Question Regarding Joystick+CP - Secure to CP

[Yourname942]

What happened:
After about a week or so one of my joysticks' 4 screws (which hold it to the CP) got completely torn out by people going crazy on the joystick.
 (too much force on the joystick tore all 4 screws out)

The joysticks are also attached from the bottom and I routed the mdf so they are flush with the bottom of the CP)

My Question:
Is there anything I can use to make the joysticks more secure so that it won't get torn out of the mdf CP again?

Thanks.

[Nephasth]

What kind of screws did you use?

[Yourname942]

I'm using these:

here are images of the screws joystick area:

http://s1226.beta.photobucket.com/user/Yourname942/media/pics%20today/2013-03-02_18-21-31_658_zpsc9d07834.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

[Yourname942]

Does anyone know what I could do?

Would my best bet just be to use bolts and to counter sink them? But the only thing with that is that the mdf is already routed out near the screws so idk if countersinking them would take the rest of the mdf away just making complete holes)

[shponglefan]

Could you top mount them instead?  Granted it's a fair bit more work, probably requiring a complete CP tear-down to route out the holes for the joystick.  But it would be a lot more secure if someone is pressing down on the 'stick.

edited: Actually just re-read that you routed them flush with the CP bottom... so I imagine if you did the same from a top-mount position there might not be much MDF layer to work with.  Unless you could rotate them sideways (depending on what type of joystick they are and how much space you have with other components).

[Nephasth]

My recommendation would be to use threaded inserts.

[CoryBee]

You could put wood screws down through the holes and use a piece of wood as a "nut" to hold it in place. Had to do this on my nephews mini-build for reasons.



Worked out really well, and certainly is secure

[Le Chuck]

You're going to want to either go with threaded inserts as suggested or through bolt it.  I don't know what the top of your panel looks like but carriage bolt heads don't look all that ordinary on a CP.  Either way anchoring into the wood isn't going to last at all.  If you want rock solid, drop some bolts all the way through.   

[Yourname942]

this is what the outside looks like:

http://s1226.beta.photobucket.com/user/Yourname942/media/more%20pics%20today/2013-03-03_03-20-32_160_zpsbfa61a00.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

when you say threaded inserts do you mean t nuts?:







what do you think would be the better solution/more secure? a t nut or a through-bolt?

[PL1]

The first and foremost problem is that you tried to mount a joystick in MDF using regular wood screws.   

Wood screws in MDF can not withstand those kind of forces due to the shape/lower surface area of the threads compared to inserts like these or these that are designed for use in MDF.

 

If some players will be throwing their body weight behind the joystick, you might choose to avoid the easy-to-use GGG or Ultimarc inserts and stick with either the carriage bolts or the t-nuts.

There are also t-nuts that have brad holes -- much better for this aplication than hammering the nut to seat the prongs of the other kind.



When top-mounting t-nuts, be sure to countersink them and select proper length screws -- long enough to solidly engage the nut but not so long that they poke through the top when you mount the joystick.


Scott