Started construction yesterday of the new prototype, its signifigantly smaller than the current design. To give an example how much smaller the old design is, it could very well swallow the new design twice in sheer volume. I will make further progress within the next couple days making it look nice and making sure it passes my quality control. pictures to follow in the next couple days for those who are interested. 
Awesome. The first stick looked super sexy.
You guys can trust him. If he screws you over, Iāll firebomb his shop. 
Nice stick man. So many crazy builders now.
Iāve got to be honest, here.
As a builder, myself, much as I truly adore and respect so many of the other buildersā work that I have seen here (and elsewhere, too), I cannot justify purchasing something from most of them because I know I could make something similar for myself for less and have fun doing it.
But I donāt know how to do this metal work stuff and keep it so damned clean! These sticks just look fucking hot, and I am temptedā¦ I am seriously considering a purchase just to get my hand son one, especially once you unveil the more compact design. I would really like to see the insides, too.
Anyway, great stuff. Canāt wait for more pics.
PS. If you can cough obtain cough Photoshop, it really doesnāt take long to get up and running making your own custom art, and itās pretty fun, too. I only started actually using the program a few weeks ago, couple hours here and there following forum posts and random tutorials. And it comes pretty easy once you get the basics down. I can honestly say that I only use a handful of tools of the multitude given (though I use them in a variety of ways, at that). Worth checking out, anyway.
Damn Iāve got four sticks. Now I am thinking about getting the 5th.
wow! when I set out to make this design I had alot of concerns how the folks on this board would respond to my designs. I know you guys and gals see alot in your travels and have a keen eye for quality so there was a big question mark how the reception was going to be. I am extremely happy with everyoneās praise, it makes all the time I took developing designs and custom tools well worth it. Sometimes no matter how confident a person is in their work itās always nice to have the peopleās support and praise. I never set out with the intention of making something better than whatās out there already, more-so I just wanted to make something different and outside the āboxā no pun intended. Iām glad that to see the hard work paid off
Custom artwork is something Iām going to give a shot, I dont have anything to lose and a whole lot to gain from getting my feet wet in the graphics aspect of things. It can only make things better right?
once again thanks for the props guys
N
bumpā¦
Any news on the new compact designs?
hey Potatobbq, compact design is going well, I finished painting it yesterday, I had a small accident with some industrial paint stripper going in my eye yesterday but I managed to finish up the painting aspect of things. I gotta pick up some lexan on the weekend and print up some part work and I will post a new pic of either an assembled box or an empty one time permitting. Itās quite suprising how small the new one is compared to the āoldā one. side by side they it looks like a baby next to it. I dont like to show unfinished projects as sometimes people get turned away or give a bad rap to something under construction but if you guys want i can take a shot comparing the two side by side but just keep in mind itās not finished!
thanks again
Noel
Interesting model you got there and I definately wanna see a shot of the new mini. And while youāre at it can you post a pic of the insides and the bottom to see how the whole thing is attached?
Hereās my thoughts on your first model.
It looks a bit too long, I would cut 1/5th from there and maybe add more width to the sides because thats where my arms are resting. It looks like you matched the plexi nicely so they donāt scrape your arms atleast on the sides. Ditch that screw type and go for a round flat head type, also I would place the screws as close to the edges as possible for aesthetics sake. And its up to the buyer to decide on the button layout but I would go for a japanese style than the usual SF line. :tup:
Thanks for the constructive criticism itās always nice to hear what people have to say about things I may be able to do to improve things. when it comes to making something custom, variables like size and shape become the customers request. The whole premise of having a custom stick is to have one that is tailored to oneās specifications not just one or two designs for people to choose and add paint and artwork and its deemed a custom stick. Button layouts, screw placement , specific slope, no slope, Japanese, Chinese, Korean or American parts is really up to the customer. I made that prototype just to see the response I would get and to see wether or not it was worth my while to continue making these things. Itās far from perfect but it got very good feedback in a very short period of time. The biggest deciding factor is how much one has to spend on such a custom stick. If I only had one or two designs I could set a fixed price as there would be no guesswork it would always be the same price. I want my designs to be constantly evolving in regards to design and even innovation. I guess what iām trying to say is I want people to look at the design as a rough idea of what is possible but it could be changed to oneās request Iām not into the mass production business so things can be changed within reason of course 
Iām not twisting anyoneās arms to use a specific layout or parts even after all it is a CUSTOM stick
I love your theory. Keep up the good work!
looks like we have another eventual darkside on our hands.
When you use an xbox pcb, can you get voice to work for xbl?
Very nice work, man. The wooden grain gives it sort of a retro look, but it works really well and the workmanship looks tops. Good luck with your sales!
P.S. Hi butta ā¦ :encore:
Its something I can look at in the near future, I do have an xbox too but its pretty stripped down to play emulators and multimedia chores. but I can look into adding new functionalites to the stick time permitting of course
The only thing I could see to improve upon in this design would be if there as some way to actually make an inset in the metal for the clear acrylic or Lexan to actually sit in for a seamless deck design. If that were ever accomlished, Iād say that these were the best looking boxes ever built (in my opinion, thus far, based on all the many and varied designs I have come across). I donāt know how difficult it would be to accomplish such a thing, but as it stands, they rate pretty highly with me anyway.
anyone bought one of these nice looking sticks yet? how does it feel to play? whatās it like in real life?
finkle - can you take a few more shots a little closer, i canāt appreciate the metalwork from that distance! still it looks great!
I played with a few designs making the plastic as a inlay of sorts, overall it turned out fine but itās just very time consuming and when something becomes too time consuming it becomes too expensive. One thing I have been toying with lately is wrapping one piece of acrylic around the top, back and front and having the wooden side pieces flush with the plastic āshellā.
The simplest way of making this esthetically pleasing would be to chamfer the edge of the plastic so the front and back are releaved at an angle. The smaller design iām working on now due to its size the acrylic or lexan goes right to the edge and is massaged to contour the radius that is present in the aluminum shell. I have been quite busy lately so I havenāt had much time to work on my arcade related projects 
Mullah: I really wish I had taken pics of the all brushed aluminum stick I had made a while back if you really like metalwork you would have liked that one. I dont know what I would call it, I guess I would say arcade stick meets Apple G5 computer LOL. If I knew people would be a fan of the metalwork I would have taken some snaps when I had it. But I can take some pics thats no probs mate. Right now I only have this damn 1.2 MP camera until my camera gets repaired but iāll see what i can do.
thanks again guys!
N