Joystick Mounting?

[bond1]

I've got some T-Stik Plus joysticks that i want to bottom mount.  But the problem is that the joystick shaft would be way too short.  My control panel is 3/4" thick.  

How in the world do you mount your joysticks so there is more than just a nub sticking out the top of the control panel?    I really don't want to top mount it because it just doesn't look nice.

[maraxle]

You could route the wood out underneath to make it thinner.

[bond1]

That's kind of what I was thinking.    What  kind of router bit would I need to do this?  Thanks!

[zaphod]

I use a 1/2" or 3/4" straight router bit.  Works great.

[bond1]

Great, I'll give it a try.   Thanks!

[NoOne=NBA=]

Bottom mounting is definitely preferable.
I bottom mounted my Wicos by routing a 3/8" recess for them.
That is in a narrow module, and I have had no problems with it at all.

The option that will give you the maximum stick height without bolts screaming "top-mount" is to recess the bases from the top enough to hide the bolt heads, and then fill in the rest of the recess with wood, to bring it back up level with the top of the CP.
The problem with this method is that, if you ever want to change them, you have to tear your CP apart to get them back out.
It does give you the highest stick though, so you need to decide what is most important to you.

[mr.Curmudgeon]

Just got the T-Stik Pluses myself, w/ Ball-tops (long) and I've been looking around like crazy trying to find pictures of a bottom mounting.

I bought the long shaft ball-tops under the impression that I could just bottom mount in 3/4" wood without doing any routing, is this the case? What bolt/screw type should be used.

Also, if anyone could point me towards pictures of the T-Stik Plus bottom mounted, I'd be extremely grateful.

[NoOne=NBA=]

With the long balltops you can just screw them to the bottom of the 3/4" CP and be done with it.
The sticks may be a little short that way for some people's taste; but I liked them that way, so I didn't sink them in at all.

I drilled a 1" hole for the stick, and used #10 x 3/4" screws to mount it.

[mr.Curmudgeon]

Is it pretty solid that way or have you had any issues with them pulling out? What type of wood are you using?

I'm using MDF, and I am a little concerned that the screws might get pushed out after heavy use.

[vputz]

I'm actually in the same boat--have a 3/4" thick CP, and planning on undermounting the sticks; I was going to top-mount to the bottom layer, but got confused trying to figure out how to get everything to fit the way I wanted it.

But I'm not clear a) how much to route out, and b) how to attach the sticks to the bottom of the panel.  I've heard folks recommend T-nuts, but  I'm a touch nervous about that--is it the way to go?

-->VPutz