Original AS Handwheels (and Other Vintage Parts?)

mugatu

mugatu

Sr Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
Hello.

I recently acquired a set of original AS handwheels. They sat in storage for 40 years, never installed and never used, and the fellow also gave me the entire plumbing with it:

ARMITAGEshanks1.JPG

I was speaking to Sym-Cha about this and he mentioned that some of these pieces could possibly have been used elsewhere by the prop department. That does sound like a very OT way of doing things. I am trying to see if anyone recognizes any of these other parts and what they might be used for in the prop/costume/set world of Star Wars. I have included close ups of all of the parts to see if anyone here can help identify a possible piece that helps me avoid tossing some priceless relic in the trash.

ARMITAGEshanks9.JPG
rubber hose attached to the drain fixture

ARMITAGEshanks7.JPGARMITAGEshanks6.JPG
the C side fixture and hose

ARMITAGEshanks5.JPG
the tap with hoses from both handwheel fixtures

ARMITAGEshanks3.JPG
the H side fixture

ARMITAGEshanks2.JPG
both handwheel fixtures and the tap

ARMITAGEshanks10.JPG
and finally the drain fixture

I was thinking those gray hoses could be part of the AT-AT driver's helmet possibly? I can't find any good pics that I know for sure are the real screen-used helmets. I have found some close up pics but I don't know if they are replicas or not because they look too clean and obviously weren't "rush jobs". And that is just the gray hoses. Some of this, like the drain fixture, is made up of many pieces and can be disassembled.

Any other ideas? Tell me those handwheel fixtures aren't SOMEWHERE in the Millennium Falcon!

Would pics of the disassembled pieces be better? I'm no plumber (hell, I can't even get the handwheels apart yet!), so I don't want to mess anything up if its usable for a prop or costume.

Thanks.
 

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Yes congrats!!!

where are people picking these up? I've tried obsolete and vintage fixture and plumbing places, even Ebay and I see neither sight nor sound!
 
thd9791 said:
Yes congrats!!!

where are people picking these up? I've tried obsolete and vintage fixture and plumbing places, even Ebay and I see neither sight nor sound!
Click to expand...


Thanks. I just got lucky. REALLY lucky. I had to employ various search techniques to locate them. I would say 5% technique, 95% luck.
 
Nice find. Am I seeing things from lack of sleep, or are some of the words redacted off the instructions?

Also, to get them apart:

Take a rubber mat and place it flat onto your table or floor. (I used one of those rubber grippy things that you use to open tight jar lids.) Then press the handwheel down onto the mat with some force and twist to tighten the parts just a little. This sounds counter-intuitive, but it tends to break the seal on the threads. If you're lucky, you'll then be able to reverse the process and use the rubber mat to grip it enough to properly unscrew the bottom piece.

Just be careful where you're distributing the pressure and torque or you risk breaking off the little collars that hold the cubes in place on the metal section.

Might also help to soak them in some kind of safe cleaning/lubricating fluid as well...
 
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Serenity said:
Nice find. Am I seeing things from lack of sleep, or are some of the words redacted off the instructions?

Also, to get them apart:

Take a rubber mat and place it flat onto your table or floor. (I used one of those rubber grippy things that you use to open tight jar lids.) Then press the handwheel down onto the mat with some force and twist to tighten the parts just a little. This sounds counter-intuitive, but it tends to break the seal on the threads. If you're lucky, you'll then be able to reverse the process and use the rubber mat to grip it enough to properly unscrew the bottom piece.

Just be careful where you're distributing the pressure and torque or you risk breaking off the little collars that hold the cubes in place on the metal section.

Might also help to soak them in some kind of safe cleaning/lubricating fluid as well...
Click to expand...

Thanks, Serenity. Yeah there are a couple of redactions (for now). INFORMATION IS POWER!!!

I feel a bit like Palpatine when he was electrocuting Mace Windu, just now when I typed that, haha. PM me for that which is hidden.

I actually thought of the pickle jar thing too! Okay, my brother-in-law thought of it. Anyways, I cannot seem to find any of those anywhere. I've been to three Walmarts, two Targets, and two Krogers and none of them have them. They do have these larger pot-holder sized silicone trivets, but in not sure those would work. In any case, I didn't buy any of them because they were $6 each and I figured that I had to run into the right kind somewhere, and for cheaper. I spoke with teecrooz who had some similar ideas about separating them. I haven't tried for a while now, plus if I build the OB1, I'd be doing the Tunisia orientation anyways, which I believe is how they are on there. I will definitely be getting rid of one of these handwheels though.

Thank you for the suggestions though. There may come a time when I reach a certain completion percentage of collecting real parts for the OB1 that I will try to separate the pieces again.
 
ATAT1.JPGATAT2.JPGATAT3.JPG
(images from www.StarWarsHelmets.com)

Well, I found these images at www.StarWarsHelmets.com. Upon closer inspection, the hoses are different:

ATAT1b copy.jpg

You can see that the hose on the AT-AT Driver's helmet is actually shaped like a coil that keeps going around and around and up and up in a very tight spiral. Thus, those aren't ribs, rather one really long rib.

The AS hose is made up of tight parallel ribs:

ARMITAGEshanks4b.jpg

Damn.
 

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Some one suggested, it could have been OB1 guru James Kenobi1138, to use a doorhandle with the square lever to open up the handwheels ... although I have one here I have not tried it yet and don't know exactly how to do it . . . Chaim calling James Kenobi1138 to the rescue, please :wacko



Chaim
 
In regard to the grey hose, out of curiosity, what's the diameter of them? Also, what's the width of the rib? This could be something else, but I'd need that info to be sure.
 
Sym-Cha said:
Some one suggested, it could have been OB1 guru James Kenobi1138, to use a doorhandle with the square lever to open up the handwheels ... although I have one here I have not tried it yet and don't know exactly how to do it . . . Chaim calling James Kenobi1138 to the rescue, please :wacko

Chaim
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Chaim, I only have round door knobs in my house so I don't know if I'd get the leverage.
And my door knobs are cheap.

Completely unrelated side note that has no bearing on me attempting this: my wife won't let me take one of the door knobs apart.;)

Dart said:
In regard to the grey hose, out of curiosity, what's the diameter of them? Also, what's the width of the rib? This could be something else, but I'd need that info to be sure.
Click to expand...

Dart, the outside diameter of the hose is 13/16" or 2.1cm. The width of a rib is between 1/16" and 3/32" or .2cm. What do you have?
 
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mugatu said:
Dart, the outside diameter of the hose is 13/16" or 2.1cm. The width of a rib is between 1/16" and 3/32" or .2cm. What do you have?
Click to expand...

I was thinking it looked similar to the wrap on the Scout Trooper Thermal Detonator hose, but the rib width is way too tiny. It'd have to be closer to 3/16". However, the profile (flat-ish, not round) is very similar to what's on the scout TD.

Thanks anyway! :D
 
So you decided to keep the 'h' version ... I only have vintage handwheels with a 'c' because my name starts with a C ... :lol

Chaim
 
Sym-Cha said:
So you decided to keep the 'h' version ... I only have vintage handwheels with a 'c' because my name starts with a C ... :lol

Chaim
Click to expand...

Actually, I got rid of that one too, Chaim. I did a partial trade to complete my Luke ESB. Not to worry though as I sourced another set of handwheels from a bidet! They won't be nice and new like this set though.

Andymac84 said:
Mugatu, really cool set that you have found
Click to expand...

Thanks Andy. I have actually been meaning to talk to you about a special something. I'll PM you soon.
 
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ataru72ita said:
I think that the hoses are the same as the ones attached to X-wing pilots chest boxes!
View attachment 451253

Regards,

Alberto
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have to agree with you , Alberto. In all likelihood they have the same source as the AT-AT drivers.

Although, I do kind see what you mean about the AS tubing. There towards the top part of the tubing in the Luke pic, the ribs do appear to be winding up in a way. But his tube is much longer than what is attached to these tap handles.
 
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