What reasonably priced 8way ball top joystick would you recommend for a wood cp?

[markronz]

As much as I would like to throw down for some U360's, I don't quite have the money.   I do have some Sanwa ULF's I am considering using, but I am not sure I am up to the task of top mounting them (still thinking about it though).  So, as a result, I am just looking around out there to see what people might recommend if I were to buy some new joysticks.  So...being that I am using a 0.75" MDF board, and I want an 8 way ball top, and I want to bottom mount it ideally, so that I could easily switch joysticks at a later date if I wanted to. 

What joystick would you recommend that would fir the bill?

[severdhed]

i have two Sanwa JLWs in my 4 player panel(for players 3 and 4) and i really like the feel of them...so much in fact that i think i am going to pull my u360s out and replace them with two more JLWs.  they are a little short if straight bottom mounting, i used a router to reduce the thickness of the panel where the joysticks mount.  they are still bottom mounted, but it made them feel better.  they aren't too expensive and feel great.  plus the u360s are modified JLWs (at least they used to be) so if you decide to switch later, they should just drop right in.

they have a square restrictor on them, which makes them feel alot different than a happ stick, but they feel good.  also, due to the square restrictor, it is easy to hit diagonals, which makes them work very well for Qbert. 

i'm not aware of any 8way balltops designed for wooden panels. 

[LeedsFan]

You can get shaft extenders for Seimitsu sticks. Make the shaft 15mm longer. It's just a bit extra that screws where the ball top goes.
http://www.gremlinsolutions.co.uk/products/LS-32-ShaftExtender.htm

Or there are premade longer shafts for Seimitsu and Sanwa sticks you can get from Arcadeshop.de. They give extra space to mount in a 20mm thick panel if needed. Of course all these parts cost extra to the stock joystick.
http://www.arcadeshop.de/Seimitsu-Joysticks-Shaft-Extender-LS-32_880.html

And I don't know if these parts are available in the US. Those extended shafts are staed as being manufactured in Germany, so I bet they are exclusive to Arcadeshop.de.

I considered using the extended shaft myself for LS32-01 but then figured that the longer the shaft the longer the throw would be. I could be wrong on that but just decided to route out the panel and top mount them anyway.

[dfmaverick]

I think I saw somewhere that someone (TornadoTerry???) does an extended ball top for the Happ Super (?).

Can't recall where I saw that.

[Donkbaca]

There is this:
http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/45-classic-arcade-stick-zippyy.html

or you can just top mount a sanwa/seimitsu.  if you search for "top mount joystick" you should find it