Pivot point is a ball and socket. Pots are actuated by a guide for each axis.
Notice that the side panels are slotted. They slide out for disassembly.
Here's that little post. It wouldn't have hurt to put some superlube on there while it was apart, but I was too lazy to run down to the workshop and get it.
The joystick shaft is either one piece or the ball is press fit. I didn't clean off all the lube to find out.
It is captured between the joystick body and a top piece that's screwed down. I thought it was interesting that there were washers in between, like maybe it was too tight of a fit and they had to add spacers.
I'm also curious as to why there is a notch cut out. Perhaps it's for wiring for a trigger stick to pass through.
Thoughts:
Since it's working as a voltage divider, it should work with xbox360 pad hacks (although I am not guaranteeing it since the pots are 4.4k instead of 10k). I don't feel like hacking a pad to find out yet.
It will definitely need the center of the pots adjusted. Even if not hacking pots, it wouldn't hurt to adjust the center to 2.2k for the sake of having the same range in both directions.
Movement feels pretty good. It's subtle, but you do feel more resistance when moving diagonally than in primary directions because you are pushing against two springs instead of one. It's subtle and most people probably wouldn't notice, but it is there. Happ got around this by having one single huge centering spring underneath the joystick body. While the happ feels the same in all directions, it does a lousy job of actually recentering. It doesn't bother me enough to keep them out of my cab. (the fact that there isn't enough joystick shaft protruding underneath to add rotary might stop me, but the feel of the joystick movement won't).
One upside is no clicking switches. I have optical switches in my cab, so I'd forgotten how loud the JLFs are until I dug one out of the spare parts bin to compare mounting plates. Definitely a positive there.
Overall it doesn't appear to be arcade duty, but it was friggin' $23....with an analog encoder...and eleven buttons....and wiring! For trying to hack arcade controls into analog gamepads, it's probably as good as it gets for less than $300. How long they will last is still up in the air. They are more hefty than the little Alps sticks I've used in the past. They also don't have the crazy long throw of those.
I'll leave it to chrisdfw to comment on actual gameplay with it. I have other projects that need to get done, so it will probably be after Christmas before I mess with it any more.