Help and Advice with a custom Hitbox?

[skull person]

Hi, I've been using a keyboard for fighting games since forever, mainly because I don't play them and I'm too poor/lazy to get a proper arcade stick or hitbox... excuses go on..

ANYWAYS I really like the layout of the keyboard that I have now but I like the idea of the responsive spaced out buttons, and the idea of having it work on the console, and PC
Keyboards are an absolute nightmare to get working on PC when you're plugging them in and out, like in a tourny situation, the controls get stuck and bugged and it's worse than hitler, and very stressful.
If Skullgirls becomes more popular once the Console update hits I'll probably switch over but I want to maintain my current setup I'm so used to on the keyboard.

All of that being said, here's my MSPaint representation of my "Dream Controller" (?)

Spoiler

Does anyone know how I could make this happen?
Will I have to put it together myself or do websites do this thing for me?
I checked the hitbox arcade site but found nothing about making custom hitboxes.
And yes, I really like the arrow keys, though I'm sure someone will tell me to just buy a hitbox and of course I'll hear you out.
I'm pretty fond of having Dash where the usual "Up" button will be on a hitbox, it's very useful for any combos that require air dashes, or IAD's.

I don't know if I'll go through with this but I'm just curious about how I would go about it.
Oh and I guess if anyone was curious about how I play on keyboard, the drawing is my current set up. WASD + Space + Numpad

TL;DR: Where do I make custom Fightsticks/Hitboxes, if at all, or will I have to do it myself.

 

[Shadoninja]

Building a hitbox-style controller is the exact same as building an arcade stick, only you're wiring the directions to buttons instead of the joystick.

Here's a list of the essentials:
http://support.focusattack.com/entries/27227747-Definitive-list-of-parts-to-build-a-joystick

You can order buttons, PCBs, wire, etc. online at places like Focus Attack, Jammaboards, Ultimarc, even Amazon and Ebay.
You might also find a retail store that purveys arcade parts in your area.

I recently finished the first version of my own all-button controller.

Spoiler

These are some videos I used as reference:
FocusAttack.com PS360+ Custom Joystick Installation Guide
How-to: Xbox 360 / PC Arcade Joystick

 

[Stuff]

If you wanna keep your arrow keys just buy the microswitches (although you may or may not have to mess with the keys so that they actually trigger the switch) and unless you can find a guy in canada who builds fightsticks for money, you'll have to build it on your own. (buying wood (or whatever you want to box it in), drilling holes, soldering etc.) and I guess the rest can be buttons if you want to. Keep in mind if you don't want it to be recognized as a keyboard then you'll need a PCB. (you can get those from even knock off controllers but it isn't recommended.)

There are also custom made PCBs you can buy they'll cost about as much as a controller would I would imagine. ALSO NO SOLDERING YAY!

The guy above kinda beat me with everything else so yeah. I believe Canadians buy from this place http://canadianjoysticks.com/

And uh if you HAVE to buy the buttons you can just extract the microswitch from it but I'm pretty sure you can buy the microswitches themselves.

 

[skull person]

All these links are very helpful, thanks. I'll have to consider if I want to make a hitbox then.

Does anyone know where I can buy the square buttons like the ones in the picture? I couldn't find them on those stores.

 

[.42.]

keyboard parts:
http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/products/keyboard-parts.html
You will have to mount solder them into a board to stabilize them. If you go with small arcade buttons like the hitbox mounting will be easier.

Edit: have you tried mechanical keyboard switches before?