Removing Jakks TV Game Joystick Ball

[ShadowStitch]

Lots of people seem to have taken apart the Jakks games, but I haven't chanced upon one nugget of info I can't seem to figure out for myself. How to remove the joystick from the game!

I'm building a little mini-pac, and against what most people would recommend, I'm trying to use the joystick out of the Jakks pacman itself. I know I could stick a nice new ball-stick in it, and that wouldn't be a problem, but stick with me for a second. I'm just trying to get the Joystick (with ball intact) out of the housing. I've disassembled the whole darned thing, and all that's left is the ball, the stick, and the mounting plate it's attached to.

Okay, well this probably isn't the deepest topic ever to be discussed on BYOAC, but I'm stumped.  It's like some kind of evil puzzle box! I removed a circular cotter ring from the handle, which seems to make absolutely no difference at all. I can't unscrew the shaft, slide it, or pop it out, so I thought I'd ask before I break it.

To you folks who have simply hacked your balls off  do you have any clue how it's being held on?  Could I pull it off or pry it somehow?  Is there a screw inside the ball itself? Is it glued or locked on?

Like I said, I'd prefer NOT to destroy the stick, and I may just be forced to crack the purple housing and get it out that way, although I'd rather not do that either, because at this point it's a challenge; they got it in there somehow, and I want to figure out how to get it out!

I'd appreciate any ideas or comments from anyone who has done this before... maybe I can learn from someone else's broken balls!

[MinerAl]

Elegant solution I used...

Put it in the freezer (or in dry ice if you can get it) and smash the ball off.

I realize you want the ball in tact, but it is glued on, and the disc at the bottom is also glued on, so you need to break something.

The other option, is to drill a hole in your CP big enough for your ball to pass through, and then get yourself a dust-cover disc to put on the shaft.  You may have to split a nice straight line in the dust-disc and then superglue it back together, but that's about the least destructive method I can think of right now.

Good luck... make sure to take pictures of your eventual solution for the next guy! (and the rest of us too)

Al

Edit- spelling

[markrvp]

You gotta hacksaw that beeotch, baby

Well, seriously, you gotta do it.

[ShadowStitch]

MinerAl was the first person I know of to do one of these and he inspired me to do my project:

[quarterback]

In the meantime, I'm still working on my ball problem... If it turns out that it can't be done, it can't be done...but I'm not ready to admit defeat yet!

You could try melting the glue by putting the ball into a pot of boiling water.

[markrvp]

Yes! Which in turn inspired ME to do it.

[RayB]

You don't need the case anymore, so crack the case in half.

[ShadowStitch]

SUCCESS!!

Despite what Transformers instructions might tell you, on occasion excessive force works wonders.

Here's what we've got, and forgive me if I don't use the correct terms:

On the bottom of the stick shaft, there's a pivot bearing, then the top half of the mechanism casing, then a spring, then the actuator that actually contacts the switches when the bottom half of the mechanism casing (and switches) are screwed on. (The bottom half of the mechanism casing and switches are not present in my photo)



Now, if you can wedge something like a largish flathead screwdriver or a pair of pliers BETWEEN the spring and the actuator, you can pry the whole thing off - it's held in place by a series of concentric rings on the shaft, and in theory should shove right back on later.



After this, you're left with the shaft, with the pivot bearing still stuck on it, (so we STILL can't get the shaft out of the purple housing) and a pile of parts.



What's good for the goose is good for the gander, so I once again took pliers in hand and levered a little force against the bearing...and it slid right off too.

[MinerAl]

Excellent!

Now you can re-assemble your $12 toy

Good work, man!

Mark's site will get you everywhere you want to go with this kind of project, but maybe mine might have something useful too.