Construction Day 1 - Top Panel

Here are some photos from day 1 construction. I'm working on the top panel which is made of 3/4" MDF panel. Constructions started a little earlier than expected. I was planning to use my brother's tools, but Home Depot was having a sale so I picked up my own circular saw and router today. I went with Ryobi since they were within my budget and have received overall good reviews.

My new Ryobi router and circular saw with laser...


It's been a while since I've used these tools so I'm happy to report I still have all of my fingers and both of my arms still attached to the rest of my body.

Anyway, back to the joystick... that's why you're here right? I finally got started on the top panel. It's 8 1/2" by 10 1/2". I started with a template I found online, but didn't like the position of the buttons. I pretty much placed the buttons based on what feels comfortable. The position of the buttons and joystick allows me to rest my hand comfortably on the panel. Here's what I ended up with. You can see the panel at different stages of drilling. Each hole is 1 1/8". There are 9 holes, one for the joystick, and the rest for the action buttons.

I got most of the holes drilled in this photo. I have a really crappy battery powered drill and it died during hole #8. Maybe that's the next tool I need to pick up.


While waiting for the drill to recharge, I flipped the board over and decided to try out my new router. I routed out some space for the joystick mount. This is the view from the underside of the top panel.


After routing, I took the dogs for a walk to let the drill finish charging. When I got back, I was finally able to finish the 8th and 9th holes. Just for kicks, here's what the panel looks like with some of the buttons dropped in. Notice the chip in the lower corner. I'll have to fill that in with some wood putty or something. Hopefully the artwork will hide that.