With the cab 85% completed, I decided it's time to offer it up to you guys.
This little number is 4ft high, 2ft deep, and 16" wide, and was built entirely out of 4 2x4 sheets of 1/2" MDF, a 6 foot 2x4, and a scrap of 3/4" MDF for the monitor shelf. The 15" monitor that is going in it I got off of Craig's List for free, and the computer I found sitting out on the curb up the street(!). The hard drive had gone south, but I have several 20gb or so lying around for just such an occasion.
The whole project was started as a gift for my 8 year old nephew and 6 year old niece because they can't seem to get enough of my MAME cab when they come over. But my time is quite limited, so the object was to put this thing together as fast as I could. The rather uninspired shape was freehanded in pencil on one of the sheets of MDF, then both side panels were cut at the same time.
The initial control panel had controls for only one player, but they discovered that they could both play Galaga at the same time on my cabinet...

So the panel had to be redesigned, which is why there is that large and ungainly control panel box. The panel itself was painted with Rustoleum Black Hammered Finish, because I like it. But the rest of the cab, in an inspired suggestion by my wife (who is also responsible for the sparkly trim that will handily cover up my crappy edges), is painted in 2 coats of chalkboard paint. For a kids' cabinet, I find this to be a genius solution!
Anyway, I got the cheapy joysticks and buttons in a package combo on eBay for around $20, and went with a KeyWiz after my keyboard hack failed miserably. The only thing worse than my woodworking is my soldering

The giant ABORT button came from Skycraft, which I'm lucky enough to have access to right down the street. For those of you that don't live in Orlando, FL, it's almost worth it to move here just to be able to go to Skycraft!
The speakers came from Office Depot's recent $5 off $5 coupon that was listed on Slickdeals, and happened to be on sale for $5.99 that day, so paid a buck for them. I pulled them out of their cases and drilled out 3" holes for them. Some speaker cloth (also from Skycraft) cost another $1.
I'm running AtomicFE because it has a nice layout that emphasises screenshots over game names, and with Havok's help I have been able to make it pretty much impossible for them to get out of the FE.
These pics show the cab without remaining trim, the monitor, the back piece, the 1/2" thick black foam board that will serve as the bezel (you guessed it, Skycraft for $2), and the plexi that will cover it up
Total cost of this cabinet, including paint, has turned out to be less than $100. It certainly won't win any beauty contests, but it is a fully functioning 2 player MAME cab made for just about as cheaply as I possibly could. I give it about 2 weeks until they figure out a way to break it



