Mame Control Panel working

MAME control panelThe control panel is done and it works. It took all weekend and I'm still a little sore. I still need to glue a litte bit of trim around the edges.
The advanceMENU is just brilliant. It works like a charm and has lots of configuration options.
AdvanceMENU
The control panel is designed to fit on top of the keyboard so that you don't need to move the keyboard and mouse to play. I'm fairly happy with the button placements but I feel that the buttons could be a little closer together (they are 5cm apart). I made a mistake putting the top buttons too close to the edge, so when I put the cabinet together I had no room to angle it the way I would have wanted. I think I need a finer saw blade for cutting the wood as well, the edges are chipped a little in some places.
wiringThe wiring took a long time, but I was at least able to do it in front of the TV. For each connection you need to strip both ends and crimp the connector. A trick I figured out only later was to shove a small screwdriver blade in the connector to make the connector a little easier to connect up. If the connector then became too loose, use a pair of pliers to tighten it back up.
For the holes I printed out two layouts on A4 paper, one for the left hand side and one for the right hand side. I then used a nail and hammered a mark in the center of each hole. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a 1 1/8" spade drill bit in the city (1" is as big as they go) I ended up having to buy a much more expensive cup drill bit. At first I had a lot of trouble drilling, but after I got the hang of it things went a lot easier. The trick is to drill a bit until you slow down then pull out the bit and clean it off and blow out the hole. Drill a bit more until you break through the other side a bit. Drill a bit from the other side, then finish on the top again. I also sprayed the cup with some WD40 oil to help things along.
drilling

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