Joystick Shafts..

[Vidiot]

I rarely ask for help but I find myself in need and I'm hoping someone here will be able to point me in the right direction. I currently have 2 Happ Ultimate 360 joysticks which use the Wico style joystick shaft. I was using these sticks in a metal control panel and the 3.5" shaft height worked perfectly there howevere I am moving them to my new machine which has a 3/4" thick wooden CP and I'm afraid they will still be too short even if I recess the joystick into the bottom of the panel. So I am hoping that someone makes a 4" Wico compatible shaft. I want to use ball-top sticks. So does anyone know of a compatible 4" shaft that will fit my perfect 360 joysticks?

I looked into the Versaball 2 on GGG but it looks like they are only available in an anodized blue or red color. I emailed them about the other colors shown in the pics and never got a response so I'm assuming they are not available in those colors anymore. I would prefer the shaft to be a regular metal color or maybe black.

Thanks for any help guys! 

[JDFan]

Can you top mount them ?? - ie cut a recess in the top of the CP so that they sit level with the top of the CP and place the artwork and plexi over them.

Problem with extending the shaft is it will also change the feel of the stick as the longer the shaft the more travel involved to engage the switches. 

[Vidiot]

Thanks for the suggestion. Thats a good point about the longer shafts. I've decided to see how they do mounted underneath recessed as far as I can into the wood. I'm really only losing about 1/4" of the shaft. I'm hoping they will still feel good and not too short.

Cheers.