New MAME Cabinet - Ideas for bolting together for easy disassemble?

[irish1982e]

I'm getting ready to build my first MAME cabinet.  It's going to go into the basement, but at some point we're going to move and I don't want to have to leave it behind.

I have an idea to build it so that it can be disassembled.  Battens will be screwed and glued onto the main sections.  But then attaching the main pieces (sides, top, bottom) via bolts is my idea.  Then if the time comes to move it, I can disassemble it without ruining it.

I'm planning on a MAME (not dedicated) Galaga-style design, 68Hx28Wx25D.  Will run it on a Raspberry Pi unless I find some reason not to.  3/4" MDF.  Probably a 27" LED monitor (I know the purists will object).  I've thought about trying to recondition one, but winters coming and I'm looking forward to trying to build one myself.

I've read multiple websites, looked at many videos, read many forums, etc.  A couple of build questions I have are:

1.  Anyone built a bolt-together MAME cab like I described?  If so, your input would be invaluable.
2.  I'm looking at making a slightly larger control pad (10" x 23") vs the Galaga size standard.  But I'm not looking to overcrowd the control pad.  I've seen a lot of descriptions of great one-player layouts (thanks slagcoin), but little information on how much separation between player 1 and player 2 controls.  Any help here, appreciated.
3.  Again on control panel:  I want 2 joysticks (total), 6 buttons/player, 1 trackball.  Probably 2-4 extra buttons for P1, P2, etc.  Is my 10" wide panel too big?  Again, suggestions on panel size and 2 player layout will help.
4.  Mounting angle of the monitor I go round and round on.  Almost horizontal seems popular.  But many games are vertical.  Is there a general "feeling" in this community for mounting angle?  I will be playing mostly/exclusively "golden age" games.

Thanks, all.

[EvilNuff]

A couple thoughts, just my 2c:

Have you thought about one of the smaller profile cabs?  Put castors on the bottom and there's no need to disassemble.  Even my full size Donkey Kong moves fine through doorways.  The only need to be able to disassemble is if you want a really huge cab IMO.

I would definitely recommend against Pi.  I found it a hassle to set up and scrapped it before even finishing the project.  For me, the biggest drawback was the requirement to power down before disconnecting the power.  I corrupted SD cards multiple times just setting up the software!  Yes you can restore from an image but it is a PITA.

[MartyKong]

Another option would be to make the control panel removable from the cabinet if needed. On the monitor angle question, I played around with angles between 12 and 15 degrees. When sitting on a stool a more vertical angle seemed fine. When standing 15 degrees or greater seemed better. I split the difference and went about 13.5 degrees.

[Buick455]

Monitor angle is tricky with LCD due to some having crap viewing angles. I would suggest mocking it up in some way that you can adjust it before making it final. The monitor I have mounted has horrid viewing angles (price was right), I wanted it to look good if an adult or a kid was playing. I actually ended up installing the monitor upside-down so the colors didn't look washed out for either height. All that being said, mines at about 15deg , but upside-down