Joystick Mounting Screws

[sleong]

Hello everyone,

In the process of putting together a bartop unit and want to know whats the best way to mount joysticks to a 1/2" particle board control panel?

I'm guessing screws would not be very efficient as when playing sometimes the force of players would push too hard and just knock the joystick off.

I would guess carriage bolts would be the best bet? or how do most of you mount your joysticks that gives it a nice finish on the surface?

Steve

[Mike A]

Carriage bolts. All the way through. Just like God commanded.

[yotsuya]

Embrace the carriage bolt. It’s how the our arcade  forefathers did it.

[sleong]

Where would be the best place to get those? Lowes, Home Depot, Rona (Canada) etc.??

[Mike A]

Home Depot has them.

[sleong]

Thanks for the quick responses. . . . . . Since I am still not in home isolation and still got work I guess will need to wait for the weekend to pick these up!

[yotsuya]

Actually, if you have an Ace Hardware Store nearby, those are the best places to find them

[meyer980]

I'm surprised (but super curious) about the carriage bolt in wood thing. How do you get squares for the carriage bolts to stay in? And do you under-mount the joystick so that's it's still flush on top?

[Mike A]

When you tighten the carriage bolt down the round hole becomes square because steel beats wood.

[MartyKong]

Carriage bolts are definitely the most secure way to mount this. Using 3/4" plywood and a router I was able to under mount my joysticks because it would mess with my artwork. Other guys screw bottom pieces of wood to undermount joysticks to not mess with artwork. Lots of ways to solve this problem. If not for artwork, I would have gone with traditional carriage bolts. A quick joystick mounting search should give you plenty of ideas

[PL1]

Carriage bolts are probably the best choice for your 1/2" panel.

A quick joystick mounting search should give you plenty of ideas

The FAQ has a good list of mounting options.

http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/FAQ#Joysticks

The difficult part of using threaded inserts like the ones from GGG on a 1/2" panel is that the insert needs a hole that is at least 0.345" deep to fullly seat it -- there's not much wiggle room.


Scott

[sleong]

Scott that was an informative site.

I was just considering undermount since it is only 1/2" and not much room to work with.

Using T-Nuts or similar would work but need more time to create that T recess. Not really what I want to do...

Giving it thought with the carriage bolt I wonder if the control panel will be strong enough before it gives way when tighting the bolt into the wood...

I though of using those IKEA screws then capping it with those plastic caps. To avoid any scratches to the hand when playing of slips.

[PL1]

I was just considering undermount since it is only 1/2" and not much room to work with.

Using T-Nuts or similar would work but need more time to create that T recess. Not really what I want to do...

Carriage bolts are used for undermount.
- Felsir and I forgot to include that method and diagram in the wiki.   

The joystick body is positioned like the "Under mount (tee-nuts)" diagram in the wiki, but there's no tee-nut recess and the bolts should be head up/threads down like the fasteners in the "Top mount" diagram.

Giving it thought with the carriage bolt I wonder if the control panel will be strong enough before it gives way when tighting the bolt into the wood...

Yes, the panel will be strong enough that you can tighten the nut and crush the square part of the bolt down into the round hole.

I though of using those IKEA screws then capping it with those plastic caps. To avoid any scratches to the hand when playing of slips.

You won't need caps.  Carriage bolt heads are rounded.

The threaded end and nut are below the panel so there's nothing to scratch your hand.



Worst case scenario:  You find ones that are the right size, but have markings on the head.
- Thread several nuts on the bolt.
- Tighten your power drill chuck on the nuts.
- Use sandpaper to remove the markings as the drill turns. (Poor man's lathe.)




Scott

[Hoopz]

Somebody here was selling black carriage bolts and if I recall correctly, no lettering on the head. Peale maybe. Or Randy? It's been awhile.

The forum search is still borked and using Google to search this site came up with a bunch of threads that you may want to browse.  YMMV.

[PL1]

Yeah, Randy has them . . .

https://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=70&products_id=297



. . . so does Arcadeshop . . .

http://www.arcadeshop.com/i/199/midway-carriage-bolt-3-4-black.htm



. . . and Divemaster . . .

http://www.arcadeemulator.net/cgi-bin/shop/cp-app.cgi?usr=51F7049231&rnd=6017565&rrc=N&affl=&cip=68.13.130.147&act=&aff=&pg=prod&ref=Black+Carriage+Bolt+&cat=Accessories&catstr=HOME:Accessories



. . . Mike's Arcade has several sizes . . .

https://www.mikesarcade.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?sku=CBSPKRCVR
https://www.mikesarcade.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?sku=CBTBALL3IN

 

. . . so does Twisted Quarter, etc.


Scott

[Hoopz]

Good job Scott. You're a good kid.