How do I mount Ultimarc J stiks on my control panel

[dbldown768]

Do people have suggestions? It seem like it is top mounted?  I have read that you bottom mount if you ever plan on changing out the sticks and do not want to disassemble the whole board.  I plan on trying to get working on this part of the control panel today.  Also any suggestions on mounting bolts and screws as well.   I found this thread: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,90467.0.html

Also anything simply would be great.  I also have a trackball to figure out how to mount as well.

[n3wt0n]

Are you trying to bottom mount them in a wooden panel or a metal panel? If it is a wooden panel you can use threaded inserts and the appropriate bolts. If the thickness of the wooden panel is going to negatively effect your shaft length you can consider routing out some of the area but that will probably not allow you to use the threaded insert method anymore and you will have to get more creative.

What kind of trackball is it? Hard to tell you but the inserts may work for this application as well.

Good luck.

[Titchgamer]

J sticks are bottom mounted.
As n3wton said you can buy inserts that screw into the wood and then the stick mounts to them.

Or you can simply use 1/2" wood screws to screw it directly to the panel (depending on thickness)

If your panel is 3/4" or more you may need to route out the panel otherwise the stick will be to short.

[dbldown768]

I'm using 3/4 MDF. J stik with a bat top.  The trackball is the one from ultimarc and I have the flush plastic bevel piece as well.  I was test routing out 1/2 of MDF leaving 1/4 for mounting. I was thinking of just countersinking some bolts or something

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[dbldown768]

Tried to get a photo of what the depth is at 1/4 thick left of the MDF. Is that not enough to support it.

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[dbldown768]

As far as the trackball goes. It looks like I might have to route out just a little bit to get the top of it flush.  Between two scrap pieces of 3/4 MDF seems like there is a bit of a lip on the collar.





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[dbldown768]

Was going to also cover with 1/8 plexiglass

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[behrmr]

You need to cut out the panel for the base of the stick and route out a relief for the mounting plate.  Once covered with plexi you wont see any of the mounting.

[dbldown768]

You are taking about cutting out from the bottom or top? If from the bottom i cut out 1/2"

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[Titchgamer]

From the bottom, 1/2" is plenty.

Personally I would of only taken out 1/4" as 1/4 aint much to screw to.

[PL1]

Or you can simply use 1/2" wood screws to screw it directly to the panel (depending on thickness)

https://web.archive.org/web/20160809113045/http://newwiki.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?title=FAQ#Hardware

Threaded Inserts: These are preferred over wood screws in materials such as MDF. Regardless of what kind of thread geometry the wood screw has, with MDF you can only tighten it reliably once. When you loosen and retighten a screw in MDF it pulps and strips it.

You are taking about cutting out from the bottom or top? If from the bottom i cut out 1/2"

You may want to consider the "Under mount (support blocks)" mounting method.

https://web.archive.org/web/20160809113045/http://newwiki.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?title=FAQ#Joysticks






Scott

[dbldown768]

I went 3/8" in the sticks and 1/8 on the trackball. Might take another 1/8 on the trackball since the plexiglass is going to raise the bevel up.

I picked up some #8 screws I believe with tnuts from home depot. Any opinions on if the tnuts on the top will cause any issues. 

Looks like from this link from Scott that t-nuts will get the job done. Thanks

Appreciate all the help.

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[PL1]

I picked up some #8 screws I believe with tnuts from home depot. Any opinions on if the tnuts on the top will cause any issues. 

From the FAQ:

Tee Nuts/T-Nuts: The two common styles have either prongs or holes for small nails to keep the nuts from turning when screws are tightened/loosened. The kind with the nails is usually a better choice than the kind with prongs because it's much easier to drill tiny pilot holes for nails than it is to drive prongs into dense MDF.

    PRO + Almost as strong as carriage bolts.
    PRO + Can be hidden in a shallow countersink.
    CON - Requires more work to prepare a smooth surface for paint or vinyl artwork.
    PRO/CON Use a piece of tape to ensure that wood putty does not get into the threads of the nut, otherwise the hardened putty may be pushed up when you tighten the screw and damage the smooth surface.
    PRO/CON Screws used must be long enough to engage the tee nut, but not so long that they break through the top of the control panel.

Scott