There are a few different ways to put in a JLF into the Hori FSVX, I would say the “proper” mod to install it is on Page 10 of that thread (posted by me :D)
Alright, thanks!
By the way, is there anyone who does art/plexi for this?
if you are under a budget I say skip the custom art for now.
But best choice is either a self adhesive laminate or adhesive vinyl print.
I don’t think Art supports the Hori FSVX; I know blklighting21 did back in the day, but he’s been inaccessible for ~2 years now.
I agree with @Darksakul: while artwork and plexi is nice, it’s definitely on the “nice-to-have” list rather than the “need-to-have”, especially since you’re on a budget.
And going back to my initial point: you want to make sticks accessible to the members of the club that are starting out, and your main goal should be in the hopes that they like it enough to go buy/mod/customize their own. I feel that a stock Hori FSVX is fully sufficient for that purpose, and you’re trying a little too hard to provide something that’s overkill (full-Sanwa, art, plexi, etc) for what you need (essentially just a joystick and some buttons, even if they’re mounted on a Tupperware). Your club should keep them normally as guest- or beater-sticks, but you should be encouraging your members to look into getting and bringing their own gear.
Kinda like a tennis club: the club might have some spare tennis rackets for guests, but they’re usually by far barely average and wouldn’t be specially customized (ie, strings, tension, grip, etc) in any way. Any recurring member who’s serious enough to be recurring would (and probably should) be bringing their own racket. Same principle here.
I know you’re definitely trying to do good by providing quality parts to the members of your club, but I feel that you’re trying a little too hard and consequently, doing a little too much. 
Hell, if I didn’t already plunk my extra Brawlstick parts (2 sticks’ worth) into guest-sticks myself, I’d just ship 'em to you as a donation to your club.
I’m sure you could find some people who’d be willing to unload their Brawlstick parts for you for cheap (or maybe even free) if they’ve already upgraded to all-Sanwa. Afterwards, you’d just need to mount them into a casing (I’d probably go the Tupperware route), get a PCB (if you’re looking at PS3/PS2 support, the ZD Rematch Encoder is solderless and like $14) and voilà, cheap sticks!
Start small, get some cheap sticks off Amazon, eBay, Craigslist, Thrift Stores, Pawn shops and so on.
These will be your loaner sticks, it also encourage people to eventually get their own sticks/controllers.
Don’t worry about upgrades/repairs until a repair is needed.
And when you do repair stick to the basics, don’t waste time and money on custom art or funky button colors or translucent (clear) parts.
Alright, thanks guys.
(By the way, I inquired about art/plexi because eventually I’d take the sticks back when I graduate because they are mine… and I’d want to mod it haha)
psst… there are cheap brawlsticks out there on amazon… the above link: http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-WWE-Stars-Brawl-Stick-3/dp/B004M25NNQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393029088&sr=8-1&keywords=wwe+arcade+stick is $39 and free shipping
Guys I mentioned he was Canadian so importing it will cost a little extra…
Also you Americans get the good Amazon 
$40 on the American but $99 on Canadian. GG
Hah Derukun…
Guess who this is 
Check my sig.
I got no tips on how you’re going to save money on the parts and electronics, but if you got a Dollarama close to you, stop by one, head to the craft aisle. It will take some work, but you can build yourself a decently-size case if you take two of those 8x10 pictures frames, stack and secure them together. I’m in the middle of making another stick, I was going to use the picture frames but ended up switching to something else. This means I have 2 picture frames you can use to save you a lot of time and money.
If you are able to make a trip to the art store “Abovegrounds” that’s on McCaul St, you can get yourself sheets of masonite to make the top and bottom panels.
It won’t look the prettiest, but it’s enough to function as a usable joystick controller and you’re spending very little if you’re willing to forfeit aesthetics to dish out a LOT of sticks.
No way, is that you Andy?
Interesting, I’ll look into that too.
Yup it’s Andy.
I apologize in advanced if I come off as overly-pushy, but given that you want to jump straight into forming a club and paying for all the joysticks without a thorough assessment of how many people may be interested in joining your club, I really would suggest keeping it nice and cheap. You don’t know just how many people would be interested in your club and you should consider the possibility that less people join than expected.
Now that I think about it, skip the picture frames and masonite at the two stores. Just go to Abovegrounds directly. You can get off at St.Patrick station on the subway for a 5-6 minute walk. Go for the pre-made panels for paintings. They’re like canvases except instead of canvas they use a sheet of wood. I bought myself a 8x10 frame that’s with a 1.5" depth for $3.59. Show them a student card and you get a 10% discount. Yeah you’re saving 36 cents, but every little bit counts! 8x10 may be small for you, but you are lugging these around with you, so portability may be something to consider.
What I imagine you can do is get two and put them together like two sides of a clam shell ($6-10 case with little-to-no assembly required). I would hinge it too. If not you could keep the two pieces together with magnets, but that’s more work. Anyhow, this will keep the case in one piece, and it will be easy to access in the future (i.e. diagnosing a malfunction, changing parts, etc.). And since the panels are already cut up and square, you can jump straight to drilling out holes and painting.
Low-priced cases: $6-10
As for parts, You can get yourself a set on eBay. I’ve been finding cheap-ass listings there. You get a complete JLF (pcb, plate, ball top, harness, everything), as well as enough OBSF-30s for about $50. Sounds like a lot, but shipping is low or entirely free (don’t forget to factor in that cost too). A cheap brawlstick for $40 as a few mentioned above is worth pursuing first, but if you need more sticks you can look on eBay.
Here are some listings I found just now:
Low-priced parts: $50 (includes shipping if you’re looking at the Asia-based sellers)
Thinking about it, if you’re looking to do PC with the optional PS3, perhaps there are some generic PC controllers out there that also work on the PS3. I remember buying a remade USB Saturn PAD I got for $10 off eBay. I could’ve padhacked that and spent less money than on an MC Cthulhu. Would required some soldering time, but my dad already owns a soldering iron so I didn’t need to buy one. Don’t know about you though. Something worth considering maybe?
If you really want to go cheaper, I used to play with a friend with the two joystick controllers I had. Both were padhacked PS1 controllers and I had this PS-to-USB adaptor that allowed up to two controllers to be plugged in. This works on the PS3 and PC. You get a setup where you have two controllers that can play on PS3 and PC with no drivers to install for less than a single MC Cthulhu (+ other required cables + shipping). The $7 adaptor can be found on dx.com (“twin usb playstation adaptor”. It looks like a blue triangle). The only drawback is that there is some input lag, but I didn’t notice this until I took street fighter more seriously anyway. Plus, since both controllers are going through the same adaptor, both are going to experience the same amount of lag.
Low-priced electronics: $30-$40 (no shipping, includes two circuit boards)
P.S. don’t forget you’ll need more than 6 buttons; start, select, maybe “home”. And if it people get into the game enough, you can try selling them the sticks to make some money back. They won’t have to dump $100 on a brand new stick, and you won’t have a bunch of extra controllers you probably won’t ever use.
I played on stock Hori buttons (not Kuro, the older ones with tkc switches that Seimitsu also puts in their buttons) for a good year or so. They worked perfectly fine, were even sturdier than my Sanwa buttons (silly snap in tabs) and the only reason I am still not using them is because I got transparent Seimitsu smokes.
sorry! I should’ve read harder. guess I’ll have to find some canadian sites.
There are a bunch of ps3 Injustice Battle editions for $40 on Gamestop. Not sure what the Canada situation does for you, but those seem to be decent starter sticks.
Jus go pick up wood on trash day … make holes and ur done… The sanwa part will be the greatest cost … i make mine from. Mdf. Wood on trash day… The parts n zero delay pbc from ebay … i love my cheaply made fight stick
Obligatory
