Mod the JLF shaft covers… Get official JLF-CD kits or the Mad Catz colored versions. I think the Qanba JLF shaft cover kits that Focus Attack sells should work, too, since Qanba pretty much uses JLF for 85% of its joysticks. (The other 10-15% of Qanbas are being equipped now with LS-32’s based on customer requests for alternate control levers.)
Mad Catz and Qanba both make alternate color shaft kits for the JLF that should work with the LS-32 after the mod. I prefer the standard black Sanwa kit, myself, since it works with every color combination but at least alternate colors are available. (** I would NOT recommend white shaft covers since about half the white plastic on the market yellows after being exposed to sunlight after long periods of time. The only way to ensure white plastic doesn’t yellow is to store it in a box away from the sun 24/7! ** You’d be better off spray-painting a black shaft cover kit with a stable, non-yellowing white if you want the color that badly.) The Qanba kits are cheaper than what Mad Catz sells BUT the Mad Catz kits may match the Sanwa button colors better than Qanba’s.
*** Your other option available is to get ahold of RosserRooster… He makes customized shaft covers AND dust covers for both the JLF and LS-32 joysticks. His shaft covers are mostly metal-based (aluminum? If that’s the case, it shouldn’t corrode/rust) and colored in whatever colors he has available… He might have other materials in stock for customization. I think he’s even doing wood shaft covers now, too. His work is excellent and people have been very satisfied with his product for quite a while now. ***
The existing JLF-CD shaft kits (Sanwa, Mad Catz, Qanba) are the only covers that will fit the LS-32 after modding. Unfortunately, the shaft covers for the LS-40, LS-55, LS-56, LS-58 are just too thin to begin with to fit the LS-32.
I don’t know of a drill bit that will work for the JLF-CD shaft kit to be honest. I’ve got standard drill bits, myself, and NONE of them seem to be sized for a JLF-type shaft cover. Forget about the trick Akihabarashop shows on YouTube… That only works for the Seimitsu shaft covers for thin stick shafts!
You’re NOT hollowing out the JLF shaft cover, btw. You’re THINNING it from the inside out to fit the LS-32 shaft. I use small metal files to thin out the JLF shaft from the inside. You use a coarse circular file to thin the shaft cover by at least half the starting thickness and then smooth out the interior with a fine file. AFTER the shaft is thinned out, you have to cut it down to size to fit because the LS-32 shaft is physically shorter than the JLF shaft. I forget how much you have to cut down but it’s somewhere between 1/8" and 3/8" but definitely less than a 1/4". You can use a large medium tooth file or coarse flat file to cut down the height OR a Dremel with a circular cutter. Make sure you mark the approximate amount of height to cut off before you actually Dremel or file down the shaft cover. I use a Silver Sharpee marker to hilite the approximate cut-off area.
(I take my time with the Dremel and have only had one accident that was easily fixable with a spare, screwed up shaft. I just cut off a small band of shaft and fit it underneath a larger piece so that it was out of sight. Works fine and I don’t notice it so that I don’t freak out with my compulsive perfectionist streak.)
I’ve modded around 5 JLF-CD kits this way to fit the LS-32’s I own…
This JLF shaft mod should also work for the “short shaft” Zippy joystick, too. That joystick is a cheaper, virtual clone of the LS-32. (It’s something I’ll buy on the horizon since it can be modded with a “silent microswitch” kit that Paradise Arcade Shop sells.)
