The Handbrake lever got it’s first update.
Mounted the airgun sight clamp, and changed the chrome axis screw for a black one. It’s all about appearances…
The Load Cell is now mounted directly to the mount, with these two screws.
There’s another screw from inside the case.
And, I fell for @TheAlmightySnark advice in my DIY Radar Joystick thread about scotchbrite polishing aluminium. I like the dull sheen better than the high gloss polished look it had before.
Wow, thumb’s up. 
Gosh I really want to be your neighbour…
Okay, but have you considered knurling it?
But seriously, looked for some hand knurling tools, that stuff is expensive… wish I had a lathe.
Not anymore, you don’t…
Want to buy one together?
We could start metal joystick handle production…
“Snark&Troll”
Gods knows I’d LOVE to buy stuff from Snark&Troll!
‘Frog, Snark & Troll’ either sounds like an epic PR agency name or a vaguely Dickensian firm of lawyers who act as the antagoists for the orphan’s eviction back-story. 
I wonder how much people would pay for metal handles and what kind of accuracy they would expect?
Or something out of Harry Potter.
I guess the price would be around $200 for a TM compatible handle. Limited runs, niche market… Production rate around 4-5 handles a month.
Could perhaps sell just the metal casings for the handle, to people who want to DIY, at maybe $100.
Wouldn’t get rich, but it would be fun!
AAaaaand, you totally need an artist for … art… and… stuff…
** cough cough* *
I, uh… happen to have an availability. Available.
I bet your digital skills involve 3D, or at least can be converted to 3D. I know how to make 3D models but making 2D art fit 3D shapes boggles my mind…!
Yeah, I just hope people wouldn’t be too nitpicky at that price point because making a accurate replica with access to the real thing is tricky at that point.
I also wonder how well the Warthog Gimbal can handle sticks that are not quite the same in weight distribution?. Button wise we’d be stuck with the standard interface, although I think Virpil has a few extra buttons on the same connector.
Gotta say, the stick market these days is quite healthy.
What would sell pretty well is IMHO a set of panels. Radio, lighting, gear and nav.
I have everything figured out…
Indeed! That would take a lot of research and development. 3D scanner and access to a real handle. Still need a lot of CAD “cleanup”. But people seem happy enough with the TM sticks.
It is! Better than ever, I’d say. But developers have so far not been able to deliver on the “interchangeable handle” promise. Yeah, you can switch the Warthog handle to a Cougar handle, and get the same thing
The VPC Mongoos T-50 is the first commercially available handle, that fits the TM mount, AFAIK.
And while TM made that standard, it’s not a very elegant solution, even if it’s simple enough.
The cost of that if you want to produce it is not cheaper then joystick handles imho.
For example, laser engraved and painted acryl would cost about 30 a panel in production costs. Then you still need to add LED lights on the backend, have some form of control(most people would want a dimmer instead of a on/off thing. The switches on it would add about the same. so you already are up to 100 per panel give or take a bit depending on size.
THEN you still need to create some sort of mount system because most people will want it on a desk and not in some sort of slide rack(like real panels). So that would require either a clamp system or a hefty weight thing. This all adds up in shipping.
So yeah, not exactly the cheapest thing to make as a product. Obviously if I produce it only for myself it’s much cheaper.
Ah. I redact my statement. I DID NOT have it all figured out.
A solution would be go cheap but then… Uhm… I wouldn’t buy something too cheap.
Me now…
