I decided to add this page to assist anyone who doesn't have a whole lot of woodworking experience but is interested in building their own arcade cabinet so they might know what kind of tool investment it takes. I've divided the list up into a few sections to hopefully help you size up whether or not you're equipped to build a project like this, and if not, what you may need to obtain.
The tools on this list are things that I consider mandatory to build a project like this one. In fact most, if not all, are mandatory for nearly any amount of woodworking. So if you don't have all these tools this might be a good starting point as you begin your collection.
Protective Gear - Safety glasses are the first tool you should purchase, and I don't want to hear any arguing about it. They're cheap, and will pay for themselves the very first time they keep a wood splinter from embedding itself in your eyeball. I've lost count of the number of times I've felt things bounce off my glasses and realized that I would have been trying to find a ride to the ER if I weren't wearing them. Some inexpensive ear muffs or foam earplugs are also good safety items to have to protect your hearing while using power tools. But if you only have money for one, get the safety glasses. Find the money for both.
Work Surface - The project has to be built somewhere, so you're going to need a work surface (and a work space, for that matter.) This can range from a sheet of 3/4" thick plywood stretched across a pair of sawhorses, all the way up to fancy pre-made butcher block top benches. My own workbench is an old sink vanity that I reinforced with some 2x4s, then layered two sheets of MDF to make a 1 1/2" thick top. It's a good combination of cheap (vanity was $15 at a Habitat For Humanity Restore) and durable (with the 2x4s it's strong enough to hold 100s of pounds without flexing.) If you decide to cheap out and use your dining room table instead of a dedicated work surface, please don't tell your spouse about my web site.
Measuring And Marking Tools - All projects need a reference of some sort. That reference point usually begins with a straight line, or a specific measurement. You will need some measuring and marking tools. For starters, I would get a pencil (I like mechanical ones to avoid sharpening hassles), a tape measure, an 18" (or equivalent) ruler and a try square. It doesn't matter if you prefer metric or US measurements, just make sure they all match. Or better yet, get tools that do both systems (I frequently go back and forth between metric and US systems on the same project.) I like the US system for larger measurements, and metric for smaller and/or finer measurements. Use whichever you find most useful.
Screw Driver Set - The next tool I use the most often are hand screwdrivers. Even if you have a power screwdriver of some sort, get some plain old unpowered screwdrivers, as there are plenty of times where you want to do more delicate driving (or removing) of fasteners. If you get a basic set with three sizes each of Phillips and flat head types, that should handle 95% of your screwing needs. Other drivers can be bought when/if the need arises.
Plier Set - A simple three piece plier set (regular pliers, side cutter, needle nose) is extremely handy for a variety of things. Next to my screwdrivers, these are the tools I'm grabbing almost as often. Add in an adjustable wrench (aka channel lock) as a fourth wrench for additional versatility.
Scissors - This seems like a weird thing to put on a "tool" list, but you'll be surprised how often you'll use scissors in a workshop. There's always something that needs to be trimmed or cut open. You can borrow a pair from somewhere else in the house, but they're cheap enough that I keep a couple pair permanently in my shop.
Clamps - I have a saying: "Question: How many clamps does a woodworker need? Answer: One more clamp than they currently have." I literally have at least 50 clamps of various sizes and types, all the way from 2" C clamps to 6 foot pipe clamps. You need to start with at least two, probably in the 12"-18" range. A good all-purpose beginning clamp is the "quick clamp" available at your local home center. They're not as strong as most other clamps, but they make up for it with convenience. Believe me, you'll quickly be adding additional clamps to your collection as the need and budget dictate.
Power Drill And Bits - This should be the first power tool you buy. When working with wood, holes constantly need to be bored. A drill of some sort is absolutely necessary. I like the convenience of a cordless drill, but a corded drill will also do the job if you need to save a few bucks. Spend an extra couple of dollars to make sure the drill is variable speed and reversible (although I don't know if they even make non-VSR drills any more.) Along with the drill, get yourself a basic set of twist bits from 1/16" to 1/2". A spade bit set is also needed to drill the larger holes for the buttons (my buttons required a 1 1/8" bit.) You can add additional bits down the road as you see the need. A Phillips head bit is also useful so you can drive screws (lots of drills come with one included) but be aware that when learning to drive screws with a drill it's easy to strip off the screw heads.
Circular Saw (aka Skil Saw) - This is probably the second power tool you should purchase, although it might be a toss-up with a jig saw. A circular saw allows you to accurately and quickly cut straight lines. You probably also want to grab a 20' heavy duty extension cord as well, as most saws come with a cord about 6' long which will quickly show its limitations.
Saw Board - Once you have a circular saw, the next thing you will want is a saw board. Freehanding circular saws allow a person to cut pretty straight for about 6". Beyond that they start to drift, so a guide of some sort is needed. A person can go out and spend tons of money on a pre-made sawboard, but the good news is for just a few bucks (or less if you have the scrap wood sitting around) you can make your own sawboard. By using a sawboard one can make longer cuts just as accurate as a fancy table saw.
Jig Saw - You now have the circular saw to make straight cuts, but what do you do when you want to cut curves? You use a jig saw. One could argue that you can use a jig saw to make straight cuts too, but frankly even after years of using them I can't cut a line straight enough for my satisfaction. It seems counterintuitive, but it's a lot easier to cut an accurate curve versus an accurate straight line.
Router - Now we're getting into the serious woodworking tools, beyond what might be found in the average homeowner's basement. There are some projects I've done (i.e. musical instruments) where the router is the most used tool in the whole project. If you can only afford one router (I currently own six) I would start with a plunge router. A 1/4" collet is fine for a first router. Variable speed is nice, but not a deal-breaker for a first router. In lieu of a router, one could use chisels. However, a quality set of chisels along with a means to properly sharpen them will set you back more cash than a cheap router and some bits. So I'm not even going to bother putting chisels in the "money saver" category below. Plus, chisels have a long learning curve until one gets good enough to produce the same results even a beginner can get by using a router.
Router Bits - This is a big topic, so I'm going to go into a bit more depth on this one. A router by itself is a pretty useless tool until you buy bits. The first thing a person will notice after purchasing their first router is that you can quickly spend much more on router bits than you did for the router.
A common thing people will buy along with their first router is an "assorted" bit set that comes with a variety of 10-12 different bits. I do not recommend this. First, unless you shell out big bucks, most of these variety sets are of lesser quality. Second, you will soon learn that you might use two or three of these bits, and the rest will sit unused gathering dust. I feel it's a better value to purchase specific high quality bits that you actually need, as you need them.
Cheap router bits generally cost more in the long run, as you have to purchase the cheap bits, go through the disappointment of using them, and then wind up spending the money on a quality version of the same bit. It would have been better just to buy the quality bit right away. Believe me, I know the temptation of picking up a cheap bit "just to use this one time." In fact, as you read further in the building of my arcade cabinet you will see that once again I succumbed and tried to cheap out on a slot cutter set from Harbor Freight. After the cheap bit routed a terribly inaccurate slot, I had to spend the time fixing the workpiece and then spend the money to buy a good slot cutting bit. Learn from my mistake and buy quality bits up front.
By the way, I've found a good balance of price versus quality can be found at MLCS router bits (now sold through HValley Tools.). They aren't the absolute top of the line router bits, but are much better than the discount bits you'll find at your local home center. I haven't been disappointed by any of the MLCS bits that I've bought over the years. I'm not sponsored by them or anything, I'm just sharing my experience. Hopefully since they got bought out by HValley tools the quality won't fall off going forward. The best bits (of the brands I've tried) I think are probably Whiteside. I bought some Whiteside bits (for another project) and was extremely impressed by them. But you're going to pay a premium for these bits so unless you're looking at getting really serious about woodworking you may want to start with a more mid-range manufacturer. I also own a couple of spendy Amana Tool router bits which also are very nice, but like Whiteside, they don't come cheap.
The next question you have to answer is, do you go with 1/4" collet bits, or 1/2" collet bits? 1/2" collet bits have a much thicker shaft. Using the power of math, a 1/2" collet router bit has 4x the area of a 1/4" collet bit, not twice as much as you would initially assume. This larger shaft results in a stronger and smoother running bit. That being said, there is nothing wrong with 1/4" bits, and I use them all the time (I have both.) 1/2" collet bits generally cost a little bit more. I would say, if this is your first router purchase, and the router you're looking at buying only has a 1/4" collet, I wouldn't shy away from it just for that reason. Many routers come with both a 1/4" and 1/2" collets which allows you to use both size bits.
Note that most, but not all, styles of router bits are available in both collet sizes. Some bits are 1/4" collet only, and some are 1/2" collet only. You'll have to do a little research to figure out what kind of bits you will need, and then figure out if there are any collet size limitations. From there, make sure to buy a router that will support the collets for these bits. All other things being equal, if a bit is available in both sizes, I will usually pay the extra few bucks and get the 1/2" version as I have routers that support both. But as I mentioned above, 1/4" collet bits are perfectly adequate performance-wise, so don't feel like you're cutting corners if you decide to go that route (puns somewhat intended.)
Also worth noting for informational purposes, but probably won't apply to the type of bits one would use for an arcade cabinet, is that bits with larger diameter cutters require slower router speeds. You don't want to try and spin a 3" wide cabinet bit at 33,000 RPM. That will be downright scary and dangerous. For these larger bits, you need a router with variable speed so you can slow down the rotation to a safe level. The good news is, large bits like these are generally only available with 1/2" collet and you will be hard pressed to find a 1/2" collet router that doesn't also have variable speed.
Sandpaper - Not really a tool per se, but yet it is. Try smoothing and shaping wood without sandpaper. You're gonna need some. For this project I mostly used 100, 150 and 220 grit.
Wire Strippers - On an arcade cabinet there will be a lot of wires that need their ends stripped of insulation. You can do it with a utility knife and a ton of patience, but after about two wires using this method you'll wind up buying wire strippers. This is one tool where I've learned that it's worth it not to skimp. A quality wire stripper works way better than the cheapo ones. For years I "borrowed" my dad's old Klein stripper, which somehow never made it back into his toolbox. After using this quality tool I literally threw my cheap wire strippers in the trash. Eventually I wore the Klein out, and bought a Craftsman (back when Sears was still around.) The Craftsman is virtually identical to the old Klein (even the same color) so I strongly suspect it came off the same assembly line and just got branded with the Craftsman name.
Soldering Gun - This one almost fell into the "optional" section. It might be possible to build a cabinet without having to solder a single wire. If a simpler design than my cabinet was built, and one used only solderless spade connectors, you couple probably get away without soldering. But simple Weller soldering pens are relatively inexpensive, so you may find it useful. I personally have a nice Happ soldering station, but I tend to do a lot of soldering. A soldering pen will get the job done as well.
Random Orbital Sander - This one is on the edge of the "must have" list. Orbital sanders are so useful that I almost put this up in the previous section. Orbital sanders are incredible time savers and can make a multitude of mistakes disappear. To be honest, they don't do anything that a sanding block with sandpaper couldn't do given enough time and motivation. However, the amount of time and effort that a ROS saves is staggering. If I were to guesstimate, it cuts sanding time by 90% over hand sanding. Seriously, if you have room in your tool budget for one of these you should get one.
Dust Collection/Shop Vac - This one is also on the edge of the "must have" list. Keeping your shop area reasonably clean makes your woodworking more productive, safer and (dare I say it) more fun. I tell the Tundra Boy that woodworking is about 50% making things and 50% cleaning. Both of these tools make the second half a lot easier. Dust collection is mostly used for preventing the mess from happening in the first place, and the Shop Vac is mostly used for cleaning up after the mess happened. Both tools can be used for both prevention and the remedy of messes, but for the most part that's how I use them. Yes, you can also use a dust pan and a broom to clean up afterwards, but it's a lot less fun. If you can only buy one of these tools, go with the Shop Vac first. You will probably find it useful for things other than woodworking (like when your sump pump fails and the basement floods.) Get a dust collection system if you're actually building a full featured wood shop.
Drill Press - The ability to easily drill completely perpendicular holes is very handy. A drill press allows you to do this. With a little practice and care one can drill perpendicular holes using a hand drill, however a drill press makes it a "no-brainer." I wouldn't purchase a drill press just for this one project, but if you're looking at getting into more serious woodworking, then a drill press is a worthwhile investment. One thing to note is that the drill press is one tool that is an exception to the "benchtop rule". The benchtop rule is what I've learned regarding most "benchtop" versions of large woodworking equipment (table saw, band saw, router table, etc.), and that is they are woefully inadequate as compared to their full size counterparts. They generally don't have the accuracy or capacity to deliver satisfactory results. A benchtop drill press, however, does 90% of what a full size drill press does, so if all a person can afford is a benchtop version then it's not a terrible purchase. However, don't fall for the junky "conversion" devices that attempt to turn your hand drill into a small drill press, as those are complete wastes of money. One thing to note is that benchtop drill presses are very heavy, so moving them on and off of your workbench gets laborious. Because of this, they tend to get placed on a section of the workbench and just left there. If that happens, you now have a stationary tool and might as well have bought a dedicated floor standing model.
Forstner Bits - For drilling large diameter holes, Forstner bits are the ideal method. As mentioned above, spade bits can get the job done but are a bit more crude. If a person invests in a drill press, it would be a logical next-step to buy a quality set of Forstner bits. You can use Forstner bits in a hand drill, but that's not their intended use. If you do, don't spin the drill at full speed as you could overheat the bit and wreck the cutting edge. Even with a drill press running at a slower speed, it is good to lower the bit into the wood, cut for a few seconds, then raise the bit for a few seconds to let the chips clear out and let the bit cool off. Once the bit gets deeper into the wood it starts to heat up quickly. If you're seeing smoke, you're drilling too fast and wrecking your bit.
Table Saw - Table saws are very handy tools. Usually dedicated workshops are built around the table saw as the primary machine in the workspace. I used mine quite a bit in this project. However, most of the cutting down of the large plywood panels was still done with my circular saw and sawboards. Unless you have a giant cabinet saw with huge outfeed tables, cutting a full size piece of plywood on a contractor sized table saw is a recipe for inaccurate cuts and/or injury. Plus, if you're in a similar situation as me, it's almost impossible to get a full 4x8 sheet of plywood down the stairs to the wood shop where the table saw is located.
Router Table - For the most part I tried to order this list in the order of "most useful to least useful." I really wasn't sure where to put the router table. I used mine for my arcade cabinet project, but not as much as I use it for other projects. I can't imagine doing most of my woodworking without my router table, but at the same time I could have easily gone without for this specific project. Note that the "benchtop rule" (mentioned above) definitely applies to router tables. If you're going to make the leap into a router table, buy (or build) a dedicated one large enough that it won't be sliding around when trying to use it, and with a big enough table that your workpiece isn't trying to fall off the edge. Many table saws come with (or have available) an adapter to mount a router in one of the table wings, and therefore can do double-duty as both. My table saw has this feature, but I went even bigger and built my router table into one end of my 6' long work bench. This gives me a huge work surface. When I'm not routing I can lower the router into the table and, outside of a small hole, have use of the entire workbench surface.
One thing to keep in mind is if you take the plunge (I love these tool puns) and buy/build a router table, you will most likely wind up with purchasing another dedicated router to leave mounted in the table. Unbolting/rebolting the router to and from the plate gets old in a hurry. In my case, I bought a dual base router kit that came with both a fixed base and a plunge base, and the router motor can quickly be moved from one to the other. The fixed base remains permanently mounted in my router table. As I also have several other routers (both fixed base and plunge), it is pretty rare that I ever use this motor in the plunge base as it's usually just easier to grab a different router rather than moving the motor.
90 Degree Angle Clamps - I bought these specialty 90 degree clamps at the home center about 30 years ago. I can't even remember why I bought them way back then. They're one of those things that I don't use very often, but are very handy when I find the need for them. I used these clamps when I attached the rear wall of the control panel enclosure to the bottom. I this case I was using pocket screws to affix the rear wall piece to the middle of the bottom panel, and the panel wasn't wanting to stay in place long enough for me to drive the screws. Using these clamps I was able to hold the piece in the proper place and orientation while the screws were driven. Then the clamps went back into the bin where they are stored, and I may not use them again for a couple years.
Hack Saw - Hack saws are used to cut metal. If you're not cutting metal anywhere in your project, then you don't need one. In my case, I used it to trim the aluminum "L" channel to length, which was used to hold the marquee in place. I also started to use it to trim the piano hinges to length, but quickly gave up. See the "Dremel Tool" section below for more info.
Disc/Belt Sander - I used my combo 6" disc and belt sander several times throughout the project. The disc sander was used to square up my aluminum "L" channel after I cut it to length with the hack saw above. The belt sander was used to fine tune a couple of edges on some wood pieces. In all cases, I used this tool because I had it available and it was convenient. I could have accomplished the same tasks by hand sanding, it just would have taken longer.
Rasp - Rasps are a bit of a brute force tool. Not very elegant, but useful when you need to hog out some wood to fine tune a fit. I find them mostly useful in areas where their use will be covered up. For example, when I cut the hole for the C14 power cord socket, it was a little tight. I used a rasp to widen the hole slightly and allow the socket to fit. In this case, the edge of the socket had a bezel which would cover the hole, so I didn't worry too much if the edges were a little rough and out-of-square from the rasp.
Heat Gun - I only used this tool for one specific purpose: the plywood I bought had these big annoying stickers on them from the home center, and when I tried to peel the stickers off they wanted to tear more than peel. Hitting them with the heat gun for about 30 seconds softened the adhesive and the stickers came right off without any residue left behind. A very specific use for this tool. Without the heat gun I could have just spent more time peeling the stickers off and maybe sanding the remaining residue.
Miter/Chop Saw - I use my miter saw frequently when I need to quick cut a board (narrow boards under 6" wide, anyway) to length. I didn't use the "miter" functionality (the ability to cut in angles other than 90°) for this project. It's another one of those tools that I already had set up in my shop so I used it a fair number of times, but I wouldn't have needed to purchase it specifically for this project.
Scroll Saw - From my reading on the interwebs, scroll saws seem to be polarizing. People tend to fall in one camp or the other regarding their usefulness. Lots of woodworkers say they have one and it just gathers dust (not in the good way a woodworking tool gathers dust.) Others will say they're extremely useful tools, with some people making "scrolling" their primary woodworking hobby. I tend to fall in the latter camp. While I don't do a whole lot of fancy decorative scrollwork cuts, I often find myself in situations where the scroll saw is the most handy tool to use for that immediate need. Of particular usefulness is the ability to do "inside" cuts, where a small hole is drilled in the workpiece and the saw blade is passed through the hole which allows a section of wood to be cut out on with no saw line extending to the outside edge of the workpiece. With practice one can make extremely accurate cuts, and even make 90 degree turns while cutting. Before you buy one, investigate what all you can do with a scroll saw. If you're interested in making those types of projects then I would recommend owning one. If not, don't buy a scroll saw just to build an arcade cabinet.
Flush cut Saw - These are very handy for making problems go away, and they're really not that expensive to boot. I think mine cost me less than $10. It is a small hand saw with a thin flexible blade. The teeth of the blade have no "set", which is to say they point straight up and down without any sideways bend on them. On most saw blades every other tooth is angled slightly in the opposite direction, which makes the saw cut faster. With the straight teeth on a flush cut saw it can be placed flat against another workpiece (flush) and moved back and forth to saw downward without marring the wood next to it. One of the places where I used my flush cut saw was when I drilled the admin panel holes in the wrong place and had to fill them with dowels. I used the flush cut saw to trim the dowel off even with the panel, without making gouge marks in the panel face.
Circle Cutter - This was used to cut out the speaker holes. These holes are covered with speaker grills, so they didn't need to be perfectly round. Careful cutting with a jigsaw would have been adequate. However, I already had the tool so I might as well use it. I wouldn't recommend you go out and buy a circle cutter if your arcade cabinet is the only project you're planning to make. And please note, a prerequisite to a circle cutter is a drill press. Do NOT under any circumstance try and use a circle cutter with a hand drill.
Dremel - I used this tool with a cut-off disc to cut the piano hinges to length. I started to cut them using a hacksaw, but quickly discovered the hinge metal must have been hardened. The hack saw would have eventually worked, but I decided it was going to take forever so I grabbed the Dremel instead. It still took a few minutes to cut through the hinges, but not as long as that hack saw was going to take. One safety note, if you're using a cut-off disc in the Dremel don't hold it directly in front of you during use (i.e. standing directly in front or behind the direction of the cut.) These thin discs on occasion will shatter, sending chunks of the disc flying through the shop like bullets. I actually had this happen (twice!) on this one arcade cabinet project. Thankfully I was holding the tool so the cutting direction was perpendicular to where I was standing, and the shards went sideways instead of embedding themselves in my body. I found bits of the disc 30 feet from my workbench, and I suspect they hit the wall or other tools and bounced back before they came to rest on the floor.
Metal file - After the piano hinges were cut to length, I used a metal file to remove the burrs and soften the cut edges so they weren't so sharp. If you don't have a metal file you could use sandpaper instead, although be careful not to cut yourself on the sharp edges left after cutting metal.
Kreg Jig - There are many ways to join wood together. The Kreg pocket hole system is but one way, and the method I happened to choose for my project. That doesn't mean it's the best way, or the way you should go. I mainly did it because I had a Kreg jig sitting in my bin of drill accessories, and had never built a large project with it so I decided to give it a whirl. Pocket screw construction isn't as strong as traditional joinery (i.e. mortise and tenon, dovetails, etc.) However, arcade cabinets are rarely, if ever, built with traditional joinery. So pocket screws are plenty strong enough if you choose to go that route. I have the cheapest Kreg jig they make (less than $20), and it's inexpensive enough that if you buy one and only use it on one project you're not out a significant amount of money.
Tapered Reamer - Sometimes holes are drilled just a wee bit too small. Trying to enlarge them with a bigger drill bit isn't very accurate. A tapered reamer lets you manually make the holes a little larger. In my case I used the tapered reamer on the holes on the back of the control panels. I made the holes just slightly larger than the dowels so the panels would pop on and off easier.
Plexiglass Cutter - Cutting plexiglass isn't too difficult. More or less, you score it with a knife a few times, then carefully bend the material over the edge of a workbench. As long as you scored it deep enough, the plexiglass should break cleanly along your score line. I have a special knife for this purpose that I picked up years ago at the home center when I was building another project involving plexiglass. It was an inexpensive knife and was on display next to the sheets of plexiglass. I suspect that you could probably use a regular utility knife as well, but as long as I already had the "correct" knife I figured I'd use it for this project.
Dead Blow Hammer - A dead blow hammer looks like a rubber mallet, but it has a hollow head full of metal shot (small loose ball bearings). The way it works is as you're swinging the hammer down, the shot moves to the rear of the head. As the hammer makes impact, the shot then moves to the front of the head. The force of the shot hitting the front of the head effectively deadens any rebound of the hammer. In simple terms, if you hit something with a dead-blow hammer there is no "bounce" upon impact, delivering all of the hammer's force to the object being hit. I used my dead blow hammer to install the T molding around the plywood edge of the cabinet. I put an old sock over the hammer's head to prevent the black rubber from leaving smudges on the white T molding.
Multimeter - A multimeter is an electronic measuring device. It measures things like DC voltage, DC amperage and resistance. For this project I used it as a continuity tester to figure out things like which terminals on button switches to connect the wires. I set it to one of the ohms resistance values, then use the probes to touch pairs of different terminals as I press the button. Once the meter shows a reading (any reading) then I know those two terminals are connected (have continuity.) For this type of use, you don't need a fancy or super-accurate model. I used the cheapo Harbor Freight meter that they regularly put on sale for $5.
Rubber Gloves - There are some things, like working with epoxy or CA glue, and painting, where it's nice to have a layer of protection between your hands and the chemical you're using. When I say "rubber", I don't necessarily mean rubber gloves like the old Playtex dishwashing gloves they used to advertise on TV. Any protective glove will be fine. I like the cheap disposable vinyl gloves they sell in boxes at Harbor Freight. They really come in handy when I'm changing the oil on my car, as I don't finish the job with black, greasy hands.
Drum sander - When I decided to make splines to strengthen the drawer joints, I needed to thickness a piece of scrap wood to exactly the right size for the slots. I could have used sandpaper or a hand plane, but because I had one available in the shop I just ran the wood through the drum sander repeatedly to slowly thin the scrap wood until it fit in the slots perfectly. This is a tool you definitely wouldn't want to buy just for this one purpose I used it for on this project. It's a very useful tool for other situations, but for my arcade cabinet this was the only time I used it. Unless you're going to use it for other projects, I wouldn't buy a drum sander solely for this purpose.
Hand Drill - For the complete caveman, there are still hand drills out there. When I say "hand drill", I mean the type that doesn't have an electric motor of some sort and is manually spun. At this point you're only going to find them in a parts box at an auction. I doubt you're going to come across one at your local home center. Maybe you found one in your grandpa's basement? You might be able to locate and purchase an old hand drill, but frankly if you're that strapped for cash you're probably not going to be able to afford the wood for a project. I have a hand drill that I got from my Grandpa's basement, but it's hanging on my shop wall as a decoration. I've never used it.
Hand Saw - Don't laugh, I occasionally still pull out my hand saw even though I have a shop full of tools. Sometimes it's just easier and quicker to grab it for a small cut. A person on a budget could use a hand saw in place of a circular saw, but admittedly it would take a lot of patience to do a large project with one. There is also a learning curve to figure out how to cut a straight line with a hand saw, not to mention it's a great way to build a strong bicep muscle.
Coping Saw - What did people do before jig saws and band saws when they wanted to cut curves? They used coping saws. I own one, although admittedly I don't use it very often. But this is a cheap way to make curved cuts when one can't afford a power tool. The down side is, this tool makes a regular hand saw seem very speedy.
Thankfully, I've been blessed with a nice woodworking shop full of tools that I have put together over the last 35 years. As a result, I already owned most of the tools needed to build this project. I did have to pick up a few items, though. Even the most well equipped shop occasionally runs across something new they need:
Slot Cutting Router Bit - I didn't yet have a slot cutter. Because I didn't see this as something I would use all the time, I bought the slot cutter at Harbor Freight. If I find I start using it quite often and this bit no longer is cutting it (pun somewhat intended) I can always upgrade to a nicer bit. But if I don't use it ever again I'm not out a whole lot of money. I did splurge and paid $2 more for the 1/2" shank version. This means I have to use my big router (all my small ones are 1/4" shank) but that's OK because that router has a speed control and one should reduce the router speed when using a large diameter bit like a slot cutter. As it turns out, I wound up buying a second slot cutting bit. See the full explanation over on the construction page, but it can be summed up by saying "cheap tools aren't always a bargain."
Long Shaft Square Drive Drill Bit - This is for the Kreg pocket screws, which use a square drive head. I already had an old square drive bit that I could put into a magnetic extension, but I found when driving pocket screws that the bit would pop out of the magnetic extension every time I pulled the bit out of the screw head. Annoying. Plus, my bit had become very worn over the years and was closer to a parallelogram. I bought a 6" long square drive bit which quickly paid for itself in reduced annoyance.
Painters Pyramids - I was at the home center buying some other supplies when I noticed these little yellow triangles called "Painter's Pyramids." They hold pieces you are painting up off the workbench so you can easily paint the sides. In the past I've used chunks of scrap wood for this purpose, but they tend to be unequal in height. These looked useful and weren't expensive, so I bought a couple packages. Then I found them so useful that I went back and purchased another couple packages. I will find them handy for more than just this one project.
You've finally made it to the end of this saga. Return to the first page to see the completed arcade cabinet.
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This page last updated on 01/23/2024