Top Mounted UltraStik - hiding the bolts?

[Neverending Project]

There are lots of posts about how to top-mount and under-mount joysticks. I did a lot of searching and couldn't find a post specific about top-mounting the U360 without the bolts showing, so hopefully this isn't another one of the same...

Here is my situation... I have the UltraStik 360s, and I want to mount them in a 3/4" MDF CP. I don't want to under-mount them mainly because I don't have the longer shafts, and I don't really want to buy yet another part. The standard stick length is pretty short, and even if I remove some material from under the joystick I am afraid that they won't be long enough.

If I top-mount the sticks, I would router a recess in the top of the CP so the flange would sit flush with the CP surface. But the screw/bolt holes in the 360's flange are not counter-sunk, and hence the bolts would be showing.

So correct me if I'm wrong here, but it seems that I have 4 basic options here:
1) Under-mount with the short shafts, remove as much as I can from underneath the CP, and live with the shorter joystick height.
2) Under-mount with the longer shafts (they're only 0.4" longer), and presumable remove 0.4" from underneath the CP (more $$).
3) Top-mount with the flange flush, but the bolt heads will show.
4) Top-mount, but counter-sink the flange holes myself... I'm not sure how this will go since I don't have a counter-sink bit that will work in metal.

So what have you done?

[bleargh]

I've got a pair of U360s here, and I went with (1); bottom mount them with the short shafts.  That said, I didn't route out tons of material from the bottom-side of the CP; I've still got 1/2" of CP thickness on top of my u360s and they feel fine with the short shafts.  Used "t-nuts" to mount the u360s to the top of the panel, which mount flush and give you a way to bolt the sticks on from underneath.

This post shows a photo of a joystick (but not a u360) being mounted with a t-nut.

I too thought that bottom-mounting the sticks would make them feel too short, and so I'd ordered a pair of the longer shafts just in case.  Tried them out, but put the shorter shafts back in; the longer shafts felt too tall on my CP for my liking.  Sure, having 1/2" of CP thickness made the shafts shorter, but it never felt off/wrong to me.  That said, if you want a pair of longer shafts let me know; I've got a pair here that I'm not using that I'd be happy to sell cheap.

And sorry to say, this has been covered before.  That said, I also find it hard to search for things occasionally; I know it was covered but can't for the life of me figure out what keyword to use for searching in order to dig it up...

[ids]

I have U360's with the shorter shafts, and thought a lot about top mounting.  In the end, I tried a bottom mount and didn't feel the shafts were too short.  I've left about 1/4" of wood, and fastened them with Chicago nuts.  I've tried another with very short screws - it's holding up, but I haven't really abused it much.  T-nuts sound like another good option.  If you have a spare piece of wood, or even some cardboard, try it out - losing 1/4" or 1/2" isn't so bad.

Oh, and you forgot one option:

5) Top-mount, route enough to bury the mounting plate AND the screws/bolt-heads, fill all that extra space with wood filler

[Neverending Project]

@bleargh and @ids: Thank you so much! This is exactly the feedback I was looking for. I am glad to hear that the standard shaft doesn't feel too short when bottom-mounted. I think I will try it out, and if it is too short for my liking, bleargh I will send you a PM about those long shafts. 

Oh, and bleargh, while the post you mentioned does talk about mounting the U360, it doesn't specifically say anything about top-mounting so the screws don't show. But in all my searching, I still didn't find that post, so it is moot anyway. Thanks.

[Zobeid]

5) Top-mount, route enough to bury the mounting plate AND the screws/bolt-heads, fill all that extra space with wood filler

Why do you need wood filler?  Your CPO should cover up the space nicely, I would imagine?

And I assume you would also put the plastic dust washer under the CPO while you're at it.  Or at least, I would.

[TheShanMan]

Here's another option I mentioned in this thread: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=75949.msg790997#msg790997

Threaded posts. This was in the context of a metal control panel, but I think this is a better alternative to carriage bolts because they're a lot lower profile.

[patrickl]

I mounted my stick (not my U360 yet, but a Ms Pac/Galaga reunion) in the "middle". I topmounted it on a thicker piece of hardwood plywood and then covered this with a thinner piece. I put T-nuts in the top piece. The bolts go throught the stick and bottom piece and tie the whole thing together. It also allows hiding the dust washer under the thinner top piece of wood. The hole in the top piece can be pretty small if you don't mind disassembling the stick.

I took this from Oscars idea who actually covered his cp with a bit of lexan under the overlay. I just felt that using a top layer of wood would be easier and that with the t-nuts anchoring the two layers together it would create a sturdy unit.

[ids]

Why do you need wood filler?  Your CPO should cover up the space nicely, I would imagine?

And I assume you would also put the plastic dust washer under the CPO while you're at it.  Or at least, I would.

Just assuming that a cpo may sag or in some way show there's a gap.  Some posts I've read indicate that a vinyl overlay will show all flaws, but I have no direct experience yet.  And as for dust-washers.... I think that one has been debated quite a bit, so I wont go there.

Here's another option I mentioned in this thread: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=75949.msg790997#msg790997

Threaded posts. This was in the context of a metal control panel, but I think this is a better alternative to carriage bolts because they're a lot lower profile.

Those threaded posts are what I found at Home Despot labelled Chicago bolts - using 1/4" ones, quite happy with the result.

[Zobeid]

Just assuming that a cpo may sag or in some way show there's a gap.  Some posts I've read indicate that a vinyl overlay will show all flaws, but I have no direct experience yet.

In my view, vinyl isn't an overlay.  Vinyl is a decoration for an overlay.

The overlay itself is metal or hard plastic (acrylic, lexan etc.).  If it's metal then you put the vinyl graphics on top.  If it's clear plastic then the vinyl graphics can go underneath and be more protected.

And as for dust-washers.... I think that one has been debated quite a bit, so I wont go there.

OK, I will. . .

It seems to me, if you are already top-mounting the joystick and you are already recessing it to hide the carriage bolts, then there's no reason not to put the washer under the overlay while you're at it.  You've already made a space for it there, you might as well take advantage.

[TheShanMan]

Here's another option I mentioned in this thread: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=75949.msg790997#msg790997

Threaded posts. This was in the context of a metal control panel, but I think this is a better alternative to carriage bolts because they're a lot lower profile.

Those threaded posts are what I found at Home Despot labelled Chicago bolts - using 1/4" ones, quite happy with the result.

I'm glad someone else has tried them and liked them. I'm very happy with them as well! I have a metal panel so I don't have the luxury of recessing and so forth. Someone posted about this product http://www.rgvac.com/restoration.asp?projid=17 earlier this year so I'm going to try it out to make them look black.