Wiring Diagram

I have Daisy Chained all the ground terminals together by soldering links in between each micro switch. For the positive input signals I have used orange wire too the allocated position on the KeyWiz. I have rotated the buttons accordingly as to direct the micro switches in a fashion to keep the wiring neat & tidy. The extra orange wire will be used for a start button If I choose that path in the future.

KeyWiz Mount ASCII K/Board Lead Entry

I Mounted the KeyWiz as shown in image with two of the spacing screws provided. Then I gently filed out a slot to allow the ASCII Keyboard input lead to sit flush with the base. I used a round file and matched the diameter of the cord.

Dummy Assembly

There we have it, pre-assembled & everything seems to fit OK, now I'm going to Google what type glue to secure polycarbonate to MDF.

Outer Face Plate

After Googling several sites, and browsing through many forum posts, I came across a comment how someone was using there router on low speed to make clean cuts through polycarbonate without splintering or cracking the material.

Dimensions as per diagram earlier match the Inner Faceplate; ideally I should have cut and drilled both Face plates @ the same time, but I took the hard path although I still managed to get them to match.

Second Coat

Second Coat applied, and I'm happy with the finish, the texture is still quiet rough so I might consider wet rubbing it back slightly.

First Coat

Twas a cold evening ahead, with the help of my little electric IXL Heater I warmed the room temperature to above 10 degrees as per Cabot's advice. First Coat of Varnish great success.

Surface Preparation

The Hardwood Side Panels had to be sanded smooth. If your material choice is hardwood take caution when sanding flat towards the edge as the corners tend to fray easily.

A very fine grit was used to achieve a smooth surface. Any Dried up PVA solution was removed as too not create discrepancy in the varnish end finish.

Join together!

The Outer Chassis; or side panels have been joined with PVA Glue, then screwed from the inside with a right-angled Phillips head screwdriver ratchet through the pre-drilled holes made earlier.

I have placed cardboard between the wood paneling and clamps to avoid indentation whilst the glue dries.

Inner Chassis

As below a picture says a 1000 words; Ive used 40 x 20mm pine, as it is a soft easy to work with timber; and it will not be in view. I have cut sections to desired lengths that best fit my face plate, around the joystick, button and keywiz components.

I have pre-drilled some holes along the center line of the inner side; forward planning in order to secure the outer side plates (polished hardwood) later on with wood screws.

Aquadere/PVA glue has been used to secure the Pine to the MDF Inner Faceplate; I held the pieces in place to dry with some scissor clamps.

Joystick Mount

I've read bibles on joystick mounting techniques of recent, and never realised there were so many options, I've chosen this design, courtesy of Slagcoin a highly recommended detailed Joystick building resource I use.

Internal Face Plate

I have cut out the Inner Face Plate Rectangle (12mm MDF) with a Circular saw; and quick basic mock up jig I have clamped together as shown Above.

The cut is straight, but for that ultra smooth finish I ran over it with a straight edge with a coarse grit sandpaper.

Using my printed template of the Button layout schematic, I have marked the center of the button circle guides with a pen.

I used a IRWIN 28mm hole plain to drill.

After drilling the initial Joystick Center Hole, I clamped the Joystick chassis to the Faceplate, made sure the distance to the edge matched each side, then used the existing holes on Joystick chassis as a guide where to drill for mounts.

Polycarbonate

I chose Polycarbonate over Perspex because it is less likely to split when drilled. Color polycarbonate was used to cover the Joystick mounting screws and so that I could glue it too the inner face plate to avoid Screw fixtures.