Mounting a U360 in Plywood - How deep?

[javeryh]

I'm about to route out the underside of my CP.  It is 3/4" plywood and there will be 1/8" plexi on top to account for.  I have the longer shafts for the joysticks but I'm still not sure how deep to go.

Also, any ideas on how to mount them WITHOUT anything showing through to the top other than the stick?

Thanks!   

[kegger]

I would leave atleast 1/2" of wood for mounting and use T-nuts if you plan to cover it with something.

 

[Ginsu Victim]

Also, any ideas on how to mount them WITHOUT anything showing through to the top other than the stick?

These work awesome
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=70&products_id=317

[DillonFoulds]

Define "awesome"? In practicality, they sound like a great idea. I didn't use these in particular, but Home depot's version...

They were nearly impossible to get inserted right... I did a LOT of guess and check work on a scrap piece of wood... like 7 different bits, including pre-drill hole techniques, experimenting with different sized bits for both drilling and pre-drilling, varying depth, etc.

At the end of it, the joysticks are all in and mounted, but these nuts made things veeeeeery difficult. I think the end result is better than carriage bolts, but i'd for sure recommend going with a t-nut under a cpo rather than using invisible hardware...





About the only thing i could possibly have done different, would be to use a drill press (something I don't currently have available)...

[javeryh]

I decided to leave 3/8".  I'm going to use VERY short screws and then a wood block on top that overhangs the recessed hole that I can screw into the 3/4" plywood... if that makes any sense.

[Ginsu Victim]

Define "awesome"? In practicality, they sound like a great idea. I didn't use these in particular, but Home depot's version...

I bought GGG's version and used their instructions. Worked perfect both times I did it.

[severdhed]

Also, any ideas on how to mount them WITHOUT anything showing through to the top other than the stick?

These work awesome
http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=70&products_id=317

i got similar mouting hardware with my Ultimarc Utrak trackball, and i couldn't get them to line up properly at all.  i ended up removing them, drilling the entire way through the panel and using carriage bolts that were countersunk into the wood.

as for mounting u360s.  i just bottom mounted mine in 5/8" MDF (it will eventually be covered with 1/8" plexi).  i routed out approximately half the thickness (i didn't measure, i just adjusted the router until it looked to be roughly in the middle).  i then mounted it using some small bolts i had lying around. (picked up a bunch of them in a pack at the Dollar Tree for $1) i used a counter sink bit to recess the heads...they havent had alot of play time yet, but i have been playing a little during my testing phase and they feel solid.  T-Nuts would probably be a better option, since they will not spin freely, you could remove the sticks and tighten them back up...when using regular bolts, once the plexi is on, it is difficult to remove the nuts and then tighten them back up without them spinning.   



i apparently can't take pictures very well, here is a close up of the countersunk bolts, the closest is pretty much washed out by the camera flash, but you can see the others pretty well.