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| Getting leaf buttons into 1-1/8" metal CP hole? |
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| DrewKaree:
SONOFA......well, I just lost my reply >:( Stingray's idea is THE easiest, but I think you're looking for a peace-of-mind solution. Mebbe this'll sound do-able to you. Find a dowel. Inch and a half or so. If you CAN'T find one that large, you can buy a chunk of handrail from HD, it should be a lot larger than you need, but that'll just mean a tad more work for you. Take a screw and run it into one end of the dowel. Chuck that screw into your drill. Take a belt sander or equivalent and spin the whole thing using the drill to keep it even-ish and sand at an angle to make a "sharpened pencil" shape. When you've got enough done where you can fit a good-sized chunk through your CP, wrap emery paper around that and use that to round out your hole little by little until the button fits into your CP. You can also use a lathe or run it at a 45 across a tablesaw blade to help speed stock removal if you have access to either of those. Again, Stingray's idea is WAY easier, but you can tell him you'll give HIS idea a shot when he enlarged his midway coin slots to accept Santoro's tokens ;) (hey -S, I'm an asshat, ain't I? ;D ) |
| Grasshopper:
If the cp was originally designed to accept modern microswitch buttons then perhaps the holes aren't actually 1-1/8". According to IL's website the microswitch buttons are actually designed to fit a 28mm hole which is slightly less than 1-1/8". 1-1/8" = 2.8575mm I've bought leaf buttons from two different sources and both types will definitely fit a 1-1/8" hole once the bumps have been removed although it is a very tight fit. Maybe you've got Nintendo buttons. I've heard they were deliberately made in a non-standard size so that other manufacturer's buttons couldn't easily be fitted to Nintendo cabs. |
| NoOne=NBA=:
--- Quote from: Grasshopper on February 04, 2006, 06:01:29 am ---I've bought leaf buttons from two different sources and both types will definitely fit a 1-1/8" hole once the bumps have been removed although it is a very tight fit. --- End quote --- I just measured a couple Midway CPs that I have. The holes in them are NOT 1-1/8". They are 1-5/32 (approx 29mm), and then have the notches for the non-tamper bumps. --- Quote ---Maybe you've got Nintendo buttons. I've heard they were deliberately made in a non-standard size so that other manufacturer's buttons couldn't easily be fitted to Nintendo cabs. --- End quote --- Nintendo made their buttons a hair smaller than industry standard. If they'd made them bigger, then anyone's buttons would have gone in their cabs. |
| quarterback:
--- Quote from: Grasshopper on February 04, 2006, 06:01:29 am ---I've bought leaf buttons from two different sources and both types will definitely fit a 1-1/8" hole once the bumps have been removed although it is a very tight fit. --- End quote --- A very tight fit in a wood CP or in a metal CP? I'm not debating whether or not leafs can be jammed into a 1-1/8" hole in a wooden CP. Yes, all of my leafs can be pressed into the not-100%-precisely-drilled-1-1/8"-soft-wood-CP that I have. But NONE of my 40+ leafs will fit into the metal CP. Period. I have leafs from three completely different sources. I have the ones that came in my Konami cab. I have the ones that I bought on B/S/T, I have the translucents that I just bought. I PROMISE you that these will not fit into a 1-1/8" METAL hole. --- Quote from: Grasshopper on February 04, 2006, 06:01:29 am ---If the cp was originally designed to accept modern microswitch buttons then perhaps the holes aren't actually 1-1/8". According to IL's website the microswitch buttons are actually designed to fit a 28mm hole which is slightly less than 1-1/8". --- End quote --- Indeed. And, just for the record, the microswitch buttons fit into these holes with no problem. In fact, there is even some 'give' where I can slide the microswitch buttons to the right and left before the plastic threads hit the edges of the metal hole. So, my guess is that you're correct. The holes are 1-1/8" and the microswitches are slightly smaller. But the leafs are not. They are demonstrably larger and too big for 1-1/8" holes. I may have to get Kneivel in here. |
| quarterback:
--- Quote from: NoOne=NBA= on February 04, 2006, 12:11:29 am ---Emery cloth wrapped around a drill bit should work as well--and be quicker. --- End quote --- That's a good idea. My concern would be the potential scratches on top of of the CP since the emery cloth wouldn't be the precise diameter of the hole. That's why I was originally thinking about using the button as a structural element. But yeah, using a drill would definitely be faster. --- Quote from: DrewKaree on February 04, 2006, 03:14:45 am ---Find a dowel. Inch and a half or so. Take a screw and run it into one end of the dowel. Chuck that screw into your drill. Take a belt sander or equivalent and spin the whole thing using the drill to keep it even-ish and sand at an angle to make a "sharpened pencil" shape. --- End quote --- That's a really good idea. Basically creating a 'step-drill-grinding-bit'. I thought about this last night (in my sleep) and actually decided that there might be a very similar but even easier way. I may be able to wrap emery cloth or sand paper right around the chuck of my drill. I'm not sure if the taper to the tip is angled enough, but it would be the same principle but save me a couple steps. --- Quote from: DrewKaree on February 04, 2006, 03:14:45 am ---Stingray's idea is THE easiest, --- End quote --- I'm still not 100% convinced that this is the way for me. I spent some time working down the diameter of a leaf button last night. I started with 60-grit sandpaper. I then moved to my dremel with a grinder/sander bit. I then moved to a diamond bit and finally to a metal file. It was amazing to me how long it took to even get close to the diameter I needed... and that's on soft plastic. I spent about 30+ minutes on it and got it so I could get it most of the way into the CP. But even with the dremel, it took a lot of time and I ended up with flat spots and it still doesn't fit all the way in. I feel that taking a file to the cold-rolled-steel of my CP isn't going to be as fast as Stingray managed to get it done. I'm not saying that it took him more than 30-seconds, and I'm sure that the circular nature of the file is a big help, but based on how long it took me to 'shrink' the plastic buttons, 30-sec per hole seems like a dream. But, for the record, I haven't avoided that method because I don't think it will work I haven't tried it because (a) I don't have a semi-circular file and (b) I'm still not 100% sure I want the holes to be bigger. I'm still contemplating using micro-switch buttons (which WILL fit) and the new leaf-attachments. My debate at this point is about how much money I want to spend, plus the fact that I just got these leaf translucents and they look AWESOME! |
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