top mounting a JLF w/out plexiglass

[Queeg]

Hello all,

Getting near the end of my cab build and working on the control panel. I had plans to follow Franco B's awesome top mounting guide, but I decided against using plexi/lexan on my cp.

Now if I were to follow the guide, which IMO is the best way to mount a JLF, there would be no plexi to cover the recesses left where the joystick body rests. In the near future I can see hands easily falling into these gouges and pushing/tearing the artwork down.

Any suggestions? Much appreciated.

[Franco B]

You could fill it with wood filler etc but it would be difficult to remove your stick if you need to.

The easiest other way I can think of would be to mount your sticks so that the top of your mounting harware is level with the CP like this:



I would then cut a piece of material the same thickness as the distance between the top of the mounting plate and the CP top and cut out a shape as close to the size/shape of the recess as possible. You would then just need to drill a hole for the joystick and holes for the mounting hardware so everything sits flush. If you still had lots of gaps etc and were worried about them you could fill them with some putty or similar so that everything is flush but you can still remove the joys if need be.

There are a couple of other methods that I can think of but thats probably the easiest.

[Haterot]

Wouldn't a bottom Mount be a heck of a lot easier? You may need a longer handle but to me that would be the easier way to go if what you're looking for is that flush feeling with no Plexi.

[Franco B]

Thats a good point. You could bottom mount using t-nuts in the top and use filler to get them smooth.

Do they do longer longer JLF shafts though?

[Queeg]

Thank you everyone for the helpful input. Franco, that is a great idea, however my woodworking skills and tool set are hardly the best and I think cutting a piece of mdf that thin would be a problem for me.

As for the "fill it in" option, I was and am still considering it, I was just worried about any putty gumming up the micro switches or falling into other places.

And bottom mounting would work as they sell extended shafts (insert joke) but i want to try and avoid nuts being on the play surface (insert 2nd joke?)


I am leaning towards just filling the gaps, and was wondering if anyone has done this.

Thank you all again.