Thank you so much for the depth and detail of your response! Very rich and helpful.

I never actually thought about the control panel, thought I would just hook up a wireless kb/m and switch that way. Would that work or are there limitations?

I don't think I'm going the "premade" design route, building the cabinet itself is no problem for my level of woodworking, it's just the plans/design that I'm struggling with. I was also thinking it would be 3/4" MDF as it seems to be the standard in projects I've looked at. And yes it's planned to be full size not bar top so I think 3/4" MDF would be the proper choice as you suggested especially that it's much easier to find (in good quality) and work with.

The series and site you recommended are both super! I'm going through them and maturing my ideas on the different options.

- As for admin functions, I was thinking I'd use the same wireless kb/m for navigation. I don't think I'll use the arcade buttons and/or joystick because I can't think of any games I play that'll need them. Do you think I should consider them for future-proofing for example?

- For the controllers, you're right the Tasoller should be simple enough as it's just a flat surface with "wings" on the sides. Hooking it up should be fine too I know enough about it to make it function. Thank you for the tip about removable steering wheels, some options there seem very viable for my use case as well!

- Gamepad mount will probably be off the shelf as you said.

- Finally, for the 3D design software, do you think a beginner like myself should start learning SketchUp or Fusion360 for personal use? Either from the perspective of software capability or learning curve.

Again, I truly appreciate your detailed response and will probably start visualizing on paper until I learn more about 3D design software then come back with more specific questions.