Help on Japanese joystick / buttons on control panel

[arcade_noob]

Hello, this will be my first time building arcade bartop cabinet and wanted to build a dummy control panel before I build the whole cabinet as a test. I have Sanwa JLF-TP-8YT-SK joysticks and will be using Seimitsu PS-14-GN (30 mm screw ons) for buttons. This will be 2 player setup with 6 buttons per player (excluding the start/option buttons). Can someone help me find answers / tips to below:

• I will be using 3/4 inch MDF for the control panel. is there anything I need to be aware of when installing these buttons and joysticks? I have heard that 3/4 inch may be too thick for the joystick and I would need to do a inner cut of the thickness but I am not sure. Any tips or guides pls?
• Since I have a 22 inch monitor, the width of the control panel will be at least 20 inches. Any recommendation on the dimension of my control panel for optimal setup?
• Given the dimensions of the control panel, how far above do I need to place my joystick and buttons from the bottom to have enough space for palm to comfortably rest?
• what inch drill bits do I need to use for joystick and button holes?
• what drill bits do I need to use for joystick and buttons?

Any tips would be helpful. Thank you!

[emphatic]

Here's a great resource: https://slagcoin.com/joystick/mounting_layering.html