Thanks for the feedback and advice everyone ... definitely going to recess the control plate.


I'll use the chrome one to start with and see how it looks - the idea of having one also made from walnut is a nice idea, but since the control plate really needs to be something that is removable I figure I can do that later on. Thinking I could even try a few different materials to see what looks good.
I've decided that all the other hardware on this build will be chrome too, so thinking that the stock control plate will look good too ... watch this space!