Armitage Shanks Handwheel Question

[Panaflex]

I have one of Roman's OB1 sabers and am going to purchase a
vintage AS handwheel to add to it.

Has anybody done this mod that could help me out?

The saber has the round threaded rod all the way through and the handwheel has a square hole inside.
Is the square hole threaded so that the rod will attach to it?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Serenity]

Does your saber have one of the solid aluminum spacers inside the clamp? If so, here's an idea of what I did:

One side has a T-nut fitted for the larger threaded rod for the grenade and emitter half:

The other side has a smaller diameter t-nut that will fit a bolt that slides through the opening on the handwheel and screws in:

You'll have to cut down the longer threaded rod, and make sure the bolt isn't too long, so they don't meet inside the center of the spacer. I also shaved down the bolt head so it would fully clear the bottom of the cap (and allow for a rubber washer to go in there.)

I wanted to be able to disassemble the saber down to each component if needed, so this design worked out well for me.

 

[JoeG]

No, a real handwheel does not have any threading to attach to the rod. A real handwheel just fits over the threaded section of the booster with a little bit of force and its good to go. If you wanted to use the rod, you'd have to glue some nuts inside the handwheel with the same threading as the rod and it would screw into that.

EDIT

Or do what Serenity did. Thats a much nice way to do it.

 

[Panaflex]

Great info, thanks guys.


Serenity, how did you shave down the bolt head?
Have any extras?

Seriously, I think I'm going to try your version as it seems more robust.

Many thanks guys.

 

[Serenity]

I just looked in my parts box and unfortunately I couldn't find any left. Sorry! However, it's a 5/16" T-nut and bolt for the handwheel side and all it takes is a power sander/grinder and some patience. Just don't make the bolt head too thin though, otherwise you may have trouble with the socket/wrench to tighten it down.

Alternatively, you can use a slotted head bolt, but I think it was still a little too thick to have a rubber washer underneath it:

 

[Panaflex]

I just looked in my parts box and unfortunately I couldn't find any left. Sorry! However, it's a 5/16" T-nut and bolt for the handwheel side and all it takes is a power sander/grinder and some patience. Just don't make the bolt head too thin though, otherwise you may have trouble with the socket/wrench to tighten it down.

Alternatively, you can use a slotted head bolt, but I think it was still a little too thick to have a rubber washer underneath it:
http://i.imgur.com/eTTtRsJ.jpg

Thanks for looking, very nice of you.
The pics are fantastic by the way. Really makes the process clear. :thumbsup

Thanks again.

 

[propmainiac]

Don't know it this will help but I used a carriage bolt. It has a slightly rounded head with a square section just below the head which fits in the hand wheel. My hand wheel is the more modern one. Hope this helps!

 

[Serenity]

Carriage bolts well work too; I like to use regular bolts because they let you adjust the alignment of the handwheel cubes a little easier.

 

[Panaflex]

Thanks Propmainiac. Looking into all options...

Serenity, turns out my spacer is different than yours. Its smooth bore all the way through. The rod just passes through and bites the threads of the replica hand wheel.

I think I'll shorten the rod some and still go with your system on the AS hand wheel side just substituting a good size lock nut and washer to tighten the whole deal down into submission.

Thanks.

 

[Serenity]

Serenity, turns out my spacer is different than yours. Its smooth bore all the way through. The rod just passes through and bites the threads of the replica hand wheel.

That's how all of Roman's standard spacers are; there's no threading on the inside, just a hole drilled all the way through. That's why I added the hardware on each side. :thumbsup

 

[Panaflex]

That's how all of Roman's standard spacers are; there's no threading on the inside, just a hole drilled all the way through. That's why I added the hardware on each side. :thumbsup

Oops, don't I feel sheepish?!:facepalm
I thought you had some kind of exotic spacer that Roman produced. Well, I'm even more impressed with your mod. Well done.

 

[James Kenobi 1138]

Yeah, that's not Romans design.

 

[Sieg]

Hmmmm. Sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but how might one track down an Armitage Shanks handwheel? I figured I'd ask before doing some intense searching like I did when searching for graflex, which I imagine will be more difficult given that it's a British thing. It seems about as daunting as finding the correct vintage cabinet T track. Any tips?

 

[JoeG]

Visit a lot of bathrooms in the UK.

 

[newmagrathea]

I have a video on how I attached mine.

 

[russellsch]

I have a video on how I attached mine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQCsrJdAM9M&ab_channel=DustinWalruff

Great video! I gotta find that little adapter piece.