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Carriage Bolts On your CP: Tacky, or Tasteful?
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ArtsNFartsNCrafts:
See, that's another thing.  I was intending on simply painting and finishing my CPs, not necessarily adding an overlay, then lexan (i would off myself working with any more of that stuff than I have to).  Given that, I'm hesitant to do something like countersink a bolt, fill the recess with putty or what have you, sand that flush, paint and finish...then, UH OH, something happens, and I gotta take the joystick out..


I think for the purposes (and i suppose limitations) of my project, I'd be better off just "biting the bolt."  8)

RandyT:

Here's another interesting possibility;

Different people hold the stick differently while playing.  Many, like myself, will rest their hand on the panel and control the stick with with their fingers, while others will hold the grip like a gear shift and their hands will never come into contact with the panel.  This may also have something to do with the preferences of individuals.

I cut my gaming teeth on early games like Galaxian, which didn't have the bolts and also had a very short joystick shaft.  So I got used to them not being there and resting my hand on the panel.  When I later went to other games that had them, I found the lumps of cold metal on the side of my hand to be a distraction.  If I hadn't already become accustomed to holding a stick a certain way on a smooth panel, I would probably not be so spoiled.  :)

RandyT
patrickl:

--- Quote from: ArtsNFartsNCrafts on January 30, 2008, 12:02:13 pm ---Given that, I'm hesitant to do something like countersink a bolt, fill the recess with putty or what have you, sand that flush, paint and finish...then, UH OH, something happens, and I gotta take the joystick out..
--- End quote ---
Well you can take the joystick out just fine when you countersink the t-nut. Why wouldn;t that be possible? There is really no difference between using countersunk t-nuts or carriage bolts. Apart from the fact that you have a clean CP when you use countersunk t-nuts and will have bolts showing when you use carriage bolts.

Look at the picture in this post

It's only a problem when you mount the sticks from the top with flat head screws and then cover the whole stick with putty. I saw that suggested in another thread and indeed that's a method you should not be using if you want to be able to remove/service the parts.
TheShanMan:
I have a metal cp and went to home depot and lowes yesterday looking for the best solution. "Threaded posts" seemed best to me. They are kind of like the elevator bolts, but much smaller than the elevator posts I saw there. Only problem is I have to get spacers to make this work because they're so long, yet the cp + joystick only totals a little over 1/4" thick.

These are nice because unlike carriage bolts, they are so flat. I might have to try some of that perma-blue to get them to look black. I was thinking that these might be a temporary solution and that I'd have to go online to find some less common black ones.

These came from lowes, btw.

I'd be interested in other ideas people have come up with for metal cp's.
rackoon:
I read most of this thread and didn't see any options for metal control panels besides welding. Any one try epoxy or JB Weld? :dunno

Oh and by the way I like cigarette burns in my CP and suggestive remarks on the high score screen as well. Heck, I even like the smell of warm electronics from new machines. ;D
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