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| BYO Ball top - Lighted Translucent Red Top Fire w/ pics! |
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| Bgnome:
i got the idea from RayB and from Tom, the Tron repro guy, to try and put together my own top-fire ball top. now, i am still in the planning stage for my cabinet project and this is one of the mini-projects i am trying to work on that will go into it. so please bare with me since i am bascially going off of info that i have read.. i plan on getting the x-arcade parts mainly due to cost appeal. i understand the sticks are happ super replicas. i am assuming that this means that the shafts are 10mm exactly. now, i have found these things that i will be using for the ball tops. of course, they werent made for this application so i will adapting them. they are called pet strobes, have a diameter of 38mm, (a little large for a ball top but they fit nicely in my palm), and they have 4 red, (super bright?), LEDs in them. I will also try to put a radioshack button in the top. http://www.cmi-befirst.com/catalogue/petstrobe.jpg my problem at the moment is finding something to use for the shafts. i cant for the life of me seem to find regular aluminum/steel tubing in either 10mm or 3/8" inches anywhere around here. i checked at hobby lobby, home depot, and lowes. some things i have found are small brass pipe "nipples," (threaded on both sides for those of you that dont know), of varying lengths for what they call 1/8" pipe, which seems to have a 10mm OD from what i could measure with a plastic ruler. i have also found 10mm aluminum knitting needles which seem to be hollow and these really neat red acrylic knitting needles but i would need to figure out how to drill a hole through those. i have read a little about people hacking trigger sticks into super bases so i have a fairly good idea on how to do it. what i dont understand is if the shaft has a 10mm diameter for the entire length, what holds it up? i believe the e-clip is only there to hold the actuator, which goes on the bottom of the stick. is there something in the box assembly that keeps the stick from sliding through? or does the diameter change like in the pictures for RayB's ball tops? i would also really appreciate measurements on how long the shaft should be and whether i would still need to make grooves for the e-clip and such or find an alternative, (heard about the drill-depth guides but didnt really find any). if anyone needs any more information, i would be happy to share. i appreciate any input anyone has. |
| MinerAl:
--- Quote from: Bgnome on July 20, 2004, 06:06:33 pm ---i have read a little about people hacking trigger sticks into super bases so i have a fairly good idea on how to do it. what i dont understand is if the shaft has a 10mm diameter for the entire length, what holds it up? i believe the e-clip is only there to hold the actuator, which goes on the bottom of the stick. is there something in the box assembly that keeps the stick from sliding through? or does the diameter change like in the pictures for RayB's ball tops? i would also really appreciate measurements on how long the shaft should be and whether i would still need to make grooves for the e-clip and such or find an alternative, (heard about the drill-depth guides but didnt really find any). if anyone needs any more information, i would be happy to share. i appreciate any input anyone has. --- End quote --- The stick is held on with the e-clip and the plastic sleve that goes around the shaft at the top, which in turn is held in place by the ball/trigger/bat of the stick. So in order for the stick to stay on the mechanism, it needs a really solid top and an e-clip on the bottom. The shaft length is up to you, as long as the distance between the sleeve's bottom, and the e-clip is the same as on the original, you should be fine. When I made mine, I just pushed the assembled stick in until there was some tension on the spring, and used a sharpie to mark the shaft. Then I used a dremel cutting wheel to make a channel for the e-clip. The steel 3/8" tube I found at an Ace hardware by the sheet metal and metal rods/dowels. I've looked at Home Depot and Lowes and not found them. 3/8" isn't perfectly 10mm, but it's like 9.9mm. Pretty close, and one wrapping of scotch tape in the places you want tight works pretty slick. Let us know how it goes! |
| Bgnome:
it looks like the stick itself on a super is about 6" long from the top of the handle so a 5" nipple may work. i could try to find a nut for the bottom instead of using the e-clip. and i assume the sleeve is just black so the brass isnt an issue. but those were about $3 a piece so i am hoping to find a cheaper solution. the costs so far are $5 for the ball, $3 for the button, and $5 (eventually) for the base. my main concern with tubing alternatives is the sturdiness of it. i assume these things will take a beating and i dont want the sticks breaking and slicing open peoples hands.. |
| Jakobud:
I think you are gonna have a hard time using those Pet Strobes as Ball Tops... they are just thin hollow plastic balls with some LEDs and stuff in them. I don't know how you are gonna screw a joystick shaft into it and expect it to feel solid. |
| Bgnome:
i will take pictures once i get this thing going, but the way the plastic is molded, there is a cavity that is made to fit 2 LR44 batteries. the cavity is about an inch long and a little more than a cm wide. the top that screws on also has a cm wide hollow in the center which i believe will help attach the shaft and keep it sturdy. with some loctite contact cement, i am sure the ball will be secure nad have a good feel to it. |
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