Need help with a massive project.

[8BitWonder]

I'm not sure if this belongs here or not but here goes.
Me and my cousin have decided to build our own arcade. He is building one and I am building one. We figured we should start with creating or buying the joysticks. We have decided to go with this first so when we finish it we could hook it up to our PC while continuing on with the arcade project and play around with it and Mame.

I guess I am asking for advice on weither we should build our own arcade stick (We have no idea how to do this yet but more than willing to learn) or buy one such as the X-Arcade Tankstick or something similar. I am hoping to keep it as cheap as possible and have our own graphics on the arcade. I hate how the X-Arcade has X-Arcade written on it.

There are tons of sites out there on how to build your own. Is there any specific site that anyone reccomends above the others? What is the cheapest and best site to buy the needed items from?

If anyone here knows anything on how to build anything with this or has any advice I would greatly appreciate it. I guess I will use this topic to keep everyone updated on how the progress is going and such so hopefully if anyone else wants to do this in the future they can use this topic as a guide for them.

If anyone is interested in doing this along with me and my cousin PM me. We would be glad to have others working with us, three heads is better than 2 I guess. We have some supplies for the arcade. Let me know. Thanks everyone.

[Niode]

I'd recommend building your own. They're not that hard if you follow a decent guide. (there's loads on the internet, just do a google search).

Here's a very good video guide, because i'm feeling extra generous tonight :
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/27/how-t ... n-5-parts/

Some reasons to build you own:

You get to learn how they work internally, which is a bonus when it comes to replacing them if they break.

It's easier to replace parts.

You can make your controls exactly how you want them.

You can make them fit the colour scheme of your cabinet.

You can make them in the best layout that is most comfortable for you.

Ultra-flexible.

Costs less.

Hope that helps.