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. It’s recommended that you use a drill if you have one and can use it safely.Here’s a picture of the inside of the control panel.

1 inch drill bit + cordless drill (optional): while you can drill the button holes with a manual tool, the 1” drill bit is the best at making a clean hole for the buttons.

Glue gun (optional) if you make a mistake, a glue gun can easily save the day.

Crayon or sharpie to mark where to drill.

Wire stripper, cutter to cut and strip some of the jumper wires.

You’ll need something to cut into the cardboard (our favorite is the “Canary Yellow Knife”).

Cardboard cutting tools: scissors, rotary cutters, or a carboard knife.

Clear tape (optional) to make name labels for the jumper wires.

Raspberry Pi Zero Kit with a Raspberry Pi Zero (Wifi/BLE not required), HDMI cable, power supply, memory card (not all kits have one).

Zip ties to secure the joysticks you can also use machine screws if you have some at hand.

Electrical tape to secure the jumper wires to the arcade button connectors.

Buy a few more if you can in case you make a mistake.

31 Male-to-Female jumper wires to connect the buttons to the Raspberry Pi (see later in this list).

Search for “Arcade Game Kit” to find a kit near you as a source for parts (avoid using any LED buttons or analog joysticks).

2 joysticks and 6 buttons for a 2 players OR 1 joystick and 4 buttons for 1 player, plus 1 button as an extra, optional RESET button.

If you are buying a PC monitor to build the Arcade,

Cardboard box that will become the control panel.

Just like any cooking recipe, you might be missing some of the tools or parts shown here.ĭon’t let this stop you! This a general guide on how to build an arcade panel, you can complete the project in

Arcade cabinet control panel