Portable Tabletop MAME Cabinet (Housing II)
 
Here are the two pieces after cutting, held together with clamps. Since they were both cut using the edge of the MDF board as the bottom (which I highly recommend in order to keep the lower housing, and hence the entire MAME cabinet, perfectly level), I was able to line them up on the bottom while clamped.
 
 
 
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Note in the close-up below that the edges are slightly off. Again, here is where a power sander comes in handy. I gently sanded away edges until they were perfectly aligned and ruler straight.
The other two pieces are 29 inches wide and have three sections as well, but they are symmetrical, and follow a similar design as the first two.
•    The leftmost portion is a trapezoid, 5 inches wide, 2 inches high on the left side and 3 inches high on the right side.
•    The middle is a rectangle 19 inches wide and 3 inches high.
•    The rightmost portion is trapezoid that is a mirror image of the leftmost portion.
 
After those are cut out and sanded, I created notches on each of the panels to cut out so that the four panels could interlock. The notches were ½ inch wide and 1.5 inches high. The longer 2 pieces had the notches on the top, which the shorter 2 pieces had the notches on the bottom.
 
In order to cut these sections out, I used a jigsaw to cut halfway up on both sides.
 
I then used a ½ inch auger (you can also use a ½ drill bit or spade bit) to drill through. Don't be afraid to go a little beyond 1.5 inches with your cuts, so that the pieces interlock without the entire until wobbling from side to side. It’s okay to have a gap. You'll secure the four pieces of the MAME cabinet housing together later with L-braces.
 
 
 
 
After you get done, don't forget to sand or drill away the extra pieces of wood that are left in the curvature. For example, the piece in the picture below has just completed drilling and needs some good sanding.