Need advice to fix a big fail on my part

[bratwurst]

I've been building a woody kneivel klone for quite some time.  Last night, I made a big that I really need some advice on how to fix.

I decided, late in the game and almost completely done with the construction phase, to add pinball buttons on the side of the control panel box.  Instead of measuring, thinking about it, measuring again, planning, making sure there was adequate room, etc, thinking again, measuring again...  I just put my hands on each side of the control panel and thought, "where is the button placement going to be most comfortable?"  Marked it, started drilling.

So I get done with the right side, and then go to do the left and it hits me like a ton of bricks - wait a minute - this is going to be quite close to the player 1 joystick.  I better check to make sure the buttons have enough clearance on the inside.  And bam, they don't.

Pics below of what I'm talking about - with buttons on the right side and nothing on the left. 

So questions -

1) Are there different depth buttons that will work with 3/4 wood that I can use and will fit?  I have about 1.5 inches inside the box to work with, I cantry to figure out the exact dimensions if necessary.

2) Is there possibly a different use for these buttons on the right side that I can use, and salvage something out of this mess?  Maybe left mouse click, right mouse click?  Although I already have those on top of the control panel like Kneivel had.

3) Any other ideas?  You guys are experts so I'm coming to you for help.  Really upset with myself about the screwup.





How can I get this from to ?

[severdhed]

been there, done that. 

i'd consider picking up a few Sanwa snap in buttons...

http://www.lizardlick.com/Sanwa-30mm-Snap-In-Buttons_c_176.html

they are very shallow, designed for a metal panel, however provided that the hole is tight enough, they work fairly well in wood panels also.  you could also put a little hot glue on them before inserting them to make sure they stay in place.   they do require a slightly larger hole than the happ buttons, but that is easy enough to accomplish.

[Hoopz]

Is the concern about the buttons of the left?  If so, how about moving them closer to the front of the panel?  Move them so that they won't be in the way of the joystick.  Granted, it wont be symmetrical to the ones on the right, but it may be the easiest way to go.

[drventure]

Have you seen these

http://www.lizardlick.com/LL-Translucent-Pushbutton-wMicroswitch-Blue_p_209.html

They look to be slightly shorter than standard Happs, might work.

Alternately, you could take the happ buttons, and cut them down slightly, then glue em back together with plastic cement. Because of the location of the joint, there shouldn't be any issue with the glue joint coming apart (if you were putting lateral stress on it, things would be different.)

You'll have to cut the inner button and the outer, and pretty pretty exact. I'd probably cut short and just sand down to get an exact fit.

It wouldn't be too hard and you've only got 2 to do (maybe just one, will one of the buttons on the side fit or do they both hit the stick?)

[Dr Zero]

Check out this article http://arcadecontrols.com/BBBB/leafsw.html I bet you could put some leaf switches in there and have room.  

On my big boy cab I had 2 switches that would hit when you tried to close the CP found out it was made for leafs swapped them out and no more issues.

Bob has the clear switches also in case you want to have lit up pinball buttons also  

[gryhnd]

A cheap fix might be to just shim the buttons out a bit with some appropriately sized washers or plastic grommets between the button lips and the CP. Assuming you don't need a whole lot of extra space.

Edit: or cut the shims out of matching wood. Less obvious that way.

[drventure]

Dang good idea. Make two little panels, put a decorative routed trim edge on them and drill through for the buttons, could give you an extra .5 to .75 clearance inside and add a little design touch to the sides as well.

[CheffoJeffo]

Check out this article http://arcadecontrols.com/BBBB/leafsw.html I bet you could put some leaf switches in there and have room.  

On my big boy cab I had 2 switches that would hit when you tried to close the CP found out it was made for leafs swapped them out and no more issues.

Bob has the clear switches also in case you want to have lit up pinball buttons also  

+1

Without seeing the inside of the panel and the tightness of the fit, this is the best suggestion that I see -- you can use a short leaf button and only need .25" inside the panel for clearance (I've done it, although I had to finesse things a bit).

[bratwurst]

been there, done that. 

i'd consider picking up a few Sanwa snap in buttons...

http://www.lizardlick.com/Sanwa-30mm-Snap-In-Buttons_c_176.html

they are very shallow, designed for a metal panel, however provided that the hole is tight enough, they work fairly well in wood panels also.  you could also put a little hot glue on them before inserting them to make sure they stay in place.   they do require a slightly larger hole than the happ buttons, but that is easy enough to accomplish.

I think this might be a good route out of this disaster...  so they just snap in?  I need to drill hole slightly larger, and use glue to make sure they don't come out?

[bratwurst]

A cheap fix might be to just shim the buttons out a bit with some appropriately sized washers or plastic grommets between the button lips and the CP. Assuming you don't need a whole lot of extra space.

Edit: or cut the shims out of matching wood. Less obvious that way.

Not a bad idea, but I think the buttons would be sticking out 1/2 an inch.

[bratwurst]

Check out this article http://arcadecontrols.com/BBBB/leafsw.html I bet you could put some leaf switches in there and have room.  

On my big boy cab I had 2 switches that would hit when you tried to close the CP found out it was made for leafs swapped them out and no more issues.

Bob has the clear switches also in case you want to have lit up pinball buttons also  

+1

Without seeing the inside of the panel and the tightness of the fit, this is the best suggestion that I see -- you can use a short leaf button and only need .25" inside the panel for clearance (I've done it, although I had to finesse things a bit).

I'll try the sanwa buttons first, then maybe this?  Or just build a new box.  Or cover the sides with black laminate... or...  burn the whole cab.

[CapriRS302]

depending on how much room you need, you could route out some of the wood on the inside of your button hole, that might give you close to half an inch.  trim the button a bit and it might fit.

Or, you could mount two new buttons on each side in a workable position and use the original two buttons (on the right) for something else.

[Turnarcades]

Combination of the last post and the Sanwa idea. This s a common error customers come to us with when they submit their own ideas for control panel layouts, and why we allow a 2" 'buffer' when planning the underside of a control panel all around the edge, to avoid possible fouling.

Route out (this may be tricky now it's assembled) or chisel out a recess from the inside and use Sanwa buttons, which are much shorter. This is what Ond did in his build:

[bratwurst]

been there, done that. 

i'd consider picking up a few Sanwa snap in buttons...

http://www.lizardlick.com/Sanwa-30mm-Snap-In-Buttons_c_176.html

they are very shallow, designed for a metal panel, however provided that the hole is tight enough, they work fairly well in wood panels also.  you could also put a little hot glue on them before inserting them to make sure they stay in place.   they do require a slightly larger hole than the happ buttons, but that is easy enough to accomplish.

I bought some of the sanwa snap in buttons at the link above.  They're a slightly larger button and take a slightly larger hole than the Happ's I had used.  So i used a dremel sanding bit attachment to gradually make the hole bigger, lightly running it around the entire inside of the hole and testing often to get the right fit.  Once I had them in, wired them up and they work awesome.  its amazing how different the feel of these buttons are.  Extremely quiet and the "engage" point is completely imperceptible.  I'm really happy with how this turned out.

Pics:

Button comparison:



New buttons outside:



New buttons on inside:



Thank you for all the suggestions and for generally talking me off the ledge.  I'm very happy this was able to be fixed.

[jimmy2x2x]

Good job, glad it worked out!

Now that you have sampled the Sanwa buttons, would you use them as the main buttons on a new build or stick the the Happ's?

[releasedtruth]

So effectively you have them 'snapped in' to a wood panel? They in there snug or did you secure them additionally?

[bratwurst]

They're not really "snapped" in, but the fit is so tight you'd have to really push from the inside to get them out.

As for the buttons themselves, they definitely seem like they would have their use and their place.  I'm not sure if I would use them in place of the happ, as I kind of like the click action of the happ buttons.  but maybe over time I'll change my mind.

[severdhed]

glad they worked out.  the sanwa buttons are definitely different feeling than the happs.  i personally like the happs too because that is what i grew up playing.  i have picked up a few of these to play with and have considered using them in a panel, however the fact that they are twice the price of happs makes me not want to order enough of them to make a full panel. 

to get back on topic, those look really good, glad you were able rectify the situation without too much trouble

[releasedtruth]

Great to hear. I did something similar and covered the holes with hole plugs, but would be awesome to be able to put in some sanwas instead. On the backside of the panel thankfully, but has bothered me for years