I took my design on paper and transferred it over to the 4x8 sheets of particle
board. The measure twice, cut once rule saved me a few times. Since
I managed to make use of all but 5% of all the wood, I didn't leave much room
for error. (Though I did cut enough for two full Control Panels incase I
wasn't happy with the first design)
Cutting the pieces alone was about a
week of work. Since 4x8 particle board has some weight to it, I made sure
that once I started a sheet that all parts were cut before I stopped for the
day. It's a lot easier to carry 2'x2' sheets of particle board rather and
drag the 4'x8' sheet 20 feet from my garage to picnic table. 
As I found during the assembly phase
of the control panel, it's much much easier to cut the T-Molding notches BEFORE
putting the contact paper on the particle board. I ended up using a dremel
(carefully I may add) instead of a router. I knew a few people with routers
that I could use, but no one had the slot cutter bit that was needed. To use a
dremel, use a ruler, and draw a line across the edge of the particle board
where you want the slot to be. Then patiently follow that line with the dremel.
Just keep in mind that 30,000rpms + particle board = smoke. You essentially
burn through the wood, not cut through it.
The next step was to cover all the
pieces in contact paper. I went back and forth on what to ultimately do -
either black or wood grain. Obviously I went with the wood grain, which I think
was a smart choice. I happened to buy a pool table before the assembly phase
that almost exactly matches the contact paper I bought.
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Total assembly of the arcade cabinet took about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks at about 40-50 total hours of work. A majority of the time was spent measuring the design onto the wood, cutting the pieces, sanding, cutting groves for the T-Molding and putting on the contact paper. Putting all of the pieces together took about 4 hours of straight work.
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I made good use of my Yard Stick, Skill Saw and Pencil during this phase.
This was a fairly easy step. With the exception of the long 6' sides, everything was easily done with just one person. Though it may have helped that I have too much experience with installing large vinyl graphics on the sides of cars. Immediately after adding the contact paper, I put the T-Molding on the necessary pieces.
Finally it was time for assembly! While I anticipated this being a two person ordeal, it was actually quite simple. I started by attaching the support beams for the bottom shelf to the back panel of the arcade. That allowed me to add the bottom shelf and the front kick panel. With that done, I now had something to support the sides. I thought I was going to be stopped dead with the middle shelves, but I modified my design slightly to make this easier. Instead of having stationary shelves, I carefully measured the height for the location of the screws, and just sat the shelves on the screws. This allows for easy removal if I decide to add something larger to the whole system. I used a similar step for the monitor shelf, but then also securely screwed the monitor shelf in place and added a support beam underneath since a 27" CRT TV is not that light.
(Obligatory 'cat near arcade' pic) (Before adding TV and finishing top)
I then installed the marquee and speaker shelf, as well as the TV and XBOX to get the finished product.
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