My Stick Building Diary

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Let me start off by saying that I am no carpenter. I think the most woodwork I have ever done in my life is the sharpening of a pencil. I currently have a pelican that I modded with Happ parts and I like it just fine but I want a new stick that has all sanwa parts. Seeing as how on this forum everyone and their mom can build a stick I thought I would give it a try. But I am not holding myself to the rigours of high quality as many of you do. In fact my goal is to make a stick using the least amount of money possible. This means no power tools since I don't have any and don't want to buy them just for this. With that I present to you my daily account of the birth of my stick.

Purchasing Materials
Saturday I went to home depot and bought a piece of pine that was 60 inches long, 12 inches wide and 3/4 in thick. I had the nice gentlemen at the store cut it for me into 3 14 in sections and 2 9 inch sections and to give me the reamain piece. This all cost me $9.53 and the wood was more than enough to build to sticks.

Fabrication.
Last night I decided to get to work and make this stick. I had previously made a mock up of my stick using thick Foam Board I got at Walmart for $1.50. I used the pieces as reference and trace their outline on the the wood. Then I cut it out with a handsaw. Thats right a handsaw. Needless to say it wasnt flush but i tried sanding it down to get it flush. Afterwards I put 2 hinges on because I wanted to be able to open the top so I could replace faulty parts quickly when needed. To keep the top from opening up while playing I attached magnets to keep it shut. The magnets and Hinges cost me $2.50. Since I used a handsaw I couldn cut the proper angles on the front or back of the stick to allow the top to rest flush so i decided to place the Hinges and magents in a way that would allow the top to seem as if it was floating 1/8 in above the rest of the stick. Here are some pics of the work so far.

Top View
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y252/buyproduct/TopFab.jpg

Side View
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y252/buyproduct/SideFab.jpg

Inside View
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y252/buyproduct/InsideFab.jpg

As you can see there is no bottom. I dont know yet if I want to put a wood bottom or just cover up the bottom with a piece of plexiglass. I'll figure that out tonight.

[ragnafrak]

That's what U meant by magnets, that ain't a bad idea ;]

you're definitely gonna need to borrow/rent a drill though ;]

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A drill is the only power tool I really own. The only thing i need for it is a hole saw that will be big enough for the button holes.

[ragnafrak]

You need 1-3/16" for sanwa buttons, 1-1/8" for happ buttons (and happ stick). not sure what size hole for a sanwa stick, but i know there is a circle on the sanwa stick itself that is the right size

[buyproduct]

Cool thanks. I am gonna see if I can find any of those holes saws at the local hardware store.

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Ok the last two nights I have spent chiseling out top of my box to make and inlay to put in my artwork and plexi. This was truly a pain and time consuming. I managed to make it pretty even. I still have to sand it down because the edges look rough but all in all i think it came out all right. After I was done with that I decided to cut a piece of plexiglass with a saw. Bad idea I put a huge crack in it but thats okay I have an extra piece and can try again later. Plexi was $5.00 for 2 sheets. Does anyone know how I should cut this?

I also put in a bottom. I decided to use wood instead of plexi because I thought in a fit of excitement one day that I might actually hit the bottom hard enough that I might break it. I didnt want to have a bloody knee followed by a stinging shock hence I chose wood. As with everything else this was a lot harder than it should have been. After cutting out the bottom I must have sanded the sides for like what seemed hours before I got it to fit by using sheer force.

Here are some pics of my progress thus far.

Inlay
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y252/buyproduct/InlayFab.jpg

Bottom
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y252/buyproduct/BottomFab.jpg

[ChainZ]

To cut plexi, at Home Depot they sell plexi glass cutters...which are VERY good and sharp...I use that to cut my plexi...i used to cut it via table saw but found it easier to cut with that plexi glass cutter they sell at Home Depot...its only like 3 bux...very cheap but good quality shit.

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This weekend I went to home depot and picked up a piece of lexan. It was $5.00, twice the price of the acrylic sheet but its way easiar to cut. To demonstrate I cut and drilled both a piece of acylic and lexan. As you can see in the picture the acrylic sheet cracks when you drill it and chips when you cut it. I did the cuts with a plastic cutter I got at home depot for $3.00 and drilled the holes with a hole saw. On a side note, I believe I messed up the hole placement and may need to do this again. I hope to have fabrication done by the end of this week and start paint the beginning of next week.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y252/buyproduct/LexanVsAcrylic.jpg

[Majin TCZ]

What are you using to connect the wood pieces together?

[TheRealNeoGeo]

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You got the Lexan....good.

[buyproduct]

Everything is nailed together execept for the top. I plan on contersinking the nails and covering the holes they left behind with wood filling. The top is attached to the rest of the stick with hinges and kept closed by using magnets.

[454Casull]

Nails? Why not glue?

[buyproduct]

I did use glue as well but I wanted this thing to be sturdy as hell.

[454Casull]

Nails aren't necessary. When a box is properly glued together, the failure points aren't at the seams. Usually.

[Shin Ace]

Why would you want to paint pine? Stain that shit down, a light color.

[buyproduct]

The thought did cross my mind. I might still do it but if I do it will be a dark stain. Almost like brown shoe leather color.

[buyproduct]

Well I havent done much the past week on fabrication since the power at my place was out for like 2 days but bought a bunch of needed supplies. First thing I went and got was a pcb. Since this stick is for my xbox I went out looking for xbox pcbs. I want to map all 8 buttons so i didnt use a xbox 1st party pad because I didnt think I would be able to solder the trigger without messing it up. So while roaming the local game shops I came across a gamester reflex arcade stick for $18.00. This seemed perfect because the r and l triggers where mapped to buttons and not triggers and it also supported xbox live. After that I order some sanwa parts from Himura games. They should be in by thursday.

After parts I had to decide weather to paint or stain my box. After much thought I decided I would stain it a red mahogony type color since it would go with the overall theme of the stick. I am going for a rugged yet classy look and i thought that would go well. Plus my art is a brown and white pic and I thought it would match. So with that decided I bought some sandpaper, stain, lacquer and some brushes and rags. Hopefully when the parts come in later this week I can get to finishing up all the bits of fabrication and get to paint and assembly.

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I got my parts in on friday and spent this weekend finishing up my box. First I drilled the holes into the top panel and cut away a hole to mount my joystick on. After that I routed the insided of the stick down 1/2 inch so that my screw in buttons would fit. Drilled a hole in the back panel for my wire to go through and sanded my stick down using 60,100, 150, 220, and 240 grit paper. Afterwards I preconditioned the wood so that the stain would penetrate evenly and let that soak for 20 miniutes then I put on a coat of stain and let it dry for 6 hours. Repeated one more time and then put on a lacquer finish. He is what it looks like so far.

Before Stain
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y252/buyproduct/BeforeStain.jpg

After Stain
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y252/buyproduct/AfterStain.jpg

All that is left to do is wire it and buff it here and there.

[poon]

hehe, great panel pic. nice stick placement too. yeah i said it.

[dummyface]

That's fucking awesome.

[buyproduct]

Finished the wiring last night. Had to do some crazy stuff to get it all to fit snug. I had to float the pcb over the buttons so the wires would be long enough to go everywhere. The pcb is held down so it wont move to a piece of wood which it is screwed onto. I have my xbox live capabilities also housed in the box this way all i do is plug in and run the wire out. Took awhile but its finally done. May not be the greatest stick in the world but I dont care cause I made it and I like it. Here are some pics.

opend box
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y252/buyproduct/DSC00201.jpg

Guts
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y252/buyproduct/DSC00202.jpg

Back angle view
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y252/buyproduct/DSC00203.jpg

front angle view
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y252/buyproduct/DSC00205.jpg

Thanks to everyone for their advice.

[TheRealNeoGeo]

Turned out great man! Hope it serves you well.

[Landel]

Now I realise why the last two buttons are slightly further from the rest.

You might want to find a way to secure that plexi. The bottom left corner is protruding. I recommend countersunk screws to do the job.

Pretty decent job overall. More stick makers should use a flip-top!

[GoLD-ReaVeR]

Starting with you:P

Personally I think it would be handier that when you use a flip top you use quick disconnects for easy repair:P Otherwise rapairs are still a hassle:P

[Shin Ace]

I've done a couple flip top boxes myself. Just 2 hinges on the back of the top panel, and then secured with a single screw. Soldered my wires to the quick disconnects. Turns out, the stick is over a year old and still haven't even touched it. Shortly after building it with a DC pad, my friend had me add a psx pad. And with the cleanliness of the install, it went really smoothly.

In my opinion, only flip-top if it's a prototype. Otherwise, you'll feel like it was a waste of time down the road.

[buyproduct]

I didnt use quick disconnects because for this pcb (gamester reflex) it was recommend not too. That is why i also have individual grounds and soldered the joystick like i did and didnt use the 5 pin connector.

The real reason for the flip top is that later on I want to put project boxes inside the stick so that I could switch from xbox to ps2 to gamecube rather quickly. I dont like it when you attach the project box to your stick from the outside but if its hidden it looks nicer and feels sturdier.

[GoLD-ReaVeR]

you mean you want to switch pcbs quickly? You could've used a cartridge-like system for that.

The idea is not to quick disconnect your pcb, rather your buttons and stick. When using quickdisconnects you probably still need to solder to the pcb.

[buyproduct]

you mean you want to switch pcbs quickly? You could've used a cartridge-like system for that.

Thats what i plan on doing later on. But i dont want to insert the cartrige from the outside but from the inside. Thats why its a flip top. About quick disconnects, I am not a big fan of them cause they tend to do exactly that: disconnect quickly. I can get a bit rough sometimes and slap some of them off. soldering avoids this.

[final_cut]

How is that Reflex PCB holding up for you? Does it work well with the communicator?

[buyproduct]

Yeah it works fine. The only thing to remeber about the communicator is not to remove the tape on the capcitors. If you do it will spark and your communicator goes bye bye.

[V4MPIRO]

Anyone know how the PlayStation version of the gamester reflex looks like from the inside?

[SuicidalGrandpa]

Very nice little diary. Turned out great!

[kurdt_the_goat]

I'm having a hell of a time trying to find Lexan in Perth, Australia.... the closest we have to Home Depot is a store called Bunnings, but all i can find there are 900x600mm sheets that aren't specifically called Lexan (and the clerk has never heard of it). Not to mention they cost around $30 US! Don't suppose any of you are Australian and have found some Lexan somewhere?

[Dummy Account]

Try PMing elvis_a_presley. IIRC he's in Aussie too.

[nyprimus4]

I'm kind of in the same situation as you but I want to make a stick for the Xbox 360. Dead or Alive 4, Virtua Fighter 5, Virtua Tennis 3, SF2:HF, UMK3, etc.

I'm going to go to Home Depot tomorrow to get the needed wood. What measurements did you cut your box to? I like the size of yours. And what type of wood is good to paint on? Because I don't want to stain mine.

I'm probably going to get all Sanwa parts from HimuraAmusements. Should I go with screw-in or snap-in? What size drill bit do I need for the Sanwa stick?

This is my layout.
http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/7640/untitled2cc8.th.jpg (http://img119.imageshack.us/my.php?image=untitled2cc8.jpg)
I have the wireless headset so no need for a headset port.

[RoBoBOBR]

"I'm probably going to get all Sanwa parts from HimuraAmusements"


You are such an optimist =)) Himura is gone for like half a year.

[nyprimus4]

"I'm probably going to get all Sanwa parts from HimuraAmusements"


You are such an optimist =)) Himura is gone for like half a year.

Nevermind then. I'm new to the whole arcade stick scene, and just started reading up on them two days ago when I decided I wanted a 360 stick.

I'm going to order a green Sanwa stick and 8 green Sanwa pushbuttons from VGO network. It is actually cheaper. I won't do smaller buttons for the start/back now though and just use green Sanwas.