Control panel holes - Part 5

Next on the list was to drill out all the holes for the control panel, front panel and sides.  I planned to have 7 buttons per player on the control panel plus 2 holes for the joysticks then 4 buttons on the front panel and a USB hole and finally a button each side (for pinball games)

I set up my drill press with a 30mm bit to drill the main buttons which are 28mm in diameter.  That gives each button a little bit of wiggle room.  I had 2 boxed USB joystick controllers already so I used one of those to act as a pattern.  I found the chipboard wore the drill bit our quite quickly and ended up ordering a second 30mm bit for the side buttons which are the same size.

I also routed a recess for the joysticks.  This means the joystick sits recessed and there is more length showing on the control panel itself.  My friend hadn't done this on his build and ended up ordering shaft extensions as it made game control feel wrong with less of the shaft showing.

I also drilled 4 holes in the front panel for player one and 2 coin and start buttons.  These will accommodate 24mm buttons so the holes were cut with a 26mm drill bit.  The wood is a lot softer and was far more forgiving on the drill bit.  Finally I added a hole in the centre of the front panel to allow me to fit a USB port.

I think having access to a drill press was a good thing.  I could have drilled these all with a hand drill but there is much more control with the drill press.  I found the best way to drill each hole was to start one side using a flat hole cutting drill bit.  Once the point popped out of the underside I flipped the wood and drilled through until the cut met in the middle.  That way the holes are neat each side with no tearing around the holes.