Finished Custom Joysticks
- Thread starter Finch
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2009
- Posts
- 431
So I didn't expect to see this thread at the top of the page in my yearly check in.
So here's a 10 year retrospective on these. Sticks are still going strong. I had to replace the original stick on rubber feet that come with the enclosures for some bolt on heavy duty feet I found at Home Depot, otherwise all good. Other than that, I wish I had installed a prettier USB and DB-15 port on the back to make them a bit more flush, and look nicer. I added some shellac to the walnut end panels a few years back. Originally I just oiled them, but they kept drying out and needed re-oiling so the shellac keeps them nice and new looking. Swapped the stock square gates for octogates, and at one point had to fix the wiring when I realized 2 of those gray buttons were swapped on one stick and not the other (They got like 90% of their use for NeoGeo, so it's entirely possible I never used the second stick on the PS3 or windows where I would know). The Toodles Cthulhu boards I used for these no longer exist, but there are similar and better options out there now and I might switch over to a new solution if I ever run into compatibility issues with the Toodles, but so far they have been great.
In case someone digs this thread up again in a few years, the Template is still available here http://1drv.ms/215TAPw
So here's a 10 year retrospective on these. Sticks are still going strong. I had to replace the original stick on rubber feet that come with the enclosures for some bolt on heavy duty feet I found at Home Depot, otherwise all good. Other than that, I wish I had installed a prettier USB and DB-15 port on the back to make them a bit more flush, and look nicer. I added some shellac to the walnut end panels a few years back. Originally I just oiled them, but they kept drying out and needed re-oiling so the shellac keeps them nice and new looking. Swapped the stock square gates for octogates, and at one point had to fix the wiring when I realized 2 of those gray buttons were swapped on one stick and not the other (They got like 90% of their use for NeoGeo, so it's entirely possible I never used the second stick on the PS3 or windows where I would know). The Toodles Cthulhu boards I used for these no longer exist, but there are similar and better options out there now and I might switch over to a new solution if I ever run into compatibility issues with the Toodles, but so far they have been great.
In case someone digs this thread up again in a few years, the Template is still available here http://1drv.ms/215TAPw
LonelyWarbler
Crazed MVS Addict
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- Jun 10, 2019
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- 130
The walnut sides put these sticks over the top. That small detail brings the stick to a very classy place. Are you using similar accents for the rest of your setup?
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- Jul 14, 2009
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Nah, just the sticks. The walnut panels actually come as an option on that enclosure, which saved me some woodworking. The same enclosure comes in quite a few sizes and styles and you could easily make a CMVS using one, which would look awesome, but I went with a different style hammond MFG enclosure for mine.
I'm actually working on a new CMVS and Sticks combo right now that uses some totally different styles of enclosure. I love these sticks, and their versatility, but they are also huge, and I only ever use them for Neo Geo so I'm toying with a new set closer in size to official AES sticks. Wooden enclosures, more modern design, and a matching CMVS based on a flattened MV-1Fz board rather than a MV-1C. The MV-1Fz gives you a socketed BIOS and a form-factor closer to the AES, and they are a bit easier to work on. The larger enclosure also makes it possible to incorporate a few more features into the build, like an integrated PSU so you no longer have to deal with a dongle for power.
Last edited:
Hansuke
n00b
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- May 8, 2019
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Hello. The link to the template no longer works. Can you please supply a new link?
Thanks for your help!
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- Jul 14, 2009
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- Joined
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Badly with a dremel. I’m not sure if I ever posted pics of the back of the sticks but the d-sub are kind of mounted on the outside of the enclosure, so their rectangular bezel hides the kind of ugly cut. That’s one of the aspects of these I’m not happy about and might try to fix at some point. Maybe cut out a nicer looking larger hole and mount a clean panel in there that has well mounted ports or something. When one doesn’t have access to CNC or a D-Sub punch, it’s really hard to cut those well.
LonelyWarbler
Crazed MVS Addict
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2019
- Posts
- 130
Nah, just the sticks. The walnut panels actually come as an option on that enclosure, which saved me some woodworking. The same enclosure comes in quite a few sizes and styles and you could easily make a CMVS using one, which would look awesome, but I went with a different style hammond MFG enclosure for mine.
I'm actually working on a new CMVS and Sticks combo right now that uses some totally different styles of enclosure. I love these sticks, and their versatility, but they are also huge, and I only ever use them for Neo Geo so I'm toying with a new set closer in size to official AES sticks. Wooden enclosures, more modern design, and a matching CMVS based on a flattened MV-1Fz board rather than a MV-1C. The MV-1Fz gives you a socketed BIOS and a form-factor closer to the AES, and they are a bit easier to work on. The larger enclosure also makes it possible to incorporate a few more features into the build, like an integrated PSU so you no longer have to deal with a dongle for power.
I think your choice looks nice but wood would have been my choice. Do you paint these yourself? What type of paint do you use? Can you share the model of the enclosure if its not an issue?