A friend of mine is interested in building a control panel, Only problem is the guy is a cheapskate. It doesn't matter how many times I tell him to go get an Ipac or some other controller he just comes back with but why can't you just hack a keyboard for me. (Already went with zippy joystick and cheap buttons) Looking to do 2 player setup each with 6 Buttons & Coin/Start & Pause/Exit Keys
I have tried most arguments to get him to sway towards the Ipac.

Well he won't give in. So can you advise the cheapest and easiest game pads I can modify for use. (Must be common ground with nice big solder pads). They must also be available in UK, (I have a week off coming up and want to get all the parts sorted to build it in advance).
Also on another side note, what would be the best way to put a sheet of 1/2" MDF onto the face of another sheet of 1/2" MDF "It must be easily removable and without any visible fixings. Basically I have routed out a section of an mdf sheet for some LED panels. I then took another piece of mdf the same size and routed out a piece which has the plexi glass inserted into it. I need to be able to attach these 2 pieces together so that the front piece is easily removable To replace LED's when they die. I was thinking about the little inserts that they use on speaker cover panels but cannot find any. Would dowels work well do you think? If so how many? The MDF Sheet is approx 850mm x 300mm