joystick mounting

[theob42]

hey everybody,

I've done some searching but not fully clear on how to drill and route for my joysticks. I have 2 U360's and 2 Happ Ultimate Joysticks. I want all the joysticks to be flush with the wood since I am putting plexi overtop. I have these cutout diagrams for both joysticks.
so the outline i assume i route that on the top? how do i get it so no screws show?
Also i noticed the happ joysticks have a groove , the top part is not flat, so how would my artwork stay flat on that? 
The hole in the middle where the joystick goes through, how wide should that be?
and how wide should it be on the plexi? Also since im at it, i want my trackball to also be below the plexi without any screws on top. I have the mounting plate which i assume has to be routed in, and i have a 3" happ HIGH trackball. I already found out how wide the plexi has to be for the high trackball but how about for the wood? or will that whole part be cut out?

Sorry if i'm asking questions which might be obvious but im a total newb with this and never worked with wood before, dont wanna screw up my panel since it took me some time to build it

any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[8way]

You want to mount them from the bottom of the control panel. And you use T-Nuts so you can use the bolts from the bottom too. This is what T-Nuts are if you didn't know http://www.stafast.com/products/tnuts.html. For the trackball you would rout the top of the control panel just enough to have the trackball mounting plate sink down and be flush with the control panel. Then cut out the center to have the trackball fit inside and flush with the mounting plate. Just look at some of the projects here, and most of your questions will be answered. Good luck.

[scotthh]

Control panel hole sizes in the Wiki.

[theob42]

ok great thanks.  just one more quick question, i am using 5/8 mdf with 1/8 plexi so it comes to 3/4 now how wide should the hole be for the joystick to pass through so it doesnt hit the sides while moving it? should i route the bottom a bit so the joystick would be more stable? it think the more i route it from the bottom the less travel the joystick would need? so the hole would be smaller? how does that work? or is the hole size standard?

[jban4us]

You just use the same size hole as you do for buttons (1 1/8''). I don't know about the 360's, but the throw shouldn't be anywhere near enough to make it hit the sides. I'm using 3/4 MDF and routed 1/4 in from the bottom and its not even close for either Happ comps or the j-stick

[doctorhifi]

a mounting option for you to consider:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=68073.msg692536#msg692536