Disclaimer - By way of this post I do not mean to not support those that sell afer-market items, I just preferred to make these two items myself. (I felt my hand tightening on my pocket book when it came to these two minor items)
These are some ultra cheap alternatives to purchasing a fiberglass upper shaft and a control box cover. (the emphasis being on the word “cheap” ). My main purpose with these projects was the small challenge of making my own version of these aftermarket items. Anyway, so the first replacement is a wooden upper shaft fashioned from a mop handle. Most handles are slightly too wide so you’ll have to look around if you want to find one that fits. Luckily there was an old handle sitting in the garage waiting to be used.
Two holes were drilled on the arm-cuff end as well as three on the opposite end. The lower shaft had the aluminum pin removed with a pliers and another hole was drilled on the reverse side of the existing hole on the lower fiberglass shaft. (Even with the new hole, the aluminum pin can be reinstalled later for use with the original upper shaft). As you can see a nylon screw and wing nut serve as the connection to the lower shaft. The lower portion of the upper shaft was carved with a pocket knife and made to fit inside the lower fiberglass shaft. The wooden shaft was finally spray-painted black to match the lower shaft. Nothing was purchased for this project since it was constructed from items sitting around the house. Of course it is always possible for a wooden shaft to break, so it is wise to bring a back-up.
The second cheap item, also made of parts found around the house, is the control box cover. The inner construction consists of a cardboard layer and a layer of bubble wrap taped on one side of the cardboard for padding. Next, this is covered with a double-layer of sarin wrap and taped shut with clear packing tape. The outer layers consist of an old bandana and part of an old shirt. These were wrapped around and secured with a little duct tape.
Next, a layer of clear packing tape was applied as an outer water resistant layer. Self-adhesive Velcro holds the flaps in place on the box cover. The only item purchased was velcro for around two dollars. The final cover is slightly oversized to provide a little bit better protection. The packing tape will eventually wear out, so at that point I will probably dip it in a clear semi-odorless plastic called dipseal which I had left over from another project.
So, I actually do use these items, you can experiment with your own ways of constructing things found around the home. However, you can always purchase the originals if you don’t feel like playing around with making ultra cheap replacements.
Rex
Everett
Good One Rex,
Anything that saves money and gets the job done is a good one.
The wood upper shaft is also a good example of an emergency field repair. I would hate to have spent time and gas to get into the bush and then step on and break a shaft. Not something you can pickup at the 7/11 40 miles away.
If a person just took a tree branch and a pocket knife, then an hour later they could be detecting again and save the weekend.
FlakMagnet
Well, after visiting Grubstake and seeing some of his home-made
mod's and builds, I'm surprised he hasn't jumped in here.
Grubstake???
Grubstake
Look around and you can find rake and broom handles made of fiberglass tubing in your local hardwhare store, around $10-$15 and they are almost the right size. A couple of minor mods and you can have a cheap fiberglass rod. Also computor mouse pads sewn or glued together make dandy box covers. Grubstake
