When I was shopping around for a saw, I considered the Ryobi BTS21 which was on sale at HD for $230…a great saw at a great price. I asked a friend of mine who teaches woodworking at the local college, and owns the same saw…he suggested that if I intended to cut a lot of sheet (which I did), a larger saw would be wise. Fact is…building a stick is strictly to keep me from ramming my PS3 d-pad through the wall…lol.
As for the stick…work in progress, hope to have the carcass assembled and prep’d by the weekend:).
Btw CaptnAmercia… apprently, you objected to my use of the word “cheapo” and Ryobi in the same sentence. I should have been more clear… the “cheapo” drill is actually a second drill - that plays backup to the good one - …the Ryobi.
This may or may not have been answered… but I’m brand new to this, so forgive me.
I’ve never built a stick before, and I’ve just recently gotten into modding them. However, I’d love to learn to build but don’t have any personal wood tools or access to a shop. So I have a request:
At bare minimum, what do I need to make functional joysticks? What are the fewest tools I could get away with and still make complete boxes, with rounded edges, and plexi tops? A friend of mine suggested I would need a band saw, Dremel with sanding attachments, and a fullsized power drill with proper attachments. Is this true? I have the Dremel, but nothing else.
Thanks a million to anyone who can help me get started :china:. I’m willing to buy what I need, but I don’t have the space for large tools. I’m in an apartment and want to be able to just work on my patio.
Kodee Vu, you are in a very difficult situation where you live in an apartment meaning you’ve got neighbors. Even if you had the space for powertools, it would disturb the neighbors to come knocking on your doors or in extreme cases, cops come to shush you down.
Since you would need a hand saw to cut the wood into the right dimensions, use wood called “poplar.” According to slagcoin.com, its easy to work with low density. If it was high durability/density I’m not sure if you be willing to put the effort with the hand saw. You of course need sand paper for hand sanding - even if you had orbital sanding machine. As for the plexiglass or lexan - just use the pre-cut glass and build your controller around it. Or buy a glass cutting hand tool to cut out dimensions you want. At the minimum for a powertool, you would definitely need a powerdrill for pushbuttons and drilling pilot holes and etc.
Thanks for quick reply and suggestions :china: Same to you, Satek. However, as Satek suggested, I’d only be working during the daytime outside, and I won’t have any problems with noise as long as it’s not unbearably loud.
I think the fewest tools you could get away with would be:
a decent table saw, like the BTS21 (this one is portable too - so it’ll tuck away a little more easily) with combination blade
you pretty much need a router with varying types of straight bits for creating recesses; the rounded edges can be done with a router bit for that purpose…I’m sure someone here can point you to a decent one
for sure…a drill (with appropriate bits), and if you can manage, a drill-press is very nice to have
if you intend to paint/stain/finish… a random-orbit disc sander (preferably variable speed), and a good ole sanding block
in my experience, I’ve come to look at the Dremel as an electric swiss army knife…it has many things that will do in a jam, but doesn’t excel at any one of them.
That covers what I can think of off-hand…with one less obvious addition: some sort of work table and a few clamps; you’ll definitely need these for the routing, fitting the joints, and you’ll appreciate them when drilling some of these holes:).
Hey Cap:)… I have a Freud 1080n - it’s 80t carbide-tipped. I just coat it with WD40 every few cuts, and it does a great job on either plexi or lexan:).
Kodee, I also own a dremel. When I first bought it, I thought it was loud. When I heard the table saw and the router, I bought a ear piece.
Anyhoo, I used to live in an apartment and thing is that many families live in a building. Even if you use the tools during daytime, in an apartment, there’s always babies and housewifes and … some house-husbands .
Router would be a definite plus along with powerdrill if you absolutely know you can use that in your patio.
Michael from Kaytrim’s Kustom has put a link to an awesome priced freud router in previous post, not sure if they still have that sale.
im in the same boat as you as i too am in an apartment complex and even though i only work during the day using a drill, i still feel as if i am disturbing people although i have never gotten one single complaint( i think its due to me lookin like a pretty buff black dude) hahahaha i dont think they wanna come up to me and complain . I just hope when i get the money together for a router it wont be too much louder.
And really all i am using for my sticks is a drill, a handsaw and some sandpaper and i have only gotten good feedback. its a bitch trying to cut out the joystick spot with a drill and a saw but it works. i just sandpaper the edges(equally a bitch) until i am able to get a router(hopefully soon).
vma, you haven’t heard noise until using a ryobi table saw… Its cheapo universal motor on all reviews all around the web says its extra loud. As a proud Ryobi owner, I second that. :wgrin:
As a wood worker we should always wear safety gears including ear plugs or hearing protection - therefore not bad as long as your neigbors don’t mind.
I’m very much willing to go the route of a handsaw and hand rill over buying something like a router while I’m still living in my apartment. I’ve been doing a lot of modding recently and take a LOT of time meticulously checking and rechecking my work when it comes to wiring. And I always make sure to leave my sticks clean on the inside when it comes to wiring and such. I wouldn’t mind spending the extra time hand-sanding, hand-sawing, or using a drill to drill the joystick and button holes. I just didn’t know if this was worth the effort in the long-run and could give good results that would make the stick owners proud. Rounding the edges on a box using simple sandpaper, if it can be done, is not a problem to me, as long as it’s still decently practical. I just want everyone’s opinion
Forgot to mention - do understand what layout and which arcade brand parts you want.
They say north american cabinets use Happ parts but that has changed - if you are talking about Street Fighter 4 cabinet (uses japanese style and parts - SANWA brand which I’m sure you are aware of)
Just a quick note if you go the hand tool route… do get an accurate square and a true straight-edge - you won’t regret it. Oh…and you might consider using chisels as well:). Happy building!
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