Picture of the finished product (I haven't bothered to put decals or anything on the arrow panels yet)
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This frame cost about $40 to build and around 7 hours to construct. I bought a 4' x 8' x 23/32" piece of plywood and two 2 x 4's. Then I got some spec's for a DDR arcade pad layout and cut the plywood accordingly. To cut out the arrow panels I used a jigsaw after drilling a "pilot cut" (multiple holes next to each other) with a bit just slightly wider than the jigsaw blade. After screwing the 2 x 4's onto the perimeter of the plywood, I slid my soft pads underneath and replaced the arrow panels I cut out. To support the plywood more I found a piece of scrap wood and screwed that vertically in the middle of the frame (which also helps keep the pads in place). To facilitate the A, B, back, and start buttons, I cut a plastic hanger into 8 pieces approximately 1 1/4" long then drilled holes in the plywood above each button big enough to allow the pieces to move freely. I was surprised how flawlessly the entire project went as well as the retained responsiveness of the pads.
The best aspect of this frame is how much easier it is to play doubles (with not having to worry about the pads sliding around or messing with duct tape)
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