Next I needed to measure for each player’s controls. Remember, this control panel overhangs just a little. Before I could begin to draw where the controls would go, I needed to measure and mark the boundaries for where the “usable” surface was. Presto.Īs you can see I finally decided on 2 angled rows of buttons. Then I did a test cut in the rear to be sure it was still ok, when it was I just went all the way around. I needed to route for this now while the protective paper was in place! Using a scrap piece of 3/4″ wood I tested the cutting depth. Next step was to route for the T-Molding that would go around the perimeter of the control panel when it was done. I couldn’t have imagined trying to do this any other way. Basically, this bit used the wood of the control panel as a guide and trimed the plexiglass to the exact shape. I used my router and a laminate-cutting bit. All that I needed to do was round the edges and cut the front edge. This was nice since essentially I already had 3 straight edges.

My control panel is 48″x19″, so I bought a 48″x24″ piece of plexiglass. It keeps it pretty sturdy!!īe sure to LEAVE the protective paper on the plexiglass as long as possible while you are working with it. Now when the lid closes, the weatherstripping softens the close and the catches make it “click” closed. I installed one on each side of the control panel. I purchased a two dual-magnetic cabinet catches.Now the lid closes and has a “soft” feel to it, and no longer makes a banging noise when playing on the surface. (Kinda hard to see here because the black blends into the black background.) It’s great! It has an adhesive backing and I installed it around the perimeter of the control panel edges. I purchased a roll of 3/4″ wide 1/2″ thick weatherstripping.As a result, when the lid closed it didn’t sit evenly and when I simulated playing a game, the lid would move around and cause wood-banging noises…NOT GOOD! I came up with 2 unorthodox solutions: When I first installed the lid, the piano hinge caused the front edge to be lifted up about 1/4″ from where it should be. I hope 3″ is enough depth for the box, otherwise I’ll be re-doing some of this. We’ll see how that works out when I start installing the actual controls. This would allow for easier swapping in the future. I wanted all of the wiring to be self-contained with just a few jacks coming out of the back. Here’s a picture of the inside of the control panel.

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