rest inside.
Bottom Edge of Screen Panel

On the back, I attached two pieces of scrap wood that help to position the monitor.  I drilled holes in these strips, and inserted some EZ-Loks which will hold plastic hangar straps to keep the monitor in place.

View of back of the screen mounting area.  Furring strips are attached directly above & below where the monitor will rest.  A section is cut out to leave room for the buttons on the bottom.
Screen Panel: Back Retainers

To keep the monitor glass secured, I used a cheap wooden ruler.  I sanded all of the markings and indentations off with my power sander.  Then I drilled & countersunk 3 holes to secure it to the cabinet.  To compensate for the angle of the speaker panel above the screen, I filed the back-top edge off from the strip so it could rest snugly against the speaker panel above it.  When everything fit the way I wanted, I painted it black to match the rest of the cabinet.

A Home Depot wooden yard stick.

Home Depot yardstick after sanding off the logos and drilling three mounting holes.

On the screen cutout, I drilled holes matching those of the wooden retainer strip I just created.  EZ-Loks and machine screws hold it in place.

Screen panel section of arcade machine, with glass installed
Screen Panel Completed

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