Here's the layout of the center column, with things temporarily installed. Pretty happy with the fake coin door and the way the coin buttons blend into it.
Inletting, where no one can see, doesn't need to be pretty. Just needs to be right. This is the rather complex shape necessary to make everything fit.
Here's the speaker grill for the subwoofer.
The shelf that forms the roof of the storage compartments and holds the CPU, could use some ventilation and wire passthroughs.
The subwoofer fits behind the column like this, and 4x 120mm fans mount on top of the CPU shelf.
The shape of the subwoofer makes the front grill double as an air intake, along with the gaps around the cabinet doors. Should be sufficient to admit air for the 4x cpu fans above.
The underside of the CPU shelf, with wire passthrough between fans. Fans are out of the way above the ceiling of the storage bay.
The CPU fits nicely between the fans. This is my breadboard lashup to test the noise level and airflow of the 4x 120mm fans - seems quite satisfactory.
Drawing near to the real assembly of the control panel, it's time to prime and paint it to give the vinyl overlay the best chance of adhesion.
The trackball mounting plate is starting to disappear in there. It's not perfect, but it's good enough.
While waiting for primer to dry, I started fabricating the marquee panel mounting. 2x4, inletted half depth for 3/4" plywood verticals, m6 screws.
Deeply buried in the furring strip to protect it, here's the 120vac power input box. Houses a NEMA socket for a PC type power cord, a fuse, and a power switch.
Continue...