NEW PRODUCT: Interchangeable Balltops/Shafts for Competition/Super Joys

[markrvp]

Many of you have heard me talk about Tornado Terry who sells the 4-way reunion sticks that work in wood control panels.  I mentioned to Terry that I would like balltop shafts to replace the "bat-handles" in my Competition joysticks on my 4-player control panel.  Terry really delivered!!  I suggested he make a product announcement thread, but he was too modest, so I'm doing it instead.  I think everybody here needs to know about it!!

Here it is:

A color-matched Balltop Shaft that works in ALL 3 of Happ's most popular joysticks:  Competition, Super, and 4-way Reunion bases.  They are height adjustable to work in wood or metal panels.

The price is the best part:
 
The shaft with ball and one sleeve is only $7.50 
Balls to screw on existing shafts are $3




Terry is also selling the new shafts as a complete joystick kit: 
The complete Super 4-way/8-way joystick (two restrictors) with balltop is $17.50 
The complete Competition 8-way joystick with balltop is $17.50
The complete Reunion 4-way restricted joystick is $22.95.

 

Here is my 4-player control panel with four Competition joysticks before and after getting the new balltop shafts:





The color matches the Happ buttons perfectly:




The balltops are 1-3/8" diameter and are made of the same plastic material as the Happ bat-top handles.  The balltops are interchangeable on the threaded shaft.  For added durability/stability, the shafts use a metal sleeve.  This sleeve makes the shafts fill out the dust washer better.

   

To keep the price down, you order the shaft (or joystick) for wood or metal and get just the sleeve you need.  If you  decide later you want to go from wood to metal (or vice versa) you can order the other sleeve for 90 cents.

If that isn't enough - Terry is also offering SUPER 4-way/8-way joysticks with BAT-TOP handles (from Competition sticks) in red, blue, green, yellow, and black for $17.50.  As far as I know, nobody else offers this combination.

To order, go to:  http://www.tornadoterrys.com/surplus

I have been buying arcade parts from TornadoTerry for a long time and I can vouch for his products and customer service.  He runs a full-time arcade and stocks all these products.  He ships every day and your order will go out right away.  Thanks for taking the time to read this announcement. 

[ahofle]

  
Thank you for posting!

(Damn this hobby)

[Chris]

Now if we could only get one with a hollow shaft so we could drill out the top of the ball to make them top fire...

[CheffoJeffo]

Thanks, Mark -- those look great!

Cheers.

[squirrellydw]

I received mine the other day for the Reunion stick and they look GRRRREAT.  I can't wait till my cocktail table is done.

[unix4hire]

Awesome!  If I had some happ joysticks that would rock!

I would like to know if these would work with a wico, or is there a different place to order different colored wico balltops?

[Grasshopper]

Interesting discovery.

Does anyone here know whether Tornade Terry's ball tops are interchangeable with the Sanwa/Seimitsu ones?

I think the Sanwa/Seimitsu ones have an M6 thread.

[markrvp]

Awesome!  If I had some happ joysticks that would rock!

I would like to know if these would work with a wico, or is there a different place to order different colored wico balltops?

These don't work with WICO bases - Ponyboy has some WICO ball/shafts for sale in the B/S/T forum.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=36770.0

Interesting discovery.

Does anyone here know whether Tornade Terry's ball tops are interchangeable with the Sanwa/Seimitsu ones?

I think the Sanwa/Seimitsu ones have an M6 thread.

I'll check.  I think the thread for the Sanwa/Seimitsu shafts is smaller.

[MovingTarget]

Now if I could only get a SlikStik type blue illuminated balltop for the reunion stick I would be in heaven.

Is there anything like that out there??  My Super in 4 way mode with the blue light up top gets more comments than my illuminated buttons or TB, it looks great but the reunion stick would be so much better to play with.

[markrvp]

Now if I could only get a SlikStik type blue illuminated balltop for the reunion stick I would be in heaven.

Is there anything like that out there??  My Super in 4 way mode with the blue light up top gets more comments than my illuminated buttons or TB, it looks great but the reunion stick would be so much better to play with.

It is my belief that the SlikStik shaft you have in your Super will work in the Reunion base.  Just use the 4-way side of the actuator. 

[Knievel]

Thanks for getting this going Mark. E-mailed Terry about something today and he mentioned these to me, very cool.

Do you know if the stock black Super sleeves will fit over these shafts?

[markrvp]

Thanks for getting this going Mark. E-mailed Terry about something today and he mentioned these to me, very cool.

Do you know if the stock black Super sleeves will fit over these shafts?

I'll find out tonight.

[Knievel]

No biggie Mark. I ordered a batch tonight anyway.

[Grasshopper]

Do you know if the stock black Super sleeves will fit over these shafts?

That's a very good question.

Also, I wonder whether the converse applies as well. i.e. can the Tornado Terry metal sleeves be used instead of the stock black plastic sleeves with the standard Happ bat top handles?

Personally I think the Supers look better with metallic shafts but all you can get from the manufacturer are plastic shafts coated with metallic paint. Genuine metal shafts would be preferable IMHO.

[markrvp]

I tried using the metal sleeve on a regular Happ handle and it is too long.  You could cut it the same length as the plastic one with a hacksaw to make it work.

[Grasshopper]

I just got a reply to an email I sent Terry a few days ago. Some of the questions I asked him have already been covered but FWIW here were his answers:

Firstly, can you tell me the dimensions (particularly height) of the metal sleeves you sell? The reason I ask is that I own a few Happ Supers, and for cosmetic reasons I'd like to replace the black sleeve under the bat top with a sleeve made of metal. I'm wondering whether your sleeves could be used for this purpose.

The short metal one is shorter than the short plastic, the long spacer is longer than the long plastic, therefore its possible to shorten the long metal to replace your plastic one (and cutting a long metal one down for the short plastic too for that matter, hack saw and drill press works good).

Also, can you tell me what type of metal your shafts and sleeves are made of?

Mild steel.

Finally, can you tell me whether your ball tops are interchangeable with the ball tops used on Japanese joysticks made by Sanwa and Seimitsu? I understand that the Japanese balltops use an M6 thread.

Anything that comes out of Japan will not fit anything American.

HOPE THIS HELPS, TERRY!

[leapinlew]

I'm bumping this because I wanted to thank MarkVP for bringing this to our attention and thank Tornado Terry for offering such a great product. I am currently building a bartop based off of a multi-williams layout and I wanted to use red ball top supers. I emailed Tornado Terry and he emailed me back quickly. I ordered and the ordered arrived very fast and well packed. Here is what they look like on my control panel...


Awesome - I just love'em. Very reasonably priced as well.

[squirrellydw]

Now if he could make some for the U360

[leapinlew]

Now if he could make some for the U360

Whats wrong with the balltops that come with the U360?

[squirrellydw]

I would like them in blue to match the ones I already have from TT