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| jasonbar:
Ha! You know how much effort & $ it took to track down & assemble all those? And do you know how goooooooooood they feel??? >:D -Jason --- Quote from: Paul Olson on January 13, 2011, 04:40:38 pm --- --- Quote from: jasonbar on January 13, 2011, 04:25:28 pm ---Just heard from Ultimarc Andy that I seem to have chosen the correct replacement shaft length. I just ordered 4 red ball long Mag-Stik Plus shafts & asked for a couple extra plastic chrome spacers. I'll report on my efforts when I have something to share. Thanks, -Jason --- End quote --- I think that will be too many red balls on your panel. the only logical solution is to sell the 4" wicos. How much? :) --- End quote --- |
| Gray_Area:
The image the title of this thread conjures is very....provocative. On the rotaries: all rotary stick games I saw in the 80s had yellow, octagonal tops. |
| jasonbar:
Yah, I might not really like a rotary ball top, but I won't know till I try! And I play non-rotary games far more frequently than rotary games, so it would be a good trade-off even if I weren't excited about rotating my ball tops. -Jason |
| jasonbar:
Update. Andy shipped promptly & it took me a little while to find time to open the package, then I went on a business trip. I'm back & have started checking out the replacement red ball top sticks. 1 - The stick is a direct & perfect swap in for the Ultimarc Mag-Stik Plus (no surprise). As a pleasant bonus, the shaft comes with an integral short shoulder that controls the height of the stick protruding from the panel. This seems more elegant & robust than the chrome plastic sleeve over the shaft that came with the black bat stick. The new shaft with the red ball top is also significantly slimmer than my other shafts. Not a problem--it just doesn't match my Wico Robotron shafts. For reference, here are some shaft thicknesses: .355": new red ball top Mag-Stik Plus replacement .393": old Mag-Stik Plus black bat .434": Wico Robotron 4" red ball top .598": old Mag-Stik Plus black bat chrome sleeve that controls stick height 2 - The dust washer is rather small (1.487" diameter). I guess it covers the hole in the panel, but it looks a little funny, & I've already got big plastic dust washers (2.167" diameter) with "lift & twist" stickers for my 2 Mag-Stik Plus sticks. Fortunately, the red balls screw off & I can swap the small dust washer for my favored larger dust washer. 3 - My 1 gripe: the ball diameter is smaller than my beloved Wico Robotron balls: 1.390" vs. 1.486" diameter. Sure, .096" doesn't sound like much, but I can see it & I can definitely feel it. So, I'd like to swap up to bigger balls. (Insert Beavis & Butthead joke here.) The male thread on the shaft appears to be an M6x1.0 thread. Is that correct? Is that a standard? Where can I find a 1.486" (well, 1.5", I guess) diameter red ball replacement with an M6x1.0 threaded hole around here? Didn't GGG have a big selection of replacement balls? 4 - I haven't yet adapted one of these shafts to my Happ rotary mechanical sticks, but that should be pretty straightforward, & I'll post details when I get around to that. I just wanted to post on my progress in the meantime & get some leads on the replacement balls. Thanks! -Jason |
| jasonbar:
All done! I now have red balls all around. My pair of new replacemetn Mag-Stick Plus shafts have been modified to work with my pair of Happ mechanical rotary sticks. Step 1: lop off the threaded end of the shaft (the end that goes into the control panel, not the end that accepts the ball) Step 2: machine a small tube sleeve to slip over the smaller-diameter end of the shaft. I had our company machinist whip out 2 sleeves from 303 Stainless Steel. No drawing or dimensions are needed, really. I simply provided the shaft & asked for him to make a sleeve that, when installed, essentially removes the necked-down section. I opted for a small gap (.005" or so) between sleeve ID & the shaft OD instead of asking for a press fit. This way, I could set everything up & then use Loc-Tite retaining compound to attach the sleeve--if, for some reason, I wish to remove it some day, I can heat it up & remove it. Then, I cross-drilled a hole to accept the set screw that anchors the rotary color to the end of the shaft. I did this on my work bench by clamping the shaft to the bench, measuring the axial location of the hole, center-punching the shaft, then drilling carefully w/ a few drills (starting small & then increasing in diameter), using my power drill. A drill press or mill would make this step easier, but it isn't necessary. Pics: 1: Mag-Stik Plus original black bat shaft with 2x Mag-Stik Plus red ball replacement shaft after mods (sleeve attached & cross-hole drilled) 2: Closeup of shaft end features 3: Mag-Stik Plus red ball replacement shaft installed in Mag-Stik Plus. Note that red ball shaft OD is noticeably smaller than black bat shaft--the dust washer is a bit loose. 4: Mag-Stik Plus red ball replacement shaft installed in Happ mechanical rotary stick. Note that red ball shaft OD is noticeably smaller than black bat shaft--the dust washer (with keen sticker from Pongo) is a bit loose. Next step, swap the balls for slightly larger ones that match my Wico "Robotron" balls. Thanks, -Jason |
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