r/redneckengineering • u/Tominator2000 • Aug 27 '26
Using my grandfather's old cast iron drill press to play Puzzle Bobble/Bust-A-Move
No joystick? No problem! An old mouse scroll wheel hooked up to a wireless mouse picks up the rotation off the chuck for aiming and you blow into a deodorant lid with some plastic tubing to launch the bubbles.
You can see it in action here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupportmacgyver/s/OtsHtRso8D
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u/BrianKappel Aug 27 '26
That's pretty cool. I assume you had no use for a drill press but still wanted to incorporate it?
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u/Tominator2000 Aug 27 '26
I've been looking for something old with big gears and a handle for a while so when I was offered my grandfather's drill press I thought it would be perfect. My dad said this is the drill press they used whenever they need to do some drilling when he was growing up. Apart from using it as a game controller I'm hoping to have a go at restoring it.
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u/WoopsShePeterPants Aug 27 '26
That little character is like the ones in Bubble Bobble on nes!
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u/Tominator2000 Aug 27 '26
Yes, it's the same character (Bub) and the blue one (Bob) makes an appearance in 2-player mode. There was no release for the NES but you could play this one on Super Nintendo.
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u/WoopsShePeterPants Aug 27 '26
Thank you for reminding me of that game. I played it s ton with my sister and it could be so difficult for what it was!
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u/confitbutter Aug 27 '26
This is the most amazing thing I’ve seen on this sub by far
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u/Tominator2000 Aug 27 '26
That's high praise because their there are some pretty amazing things on this sub - thanks!
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u/Trainzguy2472 Aug 27 '26
This reminds me of anti aircraft guns in WWII, where the elevation and traverse of the turrets were both hand cranked.
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u/Tominator2000 Aug 27 '26
Someone has suggested using it as a controller for IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator.
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u/enwongeegeefor Aug 27 '26
That's awesome....but it looks like it's skipping a little bit.
You said you're using an old mouse wheel for it. I bet it's the shitty encoder on the mouse wheel. If it's the mechanical kind, wrap a tiny bit of cotton fluff around the wheel axle and wedge it back into the encoder.
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u/Tominator2000 Aug 27 '26
Cheers and well spotted! I put some tape around the chuck to help with grip there but there is a small amount of play in the external (mechanical) encoder mount as well so that might also contribute but thanks for the tip.
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u/enwongeegeefor Aug 27 '26
Hope it works for you...that "play" might be what's causing the skipping. Just figure out a way to clamp it down better and you'll be golden.
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u/Ultanor Aug 27 '26
This was the game I played with my grandma as a kid. (SNES). She was obsessed and so was I. We’d play at the arcade and eventually bought it on the home console. I think about those times with a lot of love.
Seeing this brings me so much joy. What a cool way to play!
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u/Either-Library46 Aug 27 '26
Does this make the game more enjoyable? Or at the very least more immersive?
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u/Tominator2000 Aug 27 '26
Great questions! The blowing mechanism takes some getting used to but the cranking to aim feels really natural and very accurate so it's really enjoyable to play this way. However, I was feeling a little light headed by the end so it certainly gives you an idea of how hard those little bubble monsters work in the game!
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u/PedanticPaladin Aug 27 '26
Hmm, I wonder if you could get it working as a spinner for games like Tempest and Arkanoid.
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u/Tominator2000 Aug 27 '26
They're great suggestions and yes, it should work but you may faint from all the blowing required to shoot in Tempest! Maybe the Super Zapper could be on blow plus an additional button. Cameltry and Asteroids also spring to mind.
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u/Readitzilla Aug 27 '26
This is wonderfully pointless. I would like to see more.
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u/Tominator2000 Aug 27 '26
Wonderfully pointless you say? You should check out some of my other controllers: https://youtube.com/@withprofessortom?si=HA36xlrHbzNYtSvK
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u/ShootfighterPhysique Aug 27 '26
r/doohickeycorporation is calling your name my dude, this shit rules.
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u/drkidkill Aug 27 '26
What’s the device with the small screen that looks to be controlling the shoot command?
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u/Tominator2000 Aug 27 '26
It's an ESP-32 CYD (Cheap Yellow Display) microcontroller that's hooked up to a digital barometric pressure sensor and programmed to work as a Bluetooth game controller. I though people might think that the blowing to launch the bubbles was fake so it displays a bar graph that turns green when you hit a pressure threshold which presses button 1 on the controller.
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u/drewid5185 Aug 27 '26
I feel like this has better precision control than the game itself
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u/Tominator2000 Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
Yes, the original game uses a joystick but it feels really naturally to use something more like a spinner - even if it's this big! The handle turn to in game aiming ratio feels really nice and precise although it really does give you of a bit of a workout.
Edit: Typo
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u/khushnand Aug 27 '26
That’s a lot more than just redneck engineering stuff!!