Extending volume shaft

[not_so_handy]

I have run into a bit of an issue with my build.  I had planned to have a volume knob on the front admin panel of my arcade which would be just under my control panel.  Issue is I have no idea how to do it.  I had originally hoped that I could just remove the volume pot from the circuit board.  But after a closer look that doesnt seem possible.  My next idea was to some how extend the volume shaft.  But I am at a bit of a lose as to where i could possibly get some parts to do this so that the new post will fit into the volume knob.

Has anyone had to extend the volume shaft before? 

This is a pic of my board



j

[Nephasth]

Pricey, but this looks like it would do the trick.

[not_so_handy]

I have seen those shaft extenders before but was looking for something a lot shorter then a foot.  That and they seemed pretty expensive for something that I am not even sure will do the trick

[Mysterioii]

PBJ's suggestion doesn't seem bad.  You're gonna use a knob on it so you don't need to see the shaft extension right?  Then you could try stuff like sugru, "friendly plastic" or similar hobby thermoplastics, sculpey/fimo etc.

[ABACABB]

Use a tube from an empty Bic pen and a drop of hot glue?

Right on PBjim.  That is exactly what I did and it works great. No one even knows that's how I did it either!!

[Ken Layton]

Radio Daze has pot shaft extenders. They use them on antique radios.

Extender:

http://www.radiodaze.com/product/897.aspx

Coupler:

http://www.radiodaze.com/product/896.aspx

[mytymaus007]

Keep pulling on it thats what i did and my shaft extended

[MadMagpie]

Keep pulling on it thats what i did and my shaft extended

My email's In box is full of ways to help extend your shaft....

[not_so_handy]

ok the pen idea didnt work   it almost worked but I couldnt get it centered in the knob or on straight so when you turned the volume it wasnt turning right.

My new idea is to get a lenght of 1/4 inch dowel, chizel off the end of it so that fits in the knob similar to the shaft coming off the circuit board, then chizel off the other end to match up to the end coming out of the board so when I put the two together it should look like one straight tube and then use a spare collar off my bbq Rotisserie spit and slide it over the two overlapping peices and tighten it up and if needed throw a bit of glue on it to help hold it together.  Fingers crossed that may work. 

Then I will just need to mount the circuit board inside.

Sounds like a lot of work to get the stupid volume on the front of the cab lol

J

[eds1275]

Why not get an oversized dowel, and drill a hole in one end and fit that over the existing shaft then paint the other end? Or even simpler route out the cab from the inside to make the knob fit through the wood? Or you could even just drill a hole in your cab and put a metal plate over the hole and mount the knob to the metal.

[not_so_handy]

i was originally going to cut the wood out so that the board sat in the wood with the knob sticking out but the power button and the headphone jack got in the way.  Plus I have laminated the whole cabinet so it makes things a bit more difficult cutting out small holes otherwise I would just cut a slot for the whole board and then just drill out the holes in the laminate let the knob, power button and headphone jack come through.

[lilshawn]

I still think the bic pen idea will work, you just need to rethink your glue choice.

Superglue and baking soda forms a hard plastic lump that can be worked with a file/sandpaper. There is a reaction between the cyanoacrylate and the baking soda that causes it to harden nearly immediately.

put a few drops of superglue on the end of the pen and the end of the shaft.  place them together nice and straight and  sprinkle a few pinches of baking soda on the joint. use more superglue/sprinkles of baking soda to build up the area around the joint. it should be plenty strong.

i accidentally stepped on my gaming headphones and broke the ear piece and microphone clean off. I tried about 100 times to just straight up super glue the ear piece back on only to have it snap off again after a use or 2. learned of the backing soda trick...built it up and made that sucker so strong, nothing short of thermonuclear explosion is going to break it. plus, a slight sanding and a little black jiffy maker and it blends right in.

[Mysterioii]

And out of curiosity, why do you say that it looks like it's impossible to remove the pot/encoder from the board?  They got it on there, so you should be able to get it off...  the pic is small and doesn't show the bottom of the board...  Can you post some bigger pics and show it from both side?

[CoryBee]

And out of curiosity, why do you say that it looks like it's impossible to remove the pot/encoder from the board?  They got it on there, so you should be able to get it off...  the pic is small and doesn't show the bottom of the board...  Can you post some bigger pics and show it from both side?

I was wondering the same thing. More pictures please.

No Soldering iron?

[eds1275]

Actually another option is to just leave that one as is and install another in line with the audio signal.

[not_so_handy]

let me take some closer pics of it tonight.  Its soldered to the board and I cant say I have ever desoldered anything before.  I just dont want to ruin anything.

j

[Mysterioii]

you have a soldering iron?  If you've soldered, then all you really need is some desoldering braid and/or a cheap solder sucker (I like to have both on hand, but really the braid works pretty dang well by itself).

[not_so_handy]

I dont have one but I know someone who does.  So I can get a hold of one.

[not_so_handy]

pics as requested

[lilshawn]

looks like some kind of ridiculous gang pot.

this some kind of 6 speaker system or something?

regardless, I'd try the pen thing again. Maybe try a few different style pens to see if you can find something that slides over the whole pot shaft instead of trying to glue just to the end (looks like aluminum... not going to glue nice)

maybe try one that's close in size and gently heat up the end of it and pressing it on for a tight fit.

it's keyed so if you can find something that will slide over it you can use some hot glue to hold it in place and it will turn without slipping.

[not_so_handy]

yeah this is from a 5.1 surround sound system that I had and dont use anymore so I thought it would be perfect for this. 

[MadMagpie]

some hobby shops sell brass/aluminium tubes like this http://www.mytoolstore.com.au/categories/Hobby-Tools/Brass%7B47%7D-Delrin%7B47%7D/

maybe something like that might work

[gtxjoe]

How about wrapping the shaft in some duct tape to make it more round, and then... use the bic pen :-)

[not_so_handy]

So this is the end result of my work last week to get this thing working.  Just need to mount it on the admin panel now.

[lilshawn]

gotta love nylon tie wraps!! 

[not_so_handy]

i always have a few laying around   Never know when you will need one!

[jlfreund]

So this is the end result of my work last week to get this thing working.  Just need to mount it on the admin panel now.

How did you do that?  What material did you use to construct the shaft and how did you couple it to the existing shaft?  I'm trying to do something similar and just posted here: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,146394.msg1522803.html#msg1522803