Panel clamp and CP box help needed

[Ninten-doh]

Hey guys,
I got some great feedback on my CP layout, and built a mock up using foam board over the weekend (see pics, white buttons will be player 1 and 2 buttons - coin 1&2, Pause and Exit will be on front of CP).  I was quite happy with how things fit on just a 23 3/4" x 10.5" panel.  Now to the next dilemma...panel box construction and the use of panel clamps.   I did a search on the panel clamps, but I couldn't find a good explanation of how they work.  I feel like such an ass because I'm looking at a clamp right now and have no idea how it works!  So much for that pricey Ivy League degree.  Anyway, what I'm trying to figure out is:

1) Do I need to build a complete CP box including bottom?  The full assembly is not in the pic, but one of the joysticks is an optical rotary that is quite long.

2) How thick should the CP sides and bottom be - consider the fact that I want to use clamps, and I'm hoping to make the entire CP swappable with a second CP I want to make (an LS30 joystick specific one)

3) What I don't think I have properly accounted for in the layout is the sides and clamps. How do the clamps work and how much space do I need to account for them?

If there is already a good thread for this info, please feel free to chastise me for not using the "search" function properly and point me in the right direction.   

Thanks!

[PCtech]

1) If I were building "swappable" PC, I would build a bottom on the Control Panel (if possible witht eh rotary stick.  I would do this for cosmetic value, and protection when your not using the panel.

2) I would probably make the sides and bottom the same thickness as the top (but I suppose you could go thinner for space requirements), the clamps shouldn't make a difference here (unless I'm missing something)

3) The clamps I use, work similiar to how a normal tool box closes...think of a retactacble "fishing hook" attached to your cabinet, and a small "loop" attached to your panel...when you want to "attach" the 2, you extend the hook, latch it into the "loop" and pull it down.  Sorry if the description is 

BTW...nice job on the mockup..mine looked like crap....why do you have the joysticks and bottons mounted so high on the CP?

Good luck!

[Ninten-doh]

PC Tech,
Thanks for the info!  I have them mounted high so that I have a place to rest my wrists and more importantly, to give some distance between the trackball and the right joystick.