@KissMyWookie - Thanks! I agree, the wood grain really is beautiful, and I do hate to cover it up. A woody was just not in the plans this time though. It's definitely got me thinking about doing either a woody cab or juke for a future project though.
@Epyx - We finally have some beautiful weather here (following a solid week of rain), so I had big plans to get the woodworking wrapped up this weekend. Unfortunately, my schedule seems to be filling up with other things. :/ I do hope to squeeze in some building time though before the weekend is over.
For mounting the monitor, I haven't completely finalized my plans, but I'm leaning heavily toward mounting the monitor using it's brackets to 2x4 cross supports, as opposed to building a shelf. I will probably use two cross supports in the front (to attach the top and bottom monitor bracket), then one in the back just to spread the load a bit, and help support the monitor while it's being mounted. I will probably run two supports from the bottom brace down to the base of the cab, so the load is transferred there, instead of the sides (and the screws for the 2x4s) having to bear the whole load.
There's just several things I didn't like about the shelf approach. For one, considering the shape of the monitor, it seems like it will be more difficult to determine the exact height and angle the shelf needs to be built in order for it to align properly. Also, a shelf would serve to restrict the air flow inside the cab more, and would restrict access to parts of the monitor. Ultimately, I think it's easier to make use of the nice brackets and cage these arcade monitors have. Obviously if I was using a TV or computer monitor, it would be a totally different story, and I'd pretty much HAVE to build a shelf.
Anyway, like I said, I'm hoping to at LEAST get the monitor mounts built this weekend. As always, I'll post pics...