My 4-way control panel thus far (first timer)

[SpatzST]

Here are the pics I have posted in other threads on this site.  Just moved them all here..

>>> http://s223.photobucket.com/user/SpatzST/library/arcade

Latest pic was test cutting I did today.  I routed out 1/4" from the bottom of a 3/4 MDF board to fit the joystick panel in (HAPP COMP), I think I am going to redo it and take out 1/3.  I think the stick sits too low for my liking.




My Brother
Me: "Wheres the extension cord?"
Brother: "I used it when I fixed the snowblower, maybe its in the shed?"

[SpatzST]

Any input is appreciated.. especially advice for cutting and routing.

I had a small issue transposing the position of the joystick panel to the bottom of the MDF so I could route the correct area.  any advice on that?

[PL1]

1. Drill the hole for the joystick shaft,
2. Put the control panel face down on supports (2 folding chairs or similar) that allow you to clearly see the underside
3. Center the joystick shaft (assemble it with no dust washer) and verify that the base is properly aligned (not angled) relative to where the monitor will be.
4. Trace the base.   


Scott

[SpatzST]

Yeah, I was trying to do something like that. I think my original center hole was off a bit for some reason.. so let me make sure im understanding you correctly...

drill out center hole for stick, flip board over, place the plate down over the hole, center and trace.

[PL1]

You got it.

Here's a couple of pics showing the basic setup.

Gravity holds the stick in place while you ensure it is square and centered.

Lay on your back looking straight up to center the stick. (dust washer removed so you can see easier  )


Scott

[SpatzST]

Cut out player two. I routed out about 1/3" from the 3/4 MDF to seat it this time instead of the 1/4" I did with player one.  So far so good, and I think I enjoy the stick that little bit higher.

[SpatzST]

OK, So i decided to drill the real thing now! Enough practice.

Took about an hour or so, but I drilled all 34 holes.



Dropped in the buttons /joys just to see what it would look like.  Looks good! though I think I had the setups a little off center when I designed it.  Not a huge deal.



only thing left to do now is route the underside of the wood to fit the joys in.  Also to cut off those edges where the masking tape is.  Problem is I don't have a table saw. ha

[PL1]

Not to rain on your parade here, but how comfortable is the P3 button layout?

Seems like it would cause P3 to turn their body closer to P1, where P4 layout would allow them to comfortably turn their body away from P2 for more elbow room.   


Scott

[EMDB]

...only thing left to do now is route the underside of the wood to fit the joys in.  Also to cut off those edges where the masking tape is.  Problem is I don't have a table saw. ha

Just use your router for that with a guidance bar. I used only my router to create my woodwork. Here I did the bottom front part of a side panel.

[SpatzST]

Not to rain on your parade here, but how comfortable is the P3 button layout?

Seems like it would cause P3 to turn their body closer to P1, where P4 layout would allow them to comfortably turn their body away from P2 for more elbow room.   


Scott

Yeah... that too lol. im not terribly worried about it since most likely player 3 is only going to use 2 buttons anyway.

The good thing is I have a second piece of wood the same exact size.. so I can just redo it

[jdbailey1206]

Not to rain on your parade here, but how comfortable is the P3 button layout?

Seems like it would cause P3 to turn their body closer to P1, where P4 layout would allow them to comfortably turn their body away from P2 for more elbow room.   


Scott

Yeah... that too lol. im not terribly worried about it since most likely player 3 is only going to use 2 buttons anyway.

The good thing is I have a second piece of wood the same exact size.. so I can just redo it

If you feel it is too uncomfortable and you have to fix it just fill the 3rd player with wood dowels, sand and redrill.  Instead of redoing that large of a CP.

[SpatzST]

filling the holes with wood dowels will allow me to re-cut the areas? Even if I cut through the dowels?

Just incase I want to do there, is there a guide or anything I can lookup?

thanks

[SpatzST]

...only thing left to do now is route the underside of the wood to fit the joys in.  Also to cut off those edges where the masking tape is.  Problem is I don't have a table saw. ha

Just use your router for that with a guidance bar. I used only my router to create my woodwork. Here I did the bottom front part of a side panel.

That is an awesome idea. So what do I do? Basically drop the router bit down really far and clamp a piece of wood to the board, then press the router against it and just cut? I don't have any bushings if those would be required for this.

[PL1]

It works like these pics from the wiki entry on Ond's Metropolis build.





Fortunately, you don't have any inside corners so it's really easy -- clamp and straight cut.

Check out the wiki entry for a better description of the process.


Scott

[EMDB]

filling the holes with wood dowels will allow me to re-cut the areas? Even if I cut through the dowels?

Just incase I want to do there, is there a guide or anything I can lookup?

thanks

Or fill the holes with putty and sand. I drilled the 8th hole of the slagcoin template when I wanted a 7 button layout  :

[SpatzST]

It works like these pics from the wiki entry on Ond's Metropolis build.





Fortunately, you don't have any inside corners so it's really easy -- clamp and straight cut.

Check out the wiki entry for a better description of the process.


Scott

ooh ok, use the base of the router as the guide, I like that better.. I tried using the circ saw today with a wood plank as a guide, couldn't line up the blade correctly.  I will try this tomorrow.

Just bought a new router bit... wow... I was using a bit that was most likely 10+years old handed down to me by my father (happened to get lucky that there was a bit floating around in the router box). Took me atlast 20 minutes to shave out one joystick panel lol.... spent $10 on a new carbide tipped one... like a hot knife through butter.

[PL1]

You may also want to check out the stickied thread on how to make a sawboard over in the woodworking sub-forum.


Scott

[SpatzST]

Yeah I saw that thread, but its much more involved than the router option, which I did today and botched a little bit.  Leave it to the last cut of my project to screw up. My guide clamp came loose during the cut so I have a small portion that is slightly routed thinner than the rest. Its not horrendous but maybe fixable? Il post a pic later.

Otherwise, I did this today,


And this!

[SpatzST]

Built this addition today.  I grabbed a 4ft long piano hinge and a few 1x4's and crafted a box to go underneath my panel.  I ran into a little bit of trouble making the box square though.  It seems to slightly tilt in one direction, nothing major, but it ends up not lining up perfectly with the way it was intended to.  Maybe once I put a bottom on it, i can get it to straighten out.

What are those little lock/key pieces called that you guys usually use to keep your CP locked? I was in home depot today and couldn't find them.