You’re standing in a dimly lit pizza parlor in 1994. The smell of grease is thick, and the rhythmic waka-waka of Ms. Pac-Man competes with the digital screams of Mortal Kombat II. That feeling—the tactile click of a microswitch and the glow of a CRT—is why you're here. You want that in your house. Honestly, learning how to make an arcade cabinet is a rite of passage for gamers who’ve grown tired of staring at a standard 16:9 monitor with a generic controller.
It’s a project that mixes woodworking, electrical engineering, and software configuration. Some people think you just throw a Raspberry Pi in a box and call it a day. Those people are usually the ones with a half-finished plywood monstrosity rotting in their garage. If you want something that actually looks good in your living room, you have to be precise.
The Blueprint Phase: Don't Just Wing It
Measure twice, cut once. It’s a cliché because it’s true. Most first-timers fail because they start cutting MDF without a plan. You need a layout. Are you building a full-size upright, a bartop, or a cocktail cabinet?
The "Classic Upright" is the gold standard, but it’s a beast to move. It takes up a lot of floor space. If you’re tight on room, a bartop is basically the top third of a cabinet that sits on a desk. You get the same controls, but you don't need a truck to move it.
Start with a dedicated plan. Websites like Classic Arcade Cabinets or Koenigs offer scaled vector files. If you don't use these, you’ll end up with a control deck that’s too high or a monitor angle that kills your neck after ten minutes of Galaga. Most hobbyists use 3/4-inch MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard). Why? Because it’s smooth and easy to paint. The downside is that it’s heavy as lead and the dust is basically toxic. Wear a mask. Seriously.
If you hate the idea of sanding and priming, some people use birch plywood. It looks "woodier" and holds screws better, but it’s way more expensive. You’re looking at $60–$100 a sheet versus $35 for MDF.
The Brains: PC vs. Raspberry Pi
This is where the community gets into heated debates.
The Raspberry Pi is the go-to for most. It’s tiny. It’s cheap. It runs RetroPie or Recalbox right out of the box. But here is the reality: a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 is great for everything up to the PS1 era. If you want to run Killer Instinct or later 3D arcade games like Tekken 5, the Pi is going to stutter and die.
For a high-end build, use an old office PC. You can find refurbished Dell OptiPlex units on eBay for $150. Toss in a low-profile GPU, and suddenly you’re running Big Box or LaunchBox with beautiful high-resolution themes and 3D box art. It’s more setup work, but the performance gap is massive.
Why the Monitor Matters
Don’t just grab the first cheap LCD you find. Most modern monitors are 16:9 widescreen. Arcade games were 4:3. If you use a widescreen, you’ll have black bars on the sides (letterboxing) or, worse, a stretched image that makes Ryu look like he’s put on 50 pounds.
Look for old 19-inch or 20-inch Dell monitors with a 4:3 aspect ratio. They are dirt cheap at thrift stores. If you’re a purist, you’ll want a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitor for that authentic scanline flicker. Just be careful—CRTs can hold a lethal electrical charge even when unplugged. If you don't know how to discharge a tube, stick to an LCD and use software shaders to mimic the old-school look.
Building the Control Deck
The controls are your interface with the game. This is the part you touch, so don't be a cheapskate here.
Most "all-in-one" kits on Amazon use generic Chinese buttons. They work, but they feel mushy. They lack that crisp click. If you want the real feel, buy Sanwa or Seimitsu parts if you like the Japanese style (smooth, sensitive), or Happ/Suzo-Happ if you want the stiff, clicky American style found in 90s Street Fighter cabs.
You’ll need:
- Two joysticks (8-way is standard for fighters, 4-way for Pac-Man).
- Six buttons per player for modern games.
- Start and Select/Coin buttons.
- A USB Encoder (like the I-PAC 2).
The I-PAC is the gold standard. It tells your computer that the arcade buttons are actually a keyboard. It’s "no lag," which is vital. If there's even a millisecond of delay between you pressing a button and the character jumping, the game is ruined.
The Secret Art of T-Molding
You know that plastic trim on the edges of arcade machines? That’s called T-molding. It’s what makes a DIY box look like a real machine. To install it, you need a router with a specific 1/16-inch slot-cutting bit. You run the router along the edge of your wood to create a groove, then you hammer the plastic "T" into the slot.
It covers up the ugly edges of your plywood or MDF. It’s satisfying to install, but if you mess up the slot, your trim will be crooked forever.
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Wiring and Power Management
Inside the cabinet, it’s a bird’s nest. You have a PC or Pi, a monitor, a set of speakers, and maybe some LED lights. Don't run five different power cables out the back.
Install a Power Entry Module at the bottom of the cabinet. This gives you a professional-looking on/off switch on the outside and a single plug for the wall. Inside, you just use a standard power strip.
For audio, don't use the monitor's built-in speakers. They sound like a tin can. Buy a cheap 2.1 computer speaker set, take the speakers out of their plastic housings, and mount them behind a "marquee" at the top of the cab. That’s how you get that booming bass when someone gets a "K.O." in Street Fighter.
Software: The Final Boss
Once the wood is painted and the buttons are wired, you have to make it easy to use. You don't want to use a mouse and keyboard to pick your games.
EmulationStation is the most common interface. It lets you scroll through game lists using the joystick. You’ll spend hours—honestly, probably days—scraping metadata. This is the process where the software downloads the box art and descriptions for all your games. It’s tedious, but it’s the difference between a folder of files and a professional "museum" of gaming.
Actionable Next Steps
If you’re ready to stop reading and start building, here is exactly how to move forward without wasting money.
Step 1: The "Mock-Up"
Don't buy wood yet. Buy a cheap USB joystick and set up your software on your current PC. Make sure you actually like the interface. If you can't get the games to run on your laptop, you won't be able to get them to run in a cabinet.
Step 2: Order the Controls First
The dimensions of your control deck depend on the buttons you buy. Get a 2-player kit from a reputable vendor like Focus Attack or Paradise Arcade Shop.
Step 3: Source the Wood
Go to a local lumber yard, not just a big-box home improvement store. Ask for "Cabinet Grade" MDF. It has a higher density and won't crumble when you're trying to cut the T-molding slots.
Step 4: Use a Template
If you aren't an expert woodworker, buy a "flat-pack" kit from a company like GameRoomSolutions or Monster Arcades. They CNC-cut the wood for you and ship it in a box. You just assemble it like IKEA furniture. It costs more, but the fit and finish will be perfect.
Step 5: The "Art" Finish
Decide on your theme early. If you want custom vinyl graphics, you need to have your cabinet dimensions finalized so the art fits the side panels perfectly. Companies like Szabo's Arcades do incredible work here, but they need exact measurements.
Building a cabinet is a marathon. It’s about the 20 hours you spend sanding and the 10 hours you spend troubleshooting why the Player 2 "B" button isn't registering. But the first time you flip that master switch and see the marquee light up, it’s all worth it.
The goal isn't just to play games. You can do that on your phone. The goal is to own a piece of history that you built with your own hands. Get your tools ready. Stay patient. Don't skip the sanding.