To mount stick on topside of CP or underside??

[lettuce]

What are peoples views on routing the space out for a Joystick on the top side of a Control Panel or the underside? Does one way have an advantage over the other?

[scotthh]

It depends:

I think the first consideration is the length of the joystick's shaft. If it is a short stick, you have no choice but to top mount it. If the stick is too long, you need to bottom mount it. If it is in the middle, you have a choice.

Secondly, you need to consider you CP's material. Since this is the woodworking forum, I'm assuming you have a wooden, not metal CP.

Finally, there's the aesthetic concerns. If it is a wood CP, are you planning on putting Lexan or Plexi on top? Do you want exposed bolts, or are you strongly against it.

I have wooden CP's (1/2" MDF) with printed CPO's and a 3/16" Lexan top. I didn't want exposed bolts. I have two CP's, one with top mounted sticks, and one with a bottom mounted one.

LS-30's top mount:
The first picture is a CP with LS-30 joysticks. They have notoriously short shafts. I felt I needed to top mount the sticks. I also needed to router the underside to make room for the connections to the switches. I used flat head screws, and the entire joystick sits under the CPO and the Lexan top.

U360 bottom mount:
I made a second CP with an Ultimarc U360. The U360 has a much longer stick than the LS-30. I decided to bottom mount it and routered the space for it. I didn't want exposed bolts, so I countersunk the screws. You need to be careful if you decide to do this, as I've removed material from both sides of the wood at the spots where I'm securing the stick to the CP. I find it plenty strong, however. Note that I top mounted the trackball plate on this CP.

[ScottS]

If you mount from the bottom, you can afford to be a bit sloppy when routing since nobody will ever see it. If you're going top mount, ideally you want the routed area to match the stick exactly. If you're new to woodworking, you may or may not find that a challenge.

[AtomSmasher]

Like scotthh said, either one is fine.  The only real difference you'll notice is the length of the joystick shafts.  One of my joysticks was the ms.pacman/galaga reunion stick, which also has a really short shaft, so I top mounted everything.  As long as your putting plexi over the control panel, it doesn't really matter.

And ScottS, I did a very sloppy job on routing the top of my CP, but since its covered with artwork and plexiglass, no one will ever see it.

[lettuce]

Cheers for the input guys, im going to be using Happ Competition Joysticks with 3/4 MDF wood CP, i guess the Competition stick shafts are neither too long or too short, so i guess its just down to personal prefrence then, my last CP i had the stick mounted underneither, i just woundered if to mount the differently this time

[NiteWalker]

Using 3/4" material makes the competition stick too short IMHO. I like to rout away enough material so the total mounting material thickness including plexi is just under 1/2". It makes the joystick sit at the perfect height.