Source for Smooth Top Carriage Bolts?

[dgame]

Hi,

I’ve ordered “arcade” carriage bolts from two different people.

Each time I got the same carriage bolts with the raised letters on top.
These are not correct for arcades.

Where can I get the smooth top carriage bolts?

I see them pictured at Happs but I would have to order 100.

I need 25 arcade style (smooth) carriage bolts and nuts. Thanks.

[JeepMonkey]

I too am looking for short length carriage bolts for my Ms Pac control panel and coin door.  Do you remember the price for a 100 count?  I wonder if Divemaster has these?

[Avrus]

I just purchased mine from Rona.  But the ones I purchased are silver ...

[Timstuff]

I saw some there just today.

[u_rebelscum]

Last time I looked at my local Ace, they had smooth and lettered mixed together in the carriage bolt bins.  I had to pick and choose the smooth ones; I guess they were more popular, because almost all were lettered.   (HomeDepot was all lettered.)  Of course, all were zinc.

How about happs (or divemaster or other reseller) or GGG?

[divemaster127]

I was asked today about the above bolts but these are zinc not black, I sell the black powder coated bolts happ sells but these have the raised lettering on them, they seem to work good for most people, i have them on my cocktail & these look great
dm

[TheShanMan]

I use threaded posts which I picked up at Lowe's (think Ace has them too) and I really like them. Smooth tops and flatter than carriage bolts too. See this post for a pic: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=75949.msg790997#msg790997

[BrentRadio]

Bob Roberts has them.

[Rocky]

I also got a set of carriage bolts with raised letters when I was redoing my Food Fight CP.  I just sanded them off and then "polished" them with very fine sand paper.  They look great.

(Food Fight uses black carriage bolts, so I used gun bluing fluid to make them black)

[boogieman]

Nothing a dremel wouldn't be able to take care of!  But it would be way easier to get them already smooth.

[CheffoJeffo]

Last couple of batches I got from MikesArcade.

[Timstuff]

I use threaded posts which I picked up at Lowe's (think Ace has them too) and I really like them. Smooth tops and flatter than carriage bolts too. See this post for a pic: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=75949.msg790997#msg790997

Those things looked cool, so I decided to pick up a few today while I was at Home Depot. At $0.97 a piece they're kind of pricey in comparison to plain bolts and nuts, but tomorrow I'll find out if they're worth it when I test mount one of my joysticks with them.

[AndyWarne]

We are currently testing some "blind hole" joystick fixings. We came across these when researching mounting hardware for the U-Trak trackball. They are a threaded bush which screws into a hole in the panel. Very strong, but the disadvantage is the panel thickness needs to be 17mm which is a problem if the joystick is recessed into a routed section of the panel, which would be too thin.
We will be selling these as kits when we get a supply of the matching screws.
Andy

[TheShanMan]

I think Andy is not referring to the same kind of item as I mentioned (I'm not sure I understand), but he raises a good point about thin panels that also applies to the threaded posts I mentioned. I have a sheet metal panel, and the way I solved the minimum thickness problem with the threaded posts was to add nylon spacers, which were also available at lowe's in various sizes.

[dgame]

Found these on the net:


"Solid brass Press In Inserts have fins to prevent splitting, splintering or pullout"
http://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?PARTNUM=897-906&LARGEVIEW=ON


"Designed for blind, end and edge grain applications."
http://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?PARTNUM=812-452&LARGEVIEW=ON

Has anyone tried anything like these? Would these type of things work to bottom mount U360s into 3/4" oak plywood? 

[Level42]

Bob Roberts has them.

Nope, Bob's have letters too:



I noticed it, and I don't really like it, especially in combination with the trackball.....any other source would be great (can't get "a couple" imperial sized bolts over here.)

[Timstuff]

IMHO, flush-mounting joysticks, trackballs, etc. under the CP glass is the way to go.

[CheffoJeffo]

IMHO, flush-mounting joysticks, trackballs, etc. under the CP glass is the way to go.

Unless, of course, you are restoring an existing machine ... 

[AndyWarne]

The ones Dgame mentions are the items we are considering selling in kits. The brass ones are similar to the type we supply with the U-Trak trackball and the the type "E" below are the other type which are probably better for joysticks. They are very strong when used in plywood and would not pull out but not sure about MDF.
Andy

[RayB]

Arcadeshop sells nice mirror-finish steel ones, but they are short (the ones he calls "Midway control panel bolts").

Having accumulated many used carriage bolts over the years, I mostly just polish them up with a dremel and steel polishing compound, or if I want black I just spray paint the heads.

[Timstuff]

IMHO, flush-mounting joysticks, trackballs, etc. under the CP glass is the way to go.

Unless, of course, you are restoring an existing machine ... 

Well then it would depend on what machine it is. If it's a metal panel machine, it will probably need visible carraige bolts. If it's woord, but it has visible carraige bolts, then whoever put it together probably did it the lazy way instead of the right way. The right way to mount a joystick is with the bolts and dust washer under the CPO and plexiglass. A lot of machines (especially conversions) have the dust washer and carriage bolts over the art and glass, but that's because there are a lot of lazy people out there who feel as if there aren't enough people that care to justify the extra work it takes to do it the right way.

[Level42]

Maybe some people here should read the initial question again. Why would it matter if there are letters on top of the bolts if they are going to be installed UNDER the CP ?

This is about real original arcade cabs not self-build cabs.

[TheShanMan]

He didn't say they will be installed under the CP, and he didn't say they are real original arcade cabs ("correct for arcades" could just mean he wants it to be as authentic as possible). Furthermore, the subject itself says he wants them without letters on the bolts ("smooth top carriage bolts").

[dgame]

Just to clarify. I originally asked for smooth top carriage bolts (without raised lettering) because I wanted as close to arcade as possible. The raise letters look bad.

Then I looked into bottom mounting solutions as posted above. I have the brass inserts and will bottom mount my joysticks using those. My original panel did not have bolts exposed.

Thanks for the advice.

[RandyT]

"Designed for blind, end and edge grain applications."
http://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?PARTNUM=812-452&LARGEVIEW=ON

Has anyone tried anything like these?

The "D" part are the same parts that I supply in the Super High TB Mounting Kits, and I have advocated using these for joysticks a number of times in the past.

They work great in plywood and in MDF, as long as you put them in straight and don't keep turning them until you bore out the hole with the threads .  Just snug them down and they are fine.

I purchased about 6k of the inserts, and proper size screws for joystick mounting a few months ago.  They can be used with panels as thin as 10mm, but you might want to use something a little thicker unless you are using an overlay.  If anyone needs them, I'll throw a hardware package up on the store for 2 and 4 sticks, which will include all of the hardware as well as the proper size hex key for installation.

RandyT

[CheffoJeffo]

Well then it would depend on what machine it is. If it's a metal panel machine, it will probably need visible carraige bolts. If it's woord, but it has visible carraige bolts, then whoever put it together probably did it the lazy way instead of the right way. The right way to mount a joystick is with the bolts and dust washer under the CPO and plexiglass. A lot of machines (especially conversions) have the dust washer and carriage bolts over the art and glass, but that's because there are a lot of lazy people out there who feel as if there aren't enough people that care to justify the extra work it takes to do it the right way.

True enough, although we could debate this and pull examples of cabs with wood panels and raised bolts (they do exist), but why bother ?

Since the OP obviously cares about lettering on the head, it is safe to say that he is top-mounting.

Funny you mention mounting under the plexi so much -- I hate plexi over the CPO WAAAAAAAAAY more than than I dislike top-mounted bolts.

[RandyT]

True enough, although we could debate this and pull examples of cabs with wood panels and raised bolts (they do exist), but why bother ?

Yeah, especially since that one comes around every year or so and we aren't due for another for at least a few more months  .

But for those who would like to explore the possibility of avoiding the bolt heads altogether, the hardware kits have been added to the "Hardware" section of the GGG store.

RandyT

[Timstuff]

I say, go with the machine posts. I test-mounted one of my joysticks with them the other day, and I was absolutely thrilled with the results. Even though I'm flush mounting the joysticks (so there won't be any visible hardware), I am very pleased with how flat they mount. Even if you are going to have visible bolts, these would be better than carriage bolts since they are so flat, thus making them better for playing games. At about a buck a piece, they're a little pricey, but worth it.

[trollnest]

Ive done the same as rocky, except I chucked them into my drill. Sanded the letters off and brought them to a mirror polish in about two minutes a bolt