Giant Atari Joystick Lamp

This lamp is a fairly accurate scale model of the classic Atari joystick. It is made out of medium density fiberboard (MDF) and stands almost two feet tall. The red button turns the lamp on and off, and the lampshade is a collage of printouts of classic Atari game covers.

This project was a fun challenge for me, and posed a lot of little dilemmas along the way. In the end I was quite happy with the way it turned out! 

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!

Step 1: Top piece

I didn't have a real joystick to study and measure for dimensions, so I went off of pictures I got online. I think I got the proportions pretty close though, just through some basic math like height/width ratios, etc.

I purchased one 2 by 4-foot panel of MDF in each of the following thicknesses: 1/4", 1/2", 3/4". I also purchased one 2 by 4-foot sheet of 1/8' hardboard. I had plenty of material left over afterward.

MDF is great for things like this. It's easy to cut, shape, and sand, and it doesn't warp, crack, or split like wood (unless it is left out in the elements, or you drill a screw straight into it). Be sure to cut, route, and sand it in a well ventilated area.

If you plan to make one of these, I would recommend finding a real joystick to work from. Measure it and make all your pieces proportional to it.

The top piece is cut from 1/2" material. See photos for details on cutting the beveled edge.

Comments

[nathanielg]

i have an atari i been playing for the past couple weeks, i found it in my grandparents attic and about 4 of every type of controller so i think i am going to take on this project in honor of the best game system ever built!

[bobthebuilder728]

i want to do this when i get some time

[northernmagnet]

this is clever

[Some Dork]

LOVE this! I think I now have a winter project. :D

[yokozuna]

Very well done, are you a member at AtariAge? It's a great website. Also, is the orange button the on/off switch?

[seamster]

The orange button is the on/off switch. I'm not a member at AtariAge. I found the website while working on this project and really enjoyed all the nostalgic memories is brought up. I'm really thinking I need to track down our old 2600, (if it's still in the family somewhere), or buy one. The old games were so much fun.

[pressroom86]

Awesome lamp!! You got my vote. For Christmas this year I got my wife Activision Anthology for our PS2. It has all the the Activision games ever made for the 2600 (plus a couple that they never released). What a blast from the past. If you can't find an old 2600 you could look into that instead. Again, great job and very well made instuctable. I hope you win.

[matbh]

atari remake here:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.27790

made in china of course!

[PCvsMac]

God damn it! That was the name of the game I've been looking for, for absoultly ages! (Remember seeing it at a charity shop at one point for £5, regretting that I didnt buy it...)

[RcStumpman]

Awesome job! Brings back lots of memories! :-)

[getbusy21]

You'd have to be 50 or 60 feet tall to play with that thing. Imagine he size of the cartridges. Awesome!

[kcls]

It would be super cool if you could turn the light in by pushing the action button on the joystick!

[seamster]

Check out the intro, third sentence. 

[kcls]

Oh yeah, look at that! Just goes to show ya my lack of attention.

[sickdog74]

Awesome! This rocks! I love it!

[Chikara]

you must make one of an actual joystick!!

[russm313]

This was a GREAT instructable! I loved this so much, that I made my own. You can check it out here if you want.... Mine isn't as nice as yours, but it was a ton of fun to build. Thanks!

[seamster]

I'm impressed with your lamp! I love to see others try out my ideas. I'm glad you made one. I really liked the nintendo arcade set-up you made. ...Although all that electronic stuff scares me to death. Wiring a lamp is about all I've ever done!

[deathshells]

WOW THIS LOOKS AMAZING! gotta build this when i get the parts ATARI FOR THE WIN!

[punkrules]

this is really awesome. too bad i'm not so great at projects like this or i would make one for myself.

[radiorental]

Hmmm, I was sure you would have made the final 10. Ho hum )o;

[Metsker]

is there any full list of what thickness MDF you used in each step?

[seamster]

Not a complete list, but I mentioned in various photo notes some of the thicknesses. For convenience though, here they are: Top and bottom pieces: 1/2" Sides: main piece was 3/4", with 1/4" piece glued to it Corner blocks: 1 1/2" square (made from two 3/4" pieces) Stick: 3/4" Raised ring: 1/8" (hardboard, like masonite) Three rings: 1/2", 3/4", and 3/4" plus 1/4" (to make the tallest ring 1") Stick collar: 3/4" (two rings to make 1 1/2" collar) I bought one 2 by 4 foot panel of each of these thicknesses of material and probably had enough left over to build at least one more of these.

[A.J.B.]

That is the most awesome lamp/art piece that I think I have ever seen. Kudos!

[Culturedropout]

Bravo! That's amazing. Excellent craftsmanship! And great details!

[bustedit]

Very nice, accurate copy of the original! How about an Atari paddle dimmer switch????

[atarifan4ever]

That is the perfect addition to this project a paddle controller dimmer switch, this keeps getting better and better!

[atarifan4ever]

This great!!! I love all things Atari.

I just bought some brand new Atari 2600 shaped USB joysticks from Legacy Engineering. Bought them back in October, took several months to come, but they are absolutely perfect, feel just like the original Atari 2600 joysticks, I've tried them with all of my PC games and with mame on my iMac - love em!

check them out: http://www.legacyengineer.com

Now somebody needs to come out with an Atari 5200 joystick! :-)

[AtariAge]

Great project, I love the attention to detail! And trust me, I've seen more than my fair of Atari CX-40 joysticks! I just posted this up as news on AtariAge.com. :)

[seamster]

Sweet! So I guess you don't mind that I "borrowed" some images to make my lampshade?

[AtariAge]

Nope! Although I wouldn't object to a link to AtariAge in that step. :)

[watermelonhead]

that's awesome! it's like an i-spy books, very discreet but cool.

[cincygeek]

Great work, awesome detail! You get my vote! I've got an odd piece of wood trim glue to a door (long story) that I've been trying to figure out how to cut, and I realize now that what I need is a Japanese pull saw! Thanks for the tip. One can never have too many tools (isn't that why we do projects, an excuse to buy more tools?).

[slimguy379]

awesome alot of work, im wanna build one for myself.

[ElChick]

I am absolutely astounded and flabbergasted!! This is one of the most detailed and lovely projects I have ever seen!! I love the nostalgia and the craftmanship that went into it. My hat is off to you!
The only *tiny* gripe I have is that while I love the subtle humor in the notes on the pictures, and the inventiveness of the jury-rigged jigs, the small plugs about how you could do better with nicer tools got a little old after a while.
I still gave 5 stars, favorited, and voted for you tho! Congrats on a beautiful piece of work!!! (8O])

[seamster]

Thank you for the vote and the five stars. I'm glad you noticed my silly jokes!

[The_Harbinger]

I am in awe of the amount of work this took to produce. I'm guessing you don't have a second one for the other table at the end of the couch...? :) These must also weigh a TON. It would be great if lighter versions were available for purchase.

[seamster]

Surprisingly, it doesn't weigh as much as I thought it would. It's about 10 pounds.

[askjerry]

This is an awesome project!

I have a shopsmith and a laser cutter... and I have NEVER made anything remotely this kool! OUTSTANDING job! Your use of jigs and thinking out each step... that's fine woodworking and planning. Again... OUTSTANDING!

Jerry

[jongscx]

Did you HAVE to use wood for the stick? methinks that some sort of pipe would have been easier? In any case, ridiculously awesome work. Are you working on a an NES lamp now?