Shaft Play Issue??

[Nuke em]

Download photo or video onto your computer then answer this thread . Below where you are writing on this box you will see a paperclip symbol with drag files here to attach . Click on choose files and then you should see your photos in a box come up on the screen . Double click the one you want.

[MPL]

Sadly, I'm a tad "challenged" with computer stuff. I was able to send the vid from my phone to my e-mail so if anyone wants to provide their e-mail address I can send it to them,

[flakmagnet]

I actually want a bit of play in the shaft. I actually prefer it and have made it so my GPZ has a bit of play as well. I am constantly changing the angle of the coil and the play in the shaft makes it easy.

[Steve Herschbach]

On 3/4/2018 at 1:33 PM, MPL said:

That was my post on the other forum. To those who think it was simply a complaint, read it again. I was inquiring about something that I noticed upon assembling my detector, and it appears that a few others have the same issue. It's not a "little play", it's a significant amount (like about two inches). I can literally twist my handgrip left to right (with coil flat on ground) so that the control panel is either one inch left of center or one inch right of center. I've been detecting for over 45 years and have used literally dozens of machines. Never encountered this in any make or model. The unit works as should in my one outing, but I'm guessing that the lower shaft itself, or the camlock on the upper shaft could be defective in some way. No need for anyone to question my intentions. I enjoy all of my Minelabs.

It does sound like you have something wrong there, though you will have to figure out exactly where the play is. Here is what the handle looks like removed with the locking dimple.

[Nuke em]

2 minutes ago, strick said:

I put my monster on a 5000 shaft and it fixed that issue. I have a Anderson shaft that I will see if it will work on the 800. 

strick 

The Anderson works on the 800. Is it a carbon fibre type ? If so thats best . You will need to drill a hole in the bottom of the shaft underneath where the bottom of the handgrip goes on and screws in or it wont fit onto the shaft.

[MPL]

Steve - Thanks for the reply. The handle is secure. The issue seems to be the camlock area where the lower rod is seated into the upper rod. I may be confusing folks (even myself) with the term "shaft play". It's more of a "twist". I can tighten the camlock all the way or loosen it as far as you can and the result is the same. You can still "twist" the lower rod pretty easily as if there is no lock at all. Which really seems odd because the pin of the lower rod is seated correctly into the upper rod. When you push the coil flat to the ground you can "twist" the handle right or left of center an inch each way from center(two inches total). I hunted with it yesterday with no problem but a few people have responded to me that their units are locked tight ( as with every other detector I have ever owned). On the other hand, a few have noticed the same issue. I had a few "wow" moments during my hunt yesterday. It's going to be a fun machine to use. Can't wait to figure it out a little better. I'll reach out to Minelab with my concerns and see what they think.

[Steve Herschbach]

Is there a locking pin missing? It should not be possible to do what you are describing with the locking pins engaged. The twist locks just snug things up.

[Steve Herschbach]

This is going to sound horrible but it is how Alaskans go about things. I have had brand new detectors over the years that would not lock down firmly. I think they are just new and and oversmooth surfaces and residual oils in the twist locks. I dribble a little fine sand into the joint, work it a bit, and all is well. Same thing with some coil to rod washers being too slick when new. Yeah, I know that’s not right, but it has worked for me.

Alaskans are very fond of baling wire and duct tape for similar reasons. 

[Chase Goldman]

I just received my detector yesterday (yay, finally) and was looking closely for this issue.  I initially had some play between the upper and mid shaft upon initial assembly but discovered I needed to further tighten the upper cam lock.  Problem solved.  It is rock solid and not behaving at all like mental detectorist has described and demonstrsted on video.  So I appear to have a detector that is not exhibiting the issue...yet.

Obviously, something is going on with some units, so in the interest of troubleshooting and discussion thought I would throw a couple of thoughts/theories out there:

I am relatively short (5'8") and have the lower shaft inserted 3 or 4 clicks into the mid-shaft, so a taller person may have the shaft more fully extended which puts greater stress on the entire assembly with every swing than a less extended lower shaft which may be introducing more wear related play into the cam lock assemblies over time.  

The above could be exacerbated by significant unit-to-unit variations in the tolerances in the interlocking shaft mechanisms to account for variances in machining tools during assembly.  If you get a unit that combines the largest possible shaft holes with the smallest possible spring pin size, that may overcome the ability of the cam lock to fully eliminate play.

The above described theory could explain why some folks are seeing the issue while others are not.

It is also a common issue encountered in early factory mass production runs and something that gets tamped down over time as tooling performance becomes better quantified through quality sample testing and as machining tolerances are adjusted over time in response to the sample inspections.

It also explains why ML can't just flip a switch and crank out a million units on day one.  The production has to ramp up slowly to shake these kind of assembly bugs out of the system.  You can cheat a little in favor of production rate and open up your tolerancing on the get go to provide greater assurance you won't manufacture a pin too large to fit in the smallest hole, but then you can run into the issue we're seeing.

Not saying this is the answer but putting it out their as one possible explanation.