What screws to use for mounting a Korean Joystick in my HRAP 3?

Ok so having installed my joystick, everything works just fine. Only thing is that the screws that I am using (I got at my local hardware store) will go in about half way and then just stop turning… so I had to use duct tape for the time being to secure it just so I could test if the thing worked. So any suggestions? The second pic are the screws I used to secure the joystick (I am using the 4 in the corner, not the middle 2 points that fastened the JLF).

Im pretty sure they need M4 bolts.

any idea which exactly?

M4 is the size of the bolt.
More likely you need M4 with a thread pitch of 0.7

You can find theses at your local hardware store, make sure you get short bolts.

What’s wrong with the original screws that are on your hrap?

Well if you’re talking about the two that fastened in the top and bottom middle spots, those don’t go in all the way when I try to fasten them in the 4 corners, just like the screws I bought at the hardware store (the second pic).

It’s definitely an M4 screw with 0.7 pitch…

I looked for these a few years when I had to replace a few screws.

One of the few areas of disgust that I have with Hori is the quality of the screw threads in the mounting plates on the HRAP’s.

I’ve had problems on at least 5 of my HRAP’s because of that… The threads tend to be tight, they can destroy screw threads/strip them, and on at least 2 occasions I’ve had to put in spacers on a mounting screw because the mounting thread wouldn’t allow me to completely install it!

I installed an LS-58-01-CX in an HRAP 3 this past Monday… what cost me time was trying to find an M4 screw that hadn’t been stripped by previous Hori installations/removals of control levers! Half the mounting threads in that HRAP’s mounting plate were marginal. As it is, I had to take off the LS-58 because I forgot to remove the dust cover before I installed it! LOL What I found after taking 2 of the screws off was they had new metal slivers at the front… The slivers were created by the thread mount positions. Before I put those screws back in, I lightly brushed off the slivers in a trash can to keep myself from being cut by them as well as creating a potential install problem in the HRAP joystick mount area.

So yeah, keep in mind the screw specs. I’ve had at least 4 screws stripped because of the poor quality of the factory line work on the mounting threads. This has been a problem on all kinds of HRAP’s – HRAP 3, HRAP 3 SA, HRAP-licensed variants, HRAP V3 SA… I know Home Depot, Lowes, and Tru Value Hardware do stock M4 screws with 0.7 pitch… and they are metric not English/customary unit measure.


Sidenotes:

The LS-58 is an excellent joystick but I think the design may be doomed in the US at least. People apparently like the tighter spring in the LS-56 better and the parts vendors (whose websites I’ve checked) in the US have discontinued carrying this joystick in favor of restocking the LS-56. (I’ve got to admit that I think a tighter spring would be better on the LS-58. It’s a fine joystick as-is but I had more problems pulling off Shoryuken’s in SFTurboII Remix with the LS-58 than the LS-40 which is considered fairly loose. The -58 has an advantage in that it should be easier to tighten the tension on it than the LS-40 by just an LS-56 spring swap.)

Seimitsu is going to sell the clear shafts they introduced with the LS-58 separate from the joystick now which means an LS-40, LS-55, LS-56, or LS-58 can be retrofitted with a clear shaft and dustcover. It also means they make money on the dustcovers separate from LS-58 sales.

There’s a good chance Seimitsu will discontinue the LS-58 if sales fall enough. In the past few years, Sanwa discontinued the JLW line and Seimitsu stopped manufacturing LS-64 analog joysticks, too. There are fans of the JLW and as long as there are spare parts and levers for it, it’ll continue to be a viable alternative for retro-MAME cabinets. I imagine they will get more expensive as the supply dwindles and if the demand continues to be there for the JLW.

Seimitsu never released the spring from the LS-58 as a separate item to buy unlike the LS-56 spring.

Videogames New York already dropped the LS-58… you can’t buy it from their website anymore. I know that Jaleel of Focus Attack announced he’s doing the same and will stock the clear shaft covers separately. The LS-58’s he has in-stock are the last that Focus Attack is going to sell for the time being. Both vendors are carrying the LS-56 from now on.

<SIGH> And so Seimitsu creates a new market for the MS Mounting Plate for the LS-56… That is unless the original/stock mounting plate actually installs in the new revamped HRAP “universal” mounting plates on the V3/VX and N3/NX lines.

(I hate this type of shit about having to buy a new mounting plate separate to install a joystick. I’d have more LS-40’s if I didn’t have to get an SS Mounting Plate each time to install in an HRAP SA or Mad Catz TE joystick! Obviously, manufacturers like to sell additional peripherals or parts… It was a big thing with Nintendo on the Wii. Heck, peripherals are always big sales items on Nintendo consoles! This kind of forced buying to enjoy a part or game is the kind of thing that infuriates gamers who are on a budget. And that’s most of us!)

My pet peeve about the new HRAP universal mount design is that it halves the mounting positions for the LS-40/LS-32 SS Mounting plate. I like the idea of 4 mounting screws better than two… The two-screw mount just has the potential for more problems. I have had mount screws loosen and fall off in one or two joysticks. The fact that I had 4-mount screws in those installations meant I didn’t notice the situation (it really wasn’t that dangerous with 3 screws still in position) until I heard the loose screws and took the faceplates or baseplates to explore the situation.

you do know that any UNUSED holes (when stock) are not fully threaded right? you’re making it the first time you install something. So that’s why you sometimes gotta be careful and precise (make sure the you’re screwing the bolts in STRAIGHT). And the stripping that you see are most likely due to the hole threads being created, not the screw stripping.