The project actually started in late June but I had been busy with work lately, so here is the progress so far.
Choice of components
2x Sanwa JLJ-PL2-8V : my local aracade ended up using this because all previous sticks eventually broke.
2x Sanwa OBSF-24-W : 24mm white button
1x Sanwa OBSF-24-Y : 24mm yellow button
1x Xbox 360 wired controller : sacrificed for the PCB
1x Custom stainless steel plate : Thanks to MentholMoose for measurements
1x Custom wooden box : Used wood from a cupboard.
and misc electronic components which I do not know their names
Work log
23 June : Bought a used xbox 360 core with HDD. Signed up for trial Live account and bought VOOT 5.66. Tested the game over a LAN connection and found little lag. Fought the controls till my brain exploded, thus confirmed the need for my own sticks to preserve my sanity.
24 June : Got a friend, Fu Xiong, a talented Bal player, who could read some Japanese to help order parts from Sanwa after figuring out that I can use vpost.com.sg to send stuff to Japan only address and forward to Singapore. The bank transfer hurts like hell.
27 June : "Disenchanted" (WoW
) one of the Xbox 360 wired controller for the PCB. I had decided not to remove the analog controls so I can avoid any issues associated with their removal.21 July : The Sanwa parts came in on after 2 weeks of screw-ups and another 2 weeks for transportation. Sanwa could not locate my fund transfer initially and Vpost gave vague instructions to make payment before they can forward the parcel to me.
25 July: Over the weekend, I customise made a stainless steel top for mounting purpose.
28 July : Mounted the Sanwa parts to the metal top. Holding a pair of sticks in my hands brought back sweet memories of metal slaughter from 1998.
2 August : Assemble the box and mount everything in. Sorted out a few problems with soldering and flaws. Activated 12 months Xbox Live Gold membership and started to fight it out with Japanese players online.
Thanks! 
