My cabinet has an administration panel below the monitor, which offers basic navigation functions for starting / stopping games. It also has a 7″ LCD that displays the controls for the current game.
DIY
Arcade Cabinet: Side Panel Cutouts
Here, I detail how I used a paper template to create the two identical side panels for my arcade cabinet.
Arcade Cabinet: Frame Construction
Some would argue that an arcade cabinet doesn’t need a frame, or that it makes it too heavy. I disagree. The frame will give additional weight on the bottom, to prevent the machine from being too top-heavy. Also, it’ll provide a skeleton that should make it less likely that I’ll build a crooked cabinet.
Making a Sawboard for a Circular Saw
I don’t own a table saw, and I’ll need to make a lot of long, straight cuts in MDF to build my arcade machine. Rather than drop a few hundred bucks on a table saw, I made a sawboard for less than $20.