Porter Cable, and Hitachi.
The hitachi was in the high 100’s
the porter cable was in the $250 range.
The rigid is around the same as the PC.
The rigid tops out the porter cable? Hrrmmm I thought i heard someone say the porter cable was the carpenter’s standard in their shop… 
I do have a question for people who use sanders.
What do you prefer - orbital sander or sheet pad sanders?
Which model is good for joystick building?
thanks
Hey Cap…how’s it goin’? I’ve found the best thing going is a random orbital disc sander. Since the sanding pattern is so random sanding trails are much more diffuse. Variable-speed is definitely a nice extra.
Status update: final coat of paint tomorrow…then sanding and onto clearcoat - I’m getting anxious:looney:
This last bit is off-topic, but I just had to share…
I was playing a few ranked games of SF4, and was made aware of the following rules regarding Akuma vs. Zangief:
- Under NO circumstances is Akuma allowed the use of projectile attacks
- Akuma is REQUIRED to stay well within range of Zangief’s SPD, Lariat and grabs AT ALL TIMES.
Failure to do so results in the official designation of “CHEATING SLIME F#$%”
Needless to say…It tickled:wgrin:
Thanks for the reply. I was reading a bit and they said belt sanders for heavy duty, random orbital sander for medium duty and sheet pad sander for light duty.
They’ve also mentioned that a good Random orbital sander does not make swirl marks.
What was confusing was that both sander both orbit but the sheet sander does not orbit as much as the random orbital sander.
I was thinking of sanding the end grain lightly when needed. Is random orbital sander still recommended for this job?
The one I have is variable-speed…between picking the right grit/speed, I get pretty good results on most sanding tasks. In a nutshell, sheet sanders basically “vibrate” following a simple circular orbit. On the random orbital, that component is random, plus the actual disc itself also rotates randomly (random direction, and to some extent…speed) so that the sander is statistically never likely to follow a given path more than once. hth
The rigid is louder at full speed, thats the only drawback. Everything else about it is better. I had to return the porter cable because the quick pin for above table bit changes bent into the shaft when i was trying to loosen it. And you have to REALLY tighten that thing down or else the bit slips around when you have it turned on, which causes bad things to happen to your boxes.
As for sanders, we use both orbital and a finishing sander. First we use a table sander before we route. Then we hit them with the orbital sander with some 120 grit. Then we hit them with the 220 grit. Then we hit them with the 400/600 grit on the finishing sander. My orbital sander is a dewalt vibrationless, it kicks ass. The finishing sander is an old porter cable, its going to die soon, I think I will replace it with a dewalt or a makita.
Not sure what you mean by X-Arcade veneer … The black textured stuff?
For normal veneers and t-moldings your local hardware store should have them (home-depot/rona).
What you are looking for is textured vinyl, can be purchased many places online. Try Groovy Game Gear for the T-Molding.
Michael
I’ve finally found a 30mm forstner bit in a local hardware shop, but to my greatest dismay they had no 24mm, only 20 and 25mm bits.
Do you reckon a 24mm sanwa would fit into a 25mm hole or would it be loose? Aian said he’d do it on page 5 but he never showed up after 
I had the same problem before, use 24mm spade bit instead. 24mm forstner is hard to find>.<
and no, 24mm button wouldnt fit nicely on 25mm hole unless you are using the screw type
Well I haven’t bought the buttons yet so that may be an option 
if you haven’t ordered the buttons yet, i’d suggest ordering a proper size forstner bit as well. chances are you’d get the bit before you got the buttons anyways.
Michael, thank you so much… 
I was looking for this stuff for the last 3 months and I didn’t know what it was called. :sad: IT IS CALLED TEXTURED VINYL.
Michael, I just need to use a straight trim bit after sticking the textured vinyl on the CP or whatever surface right?
Won’t forget that along with my other biggest lesson - BUILD THE BOX, Route the edges, Drop in your CP, ART and Glass, drill pilot holes then joystick/push buttons holes.
Tomorrow is my last day of my vacation and I wanted to say I have learned so much from Michael, Ecks teh Secks, VMA and crazed.
Special thanks to Michael who had lot of patience with me. LoL …:bgrin:
Thank you all, you guys are good friends. :encore:
When I get a chance to build a new stick will try to put up pictures.
All you need is a good sharp razor knife to trim the vinyl. After sticking the vinyl to the panel flip it over vinyl side down and trace the panel with the knife. To install the T-Molding you need a ‘Slot Cutting’ router bit. Do some test cuts to make sure the bit is set for the middle of the panel. Here is a little action shot using the bit.
Michael
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=66082.0;attach=74975;image
^^ Holy cow, are you building what I think you are building in that pic? Its MAME arcade cab!!! Whew~
Thanks again!
Hey, I’m newer to the forums and I’ve been really interested in making a stick since a friend of mine put one together. Not that I want to outdo him or anything, but the box he made for his case is a big plain looking box. Huge. Would anyone be able to talk to me about how to make some of these nicer looking smaller wooden boxes with rounded edges and the plexiglass tops?
You definitely have an advantage that you already have a friend who has built his own controller. It may not be as pretty as you think but don’t be afraid to ask your own friend.
The first step should be determining if you know how to work with a game controller PCB whether it is through pad hacking or purchasing a board like I-PAC or Cthulhu board. It would suck to build a blank controller case and not know how to wire the controller in order to make it work with your video game platform of choice. (I’m going to assume you know how to do this or of course, you can ask your friend.) As a reference to people who want to skip the whole soldering piece, I give you this link - http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/blog.php?b=5037
The way you are describing the stick that you want, I assume you want a japanese style joystick/button because HAPP/North American style controls require you have have a box that is approx 3" tall (I see that big is not your friend).
The next step would be reading slagcoin.com - http://slagcoin.com/joystick.html
When you see the table of contents, the author has broken down the steps into very logical manner. It will answer many of your questions. The information may overwhelm you, and if so, start with this first - Example of ingrediantshttp://slagcoin.com/joystick/example1.html.
Then the detailed example of a controller build - http://slagcoin.com/joystick/example2.html. And then if you have a question, go back to the table of contents and read on the section that you have a question about.
After familiarizing yourself with the general procedures and tools, its time to gather some money for this expensive hobby and buy some powertools. See post # 181 by Michael on this page for basic set of powertools - http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=191757&page=8.
Familiarize yourself with SAFTY FIRST before using the power tools - posts 85 and 87 on this page - http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=191757&page=4.
See post #209 for hand tools - http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=191757&page=9.
And also #249 - http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=191757&page=10
See Post #289 by Ecks for an idea of dimensions on the controller (if you wish to go a different router from slagcooin) -http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=191757&page=9
You can also see some pics of how the pros setup there tools -
Post #303 - http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=191757&page=13
And here #152 - http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=191757&page=7 - Michael also talks about templates in the same page.
There’s more useful information contained in this thread that you’ll be missing out on and its too much for me to go over - like where to get your 30mm and 24mm bits, what saw to use on plexi, which brands offer which good specific tool and stuff… Do read upon specifics reading this wood working thread from the first page - you’ll note that this thread tries to fill in the gaps not mentioned from slagcoin and also participation from two of the few respected professional joystick builders out there.
Combining the knowledge gained from slagcoin.com and this thread, you’ll build your awesome case. Don’t make your case too small - when it sits on your lap, you want the controller to sit on your thighs - not in between.
I definitely encourage other members to help out odie on how to start on his build cause I know my method is not perfect and I know I’m missing other good info. :tup:
you guys are doing a great job with this thread
keep it up
Yeah… just wow. 17 pages already and its only been a month.
Thanks Michael+++++
Thanks every1 else!
Lets keep it going!
Thanks Domz. It would be even nicer if we had a forum devoted to woodworking here. Sent a PM to Mr. Wiz but didn’t hear back from him.
Michael