Balltop Stick Height?

[Jamesbeat]

Maybe I'm weird, I like the feel of Happ Competition joysticks.
I want balltops on my new cabinet, but I just don't like the feel of Japanese style balltop joysticks.

I decided to have the best of both worlds, so I bought a couple of Happ Competitions, and I'm going to convert them to balltops.

It looks like it will be simple enough to do, but I'm unsure how long the shaft should be, ie the distance between the top of the control panel and the bottom of the ball.

I know that this varies somewhat from build to build, but what would be a good 'typical' length?

I will mostly be playing the classics, but the sticks need to be usable for fighters too.

[chopperthedog]

Rough measurements from real panels.
Midway pac joy 5/8"
Donkey Kong joy 9/16"



good day.

[Jamesbeat]

Thanks very much for the measurements, but wow,  that seems really short!

I'm concerned that such short sticks would make fighting games all but impossible.

What is a typical shaft protrusion for say a Sanwa etc?

[jeremymtc]

My JLW in a 5/8" wood panel (routed to .250") is 1 3/16" from panel to underside of ball.

My Ultimarc T-stiks with 'long' balltop shafts are 1 5/16" from panel to underside of ball, also in a routed 5/8" wood panel.

I have fairly large hands, and I prefer the slightly taller height of my T-stiks over the Sanwa. The Sanwa is still perfectly comfortable and usable.

Conventional [internet] wisdom on Japanese sticks seems to be about 1" to 1 1/8" height. I like em a little taller.

[Jamesbeat]

That sounds more appropriate for a multipurpose stick, thanks.

I am considering a four-way too if I can find room for it without cluttering up the panel too much, in which case I will probably use the shorter length mentioned above since it will be for Pac man and other classic four way games.

Thanks guys

[paigeoliver]

Why not just get a couple of old American style balltops rather than trying to build your own. The NOS stock seems to have dried up but you can still find them used.

[Jamesbeat]

Why not just get a couple of old American style balltops rather than trying to build your own. The NOS stock seems to have dried up but you can still find them used.

True, but I got a good deal on a sticks/buttons kit, plus I like making stuff myself - it's a big part of the fun for me.
It also means that I have a huge choice of balltops (standard thread) which I can change simply by unscrewing them.
This will make changing my CP color scheme easy if I choose to down the road.

I should probably have mentioned above that I have a metal lathe, lest I give people the incorrect impression that you can just 'lego' these parts together.

I was half expecting to have to make custom shafts from scratch, but I removed the plastic parts from the existing shafts today and it looks like they will be usable.
I just have to wait for my balls to arrive (giggity) so I can figure out what spec the threads are.
I think they are 6mm, but I don't yet know the pitch or what the length of the stud needs to be (giggity).

[paigeoliver]

Here, Bob Roberts has 4" Wico plum sticks at $3 each and from what I recall they directly drop into one of the happ bases. (Not the Super, but one of the other 2).

http://www.therealbobroberts.net/joyparts.html

[Jamesbeat]

Here, Bob Roberts has 4" Wico plum sticks at $3 each and from what I recall they directly drop into one of the happ bases. (Not the Super, but one of the other 2).

http://www.therealbobroberts.net/joyparts.html

Well at that price I guess I'm mildly annoyed, but I'm sure mine will turn out nice.
As I mentioned, I enjoy the making process itself, so it's not something I'm trying to avoid.
I'll admit I was a little disappointed when I discovered that I don't need to make custom shafts from scratch

[leapinlew]

Well shoot....

After paige mentioned those joystick shafts, I thought I'd order me some and they are already sold out. Did anyone here buy them? If you end up not liking them, I'll buy them off you - shoot me a PM!

[paigeoliver]

Well shoot....

After paige mentioned those joystick shafts, I thought I'd order me some and they are already sold out. Did anyone here buy them? If you end up not liking them, I'll buy them off you - shoot me a PM!

I should have bought a lot more of them back when they were a dollar each.

[Jamesbeat]

Well shoot....

After paige mentioned those joystick shafts, I thought I'd order me some and they are already sold out. Did anyone here buy them? If you end up not liking them, I'll buy them off you - shoot me a PM!

Not guilty, I'm still modifying my own sticks

[paigeoliver]

I might have a few of the standard length shafts in unpopular colors. You will need a metal panel to use them.

Well shoot....

After paige mentioned those joystick shafts, I thought I'd order me some and they are already sold out. Did anyone here buy them? If you end up not liking them, I'll buy them off you - shoot me a PM!

[leapinlew]

I might have a few of the standard length shafts in unpopular colors. You will need a metal panel to use them.

Well shoot....

After paige mentioned those joystick shafts, I thought I'd order me some and they are already sold out. Did anyone here buy them? If you end up not liking them, I'll buy them off you - shoot me a PM!

No worries - I have a bunch of 3.5's