Folks, I appreciate the feedback here. Truly!
I futzed with controls and layout a bit, way before I had any wood, just to get something going. (Neighbor cut the wood for me and I screwed it together and drilled the holes) Learned what I do and don't like about Competition joysticks, but that's another conversation. Learned a couple of things about wiring, soldering, and programming the I-Pac that I'll do differently when I start the cab.
Then I decided I was *really* interested in woodworking and fortunately for me I was able to drop about 1500 on tools and "stuff". Built a set of adjustable shelves for my storage room to get the hang of cutting a straight line with a circular saw (not NEARLY as easy as I thought it should have been) as well as becoming more fluid with repetitious actions (clamp here, glue there, dado's over there, screw this, nail this, measure that).
I'll buy monitor, speakers, and wood first and design around those.
I could be posting my project announcement as soon as this weekend. Thanks for the input.