Disassembling a TAC 2 joystick... please help me

Marty_McFly · 21 January 2020, 18:43

Hi guys,
I have just received as gift a very used SUNCOM TAC 2 joystick.
The metal plate on the top side of the joystick has several and serious scratches. I think that the best solution is a painting/restoring attempt, but how to disassemble/remove this part from the plastic body of the joystick?
I found this picture on Internet,

https://haxor.fi/wp-content/uploads/...7/IMG_0657.jpg

But I did not understand if to unmount the metal plate the guy had to broke the joystick body or not.
Any helps or tips to solve my issue?
Thank you very much for any replies.

Jope · 21 January 2020, 18:44

The black insert around the shaft needs to be removed. I think it is glued in, so it might ruin the body when removed as in the picture.

Marty_McFly · 21 January 2020, 20:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jope

The black insert around the shaft needs to be removed. I think it is glued in, so it might ruin the body when removed as in the picture.

Thank you for your reply.
Probably the only solution is through a mini drill with a cutting disk to be rotated horizontally between the plastic ring and the top of the metal plate. This will cut horizontally the plastic ring but will not ruin the plate (or at least, would only scratch it on the top).
For the rest, about the black sphere at the top of the stick.
Is there anybody that can suggest/explain how to remove it without break or ruin itself?

Jope · 22 January 2020, 13:49

If it is a plastic shafted TAC-2, the ball is glued on. If it is a chrome shafted one, it is screwed on with some glue in the threads.

ptyerman · 22 January 2020, 14:15

Careful use of a heat gun will soften most glue enough to pull it apart. Some glues are very easily "unstuck" with very little heat.
I use this method quite often on everything from small plastic objects to furniture, (both wooden and synthetic), and even to remove the felt on shed roofs that's stuck down with bitumen!
The problem you have with that is not applying too much heat so it affects the plastic in a negative way!
If you attempt it, be careful in the application and just heat a small area starting at the edges a little at a time while lifting it up gently with a jewellers screwdriver or similar.
Once successful you can stick it down again when ready and no-one would ever see the difference.

Marty_McFly · 23 January 2020, 08:41

Thank you for your replies and tips.
I will try with a heat gun, I do not see other solutions to avoid damages.
If someone ever used a heat gun on tac 2, could he suggest to me the points on which to heat to better weaken the glue and remove the sphere and the plate with the minimum risk?
Thank you once again.

Jope · 23 January 2020, 09:25

Try with a hairdryer instead of a heat gun.. A heat gun will melt plastic at any setting.

ptyerman · 23 January 2020, 11:07

I use a heat gun on plastic quite often, even on PLA 3D printed parts which has a low melting point.
Like I said, the point here is "be careful", if you have any old junk laying around it's best to practice on it for a while so you get a feel of what is too much heat.
A good plastic item to practice with is food containers, apply heat to the label and peel it off.
At first I used a paint stripping gun and they will melt plastic very easily if you don't watch out like Jope said.
These days I use one of these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300W-Hot-...sAAOSw10Fd9M4o,
they're not as harsh as the paint stripper and work at a lower temperature, they're also more directional with the heat and don't spread it around so much so you can work on smaller areas.
Another thing you could try is hold it over a pan of boiling water, depending what glue is used that could be enough to loosen it up.

Marty_McFly · 23 January 2020, 20:01

Hi,
Thank you for the clarifications.

@ptyerman
I have the same model of heat gun you linked on ebay. Just the same!
I will follow your tips hoping not to ruin the parts of the joystick...

Thank you all for the precious helps.

Fiery Phoenix · 27 February 2022, 22:49

Did not want to start a new thread

Picked up a Tac-2 second hand, really loose / wobbly stick.

Opened it up and when comparing it to a YouTube clip it does not seem to have the rubber (or plastic seal) between the metal ball and small metal disc

Anything that can replace this? Any idea?

Jope · 28 February 2022, 09:13

Can you take a pic? Is yours plastic shaft (black tube) or car tyre valve shaft (chrome tube)?

Fiery Phoenix · 28 February 2022, 14:11

Cheers man

Black plastic shaft

Jope · 28 February 2022, 14:32

Yep, you definitely are missing the thick white o-ring from between the washer and top case. Must have perished and snapped.

Unfortunately I don't have one of those at hand so I could measure the thickness and diameter. Perhaps someone else can help?

fryguy · 28 February 2022, 15:37

https://www-dreamcast-nu.translate.g..._x_tr_pto=wapp

Maybe this could be of some use for repairing a Tac-2 (the guide is not made by me).

Jope · 28 February 2022, 15:41

I wonder if the top case is the same for the tyre valve and the plastic shaft models?

jPV · 01 March 2022, 06:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jope

Yep, you definitely are missing the thick white o-ring from between the washer and top case. Must have perished and snapped

Those Chinese versions with the plastic shaft were just unplayable stiff when you bought them as new. I don't know if they'd settled down if you'd have played enough on them, but at least I didn't have patience and I removed the rubber o-ring to be able to play with such a stick, and maybe the same has happened here. It became too loose then, but at least you were able to make movements. What a crap those were compared to the original ones...

Fiery Phoenix · 01 March 2022, 08:45

Feels far too loose for me...think I'd rather have tighter than loose (as most men would! Lol)

I tried to fill the gap with bubble wrap and a bit more playable

Wonder if could squeeze some sort of solution in there? Like that hard filling foam for tyres?

Or just wait to see if someone has a spare part of they see this post in a few days, weeks, months
...years!

Fiery Phoenix · 01 March 2022, 08:50

Or buy an o-ring set from Amazon?

See if can squeeze it in?

Link

Jope · 01 March 2022, 09:50

I would just hope someone can measure theirs and then go to an o-ring shoppe and buy the same size o-ring.. :-)

I doubt any generic o-ring set will have them in the thickness needed, it's something like 5-6mm thick.

jPV · 01 March 2022, 09:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiery Phoenix

Feels far too loose for me...think I'd rather have tighter than loose (as most men would! Lol)

It wasn't that playable without the ring either, way too loose, but as said, at least you could make your moves without excessive force and violence (men shouldn't have to do that either)

In any case I threw these Chinese sticks somewhere in a good safe and never took them out again. And it's not that I wouldn't like TAC-2:s, I've played most of my life with the good old US version with the metal shaft... it's a great stick especially after modding it with microswitch fire buttons.

21 January 2020, 18:43	#1
Marty_McFly Registered User Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Italy Posts: 60	Disassembling a TAC 2 joystick... please help me Hi guys, I have just received as gift a very used SUNCOM TAC 2 joystick. The metal plate on the top side of the joystick has several and serious scratches. I think that the best solution is a painting/restoring attempt, but how to disassemble/remove this part from the plastic body of the joystick? I found this picture on Internet, https://haxor.fi/wp-content/uploads/...7/IMG_0657.jpg But I did not understand if to unmount the metal plate the guy had to broke the joystick body or not. Any helps or tips to solve my issue? Thank you very much for any replies.

28 February 2022, 14:11	#12
Fiery Phoenix Registered User Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Bury, Lancs Age: 47 Posts: 664	Cheers man Black plastic shaft Attached Thumbnails

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21 January 2020, 18:44	#2
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,865	The black insert around the shaft needs to be removed. I think it is glued in, so it might ruin the body when removed as in the picture.

22 January 2020, 13:49	#4
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,865	If it is a plastic shafted TAC-2, the ball is glued on. If it is a chrome shafted one, it is screwed on with some glue in the threads.

22 January 2020, 14:15	#5
ptyerman Registered User Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Worksop/UK Age: 59 Posts: 1,328	Careful use of a heat gun will soften most glue enough to pull it apart. Some glues are very easily "unstuck" with very little heat. I use this method quite often on everything from small plastic objects to furniture, (both wooden and synthetic), and even to remove the felt on shed roofs that's stuck down with bitumen! The problem you have with that is not applying too much heat so it affects the plastic in a negative way! If you attempt it, be careful in the application and just heat a small area starting at the edges a little at a time while lifting it up gently with a jewellers screwdriver or similar. Once successful you can stick it down again when ready and no-one would ever see the difference.

23 January 2020, 08:41	#6
Marty_McFly Registered User Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Italy Posts: 60	Thank you for your replies and tips. I will try with a heat gun, I do not see other solutions to avoid damages. If someone ever used a heat gun on tac 2, could he suggest to me the points on which to heat to better weaken the glue and remove the sphere and the plate with the minimum risk? Thank you once again.

23 January 2020, 09:25	#7
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,865	Try with a hairdryer instead of a heat gun.. A heat gun will melt plastic at any setting.

23 January 2020, 11:07	#8
ptyerman Registered User Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Worksop/UK Age: 59 Posts: 1,328	I use a heat gun on plastic quite often, even on PLA 3D printed parts which has a low melting point. Like I said, the point here is "be careful", if you have any old junk laying around it's best to practice on it for a while so you get a feel of what is too much heat. A good plastic item to practice with is food containers, apply heat to the label and peel it off. At first I used a paint stripping gun and they will melt plastic very easily if you don't watch out like Jope said. These days I use one of these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300W-Hot-...sAAOSw10Fd9M4o, they're not as harsh as the paint stripper and work at a lower temperature, they're also more directional with the heat and don't spread it around so much so you can work on smaller areas. Another thing you could try is hold it over a pan of boiling water, depending what glue is used that could be enough to loosen it up.

23 January 2020, 20:01	#9
Marty_McFly Registered User Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Italy Posts: 60	Hi, Thank you for the clarifications. @ptyerman I have the same model of heat gun you linked on ebay. Just the same! I will follow your tips hoping not to ruin the parts of the joystick... Thank you all for the precious helps.

27 February 2022, 22:49	#10
Fiery Phoenix Registered User Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Bury, Lancs Age: 47 Posts: 664	Did not want to start a new thread Picked up a Tac-2 second hand, really loose / wobbly stick. Opened it up and when comparing it to a YouTube clip it does not seem to have the rubber (or plastic seal) between the metal ball and small metal disc Anything that can replace this? Any idea?

28 February 2022, 09:13	#11
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,865	Can you take a pic? Is yours plastic shaft (black tube) or car tyre valve shaft (chrome tube)?

28 February 2022, 14:32	#13
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,865	Yep, you definitely are missing the thick white o-ring from between the washer and top case. Must have perished and snapped. Unfortunately I don't have one of those at hand so I could measure the thickness and diameter. Perhaps someone else can help?

28 February 2022, 15:37	#14
fryguy Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Skarabörg, Sweden Age: 44 Posts: 1,020	https://www-dreamcast-nu.translate.g..._x_tr_pto=wapp Maybe this could be of some use for repairing a Tac-2 (the guide is not made by me).

28 February 2022, 15:41	#15
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,865	I wonder if the top case is the same for the tyre valve and the plastic shaft models?

01 March 2022, 08:45	#17
Fiery Phoenix Registered User Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Bury, Lancs Age: 47 Posts: 664	Feels far too loose for me...think I'd rather have tighter than loose (as most men would! Lol) I tried to fill the gap with bubble wrap and a bit more playable Wonder if could squeeze some sort of solution in there? Like that hard filling foam for tyres? Or just wait to see if someone has a spare part of they see this post in a few days, weeks, months ...years!

01 March 2022, 08:50	#18
Fiery Phoenix Registered User Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Bury, Lancs Age: 47 Posts: 664	Or buy an o-ring set from Amazon? See if can squeeze it in? Link

01 March 2022, 09:50	#19
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,865	I would just hope someone can measure theirs and then go to an o-ring shoppe and buy the same size o-ring.. :-) I doubt any generic o-ring set will have them in the thickness needed, it's something like 5-6mm thick.

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