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Happs 3", high-lip trackball question
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Teknique:
Anyone know of any material that can be used to build-up the lip of this trackball by 1/16" ?  In the picture below, I installed the trackball mounting plate below the laminate, thus the imperfect lip.  There is no way to fix this problem now without modifying the trackball case in some way.

I am planning to remove the trackball, ring the interior hole with a piece of masking tape and drizzle something into the recessed area between the laminate and the masking tape until the area is level with the laminate. 

I need something black and something that is going to adhere to hard plastic.  It can't ruin laminate when it comes in contact with it- because it will be in contact with it.  Im guessing that I will want something that dries rock solid instead of something that dries more flexible.

Any ideas?

Tek
mccoy178:
I would recommend one of the height rings that comes with the high lip trackballs.  I would use a dremmel to take everything off except the ring and attach that.
quarterback:
I'm confused.  Your title says you have a question about the high-lip trackball.  Do you own the high-lip already or are you wishing you had the high-lip version so the lip would be higher?

If it's the latter, just order part 95-0565-00 which is the top of the high-lip assembly.   I don't know the final cost, but the bottom half of the trackball assembly is only like $6.

EDITED TO REFLECT THE FACT THAT THIS IS PROBABLY NOT THE CORRECT PART NUMBER.  See Teknique's post here for more info
Kremmit:

--- Quote from: mccoy178 on April 23, 2006, 10:06:55 pm ---I would recommend one of the height rings that comes with the high lip trackballs.  I would use a dremmel to take everything off except the ring and attach that.

--- End quote ---

If you're talking about the part QB listed, that's the entire upper case of the TB, and would not need to be modified, just attached.  That is only for folks wanting to add a higher lip to their standard trackball.  If you're talking about part #95-1828-00, that's the spacer, and won't work.  It has a hole in it that fits around the high lip, for the purpose of lowering the TB (and lip), not raising it up.

Teknique:  If you want the lip to sit 1/16" higher, then maybe you can very carefully sand 1/16" of plastic off of the top side of the trackball housing, thus allowing the lip to sit up at the height you want.  Should provide better looking results than trying to add 1/16" of plastic to the top of the lip, if you can remove that much material, and leave it flat. 

Or, you could try rounding over the edge of the TB hole on your CP with a router.  Or just painting the inside edge of the hole black, so that it doesn't show so much.  But if you really want to try to build up the lip, I'd use JB-Stik, or similar.  It's a paste epoxy- once you mix the two parts together, you've got something like Play-Doh, that you can shape and mold- but when it hardens, it's like a rock.  And it's sand-able once it's hard.  (Be careful not to scratch your laminate with the sandpaper.)
Teknique:

--- Quote ---I'm confused.  Your title says you have a question about the high-lip trackball.  Do you own the high-lip already or are you wishing you had the high-lip version so the lip would be higher?
--- End quote ---

I have the high lip trackball already.  Even with as much routing as I did, the trackball still sits lower than the laminate because the mounting plate forces the plastic ring to sit at the same height as the metal mounting plate.  In retrospect, I should have cut the laminate around the plastic ring on the trackball lip instead of the the metal plate - this would have hidden the plastic all togeather with.


--- Quote from: Kremmit on April 24, 2006, 01:04:52 am ---
--- Quote from: mccoy178 on April 23, 2006, 10:06:55 pm ---I would recommend one of the height rings that comes with the high lip trackballs.  I would use a dremmel to take everything off except the ring and attach that.

--- End quote ---

If you're talking about the part QB listed, that's the entire upper case of the TB, and would not need to be modified, just attached.  That is only for folks wanting to add a higher lip to their standard trackball.  If you're talking about part #95-1828-00, that's the spacer, and won't work.  It has a hole in it that fits around the high lip, for the purpose of lowering the TB (and lip), not raising it up.

Teknique:  If you want the lip to sit 1/16" higher, then maybe you can very carefully sand 1/16" of plastic off of the top side of the trackball housing, thus allowing the lip to sit up at the height you want.  Should provide better looking results than trying to add 1/16" of plastic to the top of the lip, if you can remove that much material, and leave it flat. 


--- End quote ---

Sanding the top of my housing was my second thought- though it seemed more difficult.   I think i wil take a look at some of the part numbers again that Happs has, quite possibly mine is in fact not a high lip model though I thought that is what I had ordered. 

Other options would be to buy a new housing top and cut the ring off it then sand and glue.  I  think this is what mccoy178 suggested.  Kremmit, I think Ill avoid the epoxy route since you dont seem to be too enthusiatic about it and frankly Im not either.

Thanks for the inputs!

Tek
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