Pros/Cons mounting above/below CP

[GAtekwriter]

I can't find the original post, but a recent member posted in the project announcement and made a statement similar to "I've examined the pros and cons of mounting joysticks above and below the CP" - I've lurked for a while and have read some pros and cons, but I've never seen a good discussion or a list in one main post. 

If this isn't a repeat request, could some of you chime in and give me some things to consider when attaching a joystick and trackball above the CP versus below?  If it is a repeat, feel free to give me 10 lashes and point me to the right place

Thanks, all.

Jim

(Got the Sandiply and my dad and I are cutting the weekend of April 27-29 - WOO HOO)

[WLVRYN]

I just wrote that in my project announcement thread I think.

Honestly, I dont think that there's necessarily a right or wrong way to go.  I top mounted them mainly because I didnt want to have any bolts or screws showing through the overlay (but then ended up having them anyway when my Lexan started lifting).  Also, I liked the idea of having some wood underneath the joystick to support it rather than just the bolts and nuts holding them up.  Finally, and this may sound like a terrible reason, I really like the work that Knievel does, and he does it that way.  Since he's a cab building God, I figured I could do much worse than following his lead. 

Bottom mounting would have made it easier to swap out the sticks if I ever needed to, but I also ended up not using the adhesive on my CPO, so it wouldnt be that hard to get to them either if I ever needed to.  Either way you almost have to rout out an area to sink your mounting plate to, so its not much different.  One benefit of bottom mounting is that you do plan on using the adhesive from your CPO, you dont have to cover up the routed area with bondo or cardboard or anything.

As for the trackball, I think you have to topmount them unless you plan on not using the mounting plate and bolting the TB directly to the CP.  I didnt feel comfortable doing that considering how hard I generally hit the trackball playing Golden Tee.  Also, I think you'd end up doing just as much routing and cutting, if not more, to get the TB at the right height if you dont use the mounting plate.  I remember reading a thread somewhere where a couple of people have done it, but I didnt feel comfortable going that route.

[GAtekwriter]

Thanks, WYLVRN... took a look and it was your comment. Thanks.

Do you have any pictures of the pre-installed trackball?  Maybe when you were doing the custom fitting and shaving?  I'm a little worried about how much work this may involve, but to be honest, I just don't think I could handle an uneven CPO so I guess I'll do what needs to be done

Jim

[Apollo]

I am still after all these years amazed at how few BYOACers use wood over metal for their control panels. I wouldn't use anything but 2mm powder coated electro galv these days, never mdf.

[GAtekwriter]

How does it compare in terms of cost and ease of assembly?

Jim

[WLVRYN]

Do you have any pictures of the pre-installed trackball?  Maybe when you were doing the custom fitting and shaving?  I'm a little worried about how much work this may involve, but to be honest, I just don't think I could handle an uneven CPO so I guess I'll do what needs to be done

Jim

The only picture I have is the one I posted in the project announcement thread.  Sorry.  I would check out some of Knievel's threads since he has posted some good pictures of his CPs.  You can even check out the custom work section on his website, which has some more pics.

Its not that difficult to rout out the area for the mounting plate.  There's a sticky thread in the woodworking forum about making a router jig for your mounting plate that I looked at and used as the basis for my jig,  though I didnt follow the steps exactly.  I basically took the mounting plate and laid it upside down on a piece of scrap, and traced the outline in pencil.  I then added about 1/8" around all the outsides to account for the gap between the bit and the router bushing and redrew the lines in pencil.  Once that was done, I used a drill to drill out the corners and then dropped a jigsaw into the drill holes to cut along the lines to make the jig.  Then I clamped the jig onto the CP and just started routing (about 3/16" deep IIRC).  I also did the same thing for my joystick.  All in all it was fairly easy, though the first jig I made I didnt make the outside wide enough for the router to sit on firmly, so I redid it. 

After I got the mounting plate in place, I put bondo over the top of it to smooth out the plate with the top of the MDF, and then sanded it flat.

Hope that helps.

[leapinlew]

I am still after all these years amazed at how few BYOACers use wood over metal for their control panels. I wouldn't use anything but 2mm powder coated electro galv these days, never mdf.

woods just easier to work with... I've seen plenty of wood CP's at the arcade.

[Arcades R Fun]

I agree with leapinlew. It's hard enough for DIY'ers to work with wood let alone metal.
Wood is easy to get at your local Home Depot/Lowes and very forgiving if you make a mistake.

Mounting joysticks top/bottom is very subjective and there are many ways to install them.
But IMO the easiest way is to mount from underneath your 3/4" panel top with #10 sized 1" long wood screws.

This works well for most joysticks that use the black plastic base. It's thick enough that the screw does not go through the top of the panel.

For sticks with metal bases ( like Ultimarc mag stick Plus we add a metal washer spacer).

We have installed dozens of sticks in this manner for over 4 years and never had a problem.

if you are a big fan of the fighter games then a top install might be for you. It gives you a stick handle that's about 3/8" taller on the panel top but requires a whole lot more labor.

Jack

[NiteWalker]

I don't like screws alone for mounting joysticks. I feel they'll eventually loosen, especially in MDF. I like to use countersunk machine screws. They sit below the surface so no bolt holes show and artwork can be put right over them. Also the connection is between the machine screws and the nuts holding them in so there's less of a chance for wood failure.

Here's a couple of pics.


The first pic shows the joystick body (Happ competition) mounted and the plexi over it. The second pic if you look at the joystick you can see the machine screws, washers and nuts holding the joystick in place. Very strong connection.

[Apollo]

That's a nice looking little hack there NiteWalker, very tidy.

[NiteWalker]

That's a nice looking little hack there NiteWalker, very tidy.

Thanks.

Even tidier. This is the stick I built for my wife.

[Apollo]

oh yeah that's what I'm talkin bout, nice work

[bleargh]

Even tidier. This is the stick I built for my wife.

That's a sweet looking ball top on that stick... almost candy apple red, but with a grid texture.  Nice..

Where did you get it?  (and what kind of stick do you have it mounted on?)

[NiteWalker]

It's a sanwa joystick and the balltop is also a sanwa but they don't make those anymore. I have one more. There also use to be a green balltop with the same grid pattern. I got it from akihabarashop.com. They sell the entire sanwa and seimitsu catalog but orders are only put in every two weeks so it takes a while to get em.

@Apollo: Thanks.

[Joystick Jerk]

I don't like screws alone for mounting joysticks. I feel they'll eventually loosen, especially in MDF. I like to use countersunk machine screws. They sit below the surface so no bolt holes show and artwork can be put right over them. Also the connection is between the machine screws and the nuts holding them in so there's less of a chance for wood failure.

Here's a couple of pics.


The first pic shows the joystick body (Happ competition) mounted and the plexi over it. The second pic if you look at the joystick you can see the machine screws, washers and nuts holding the joystick in place. Very strong connection.

How do you countersink your joystick bolts? Is there some sort of drill bit that countersinks as well, or do you just use a larger bit to drill out a larger countersuck area?

[NiteWalker]

For the flathead type I use a countersink bit like the one pictured. For the panhead type machine screws I use a 5/16" forstner to drill the counterbore, then drill the through hole.

[Joystick Jerk]

Okay, and another question. This is going to sound dumb, but do joysticks generally come with their respective nuts and bolts? The last cab I made had reclaimed sticks, so I had to buy new hardware, but my current cab will have new product, which I'm still waiting to be delivered.

[suits00]

generally they don't, to anwser the topic before. For my control panel i used t-nuts and countersunked that with my router bit (which i used to countersink my trackball plate.

[NiteWalker]

They don't usually come with the mounting hardware. I use #8-32 machine screws, washers and nuts. I use those because if regular screws were used there's a chance that under heavy use the screws would strip out the wood. Using the machine screws and nuts gives a completely metal to metal connection. Much like tee-nuts as mentioned above but with less investment and work involved.

[suits00]

this is a picture of the t-nuts, get the smallest size it works great.

[suits00]

now for these t-nuts, you'd mount them from the top for a wood panel. Then you can screw in the screws from bottom, I have only fighters games and play only fighter games. I shake the joysticks everytime i play and i don't think they will be pulling out, unless, i guess, i mount them on top.

[langdoguk]

Great post  its helping answer a few questions I was going to ask 

[suits00]

yeah, no problem