I finally finished my MAME cabinet in summer 2005; two and a half years in total! Actually, it was great fun building it and I would recommend anyone who enjoys MAME to have a go! It really does enhance the arcade experience.
To sum up the final construction: I bought a nice quality MAME logo marquee from MAME Marquees in the USA for $22.80 (including postage to the UK). It is backlit with a couple of fluorescents I had left over from the under-cupboard lighting in the kitchen and sandwiched between two pieces of plexiglass. It’s held in place by the marquee retainer and I think it gives the cabinet a very professional look so was worth the money. I simply nailed the marquee retainer in place which seems to work fine and it also allows me to remove it if necessary without too much effort.
I also installed a couple of old PC speakers I had lying about. I stripped them out of their casings and screwed them face down to the bottom section just behind the marquee. I drilled several holes in the MDF just below them so that the sound comes through nice and loud.
Anyway, here are some pictures of the finished cabinet. I’m very proud of it and play on it a lot!
(Edit: Pictures no longer available)