Wobbly Shaft Quick Fix - Equinox 600 / 800

[Alluminati]

Here is a easy way to fix your shaft wobble, even if only temporarily. The male end of the middle shaft just needs a single layer of electrical tape.

The tolerances on the Minelab shaft are actually pretty tight. If it was any closer you might not be able to get it apart again. Anybody who has swung a Tesoro Knows those twist-locks only work for first assembly, lol

I've done this before with other machines except I used aluminum tape, time will tell how long the electrical tape will hold out. The tape in the picture has about 15 hours on it, so far it's OK. Besides, it's easy to replace.

Coincidentally when I took the machine apart for a cleaning and to take this picture, I noticed that Minelab made a similar raised surface on the lower fiberglass rod. The lower rod is so long that a little play really wouldn't translate into as much slop as the upper connection does.

[Johnnysalami1957]

Just shipped my middle and upper shaft to Minelab in Illinois. Got a confirmation that they will inspect, repair and return them. They apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused. Can't do any better than that! The shafts didn't wobble but were twisting and the cam locks wouldn't tighten enough to take up the space. They asked for the serial # so I figure some units have the issue. We'll see and I will keep you posted.

UPDATE! Got the rods back from Minelab in Illinois. The new rods have the same O.D. as the old ones. The cam locks have a thicker plastic protrusion to squeeze the rod and make it tighter. Much better than before. Thanks Minelab for acknowledging the issue and for the fast turn around. Yay! 

[Alluminati]

Ah, yes twisting would be annoying. I wish the factory shaft did allow for some actual intentional rotation, I would tip the handle inward a bit rather then straight up and down.

Truth be told I love this machine so much that  the shaft could fold in half like a cheap AM antenna and I wouldn't be upset lololololol.

Best of luck, it will be interesting to see what they do for you.

[Chase Goldman]

They apparently have an issue with tolerances between the various telescoping shaft components from their shaft component suppliers.  It will be hit or miss as to whether your new shipped parts will fare any better (not sure they inspect and attempt to match them up before they ship the replacements based on anecdotal reports from users who have taken ML up on the warranty replacement parts) but the good news is that you can always have them try again at their expense, if you are unlucky enough to have the issue a second time around. 

The cam lock design is subject to wear over time so at some point we will all have to do something like Alluminati has done or go with a third party shaft design.

[steveg]

Gents --

I totally agree with Chase; when they are having these pieces of shafts made, the tolerances have to be really tight for a telescoping shaft system to not have wobble, OR -- you have to have really good cam locks.  And since it's hard to get suppliers to build components to really tight tolerances, these issues are cropping up.

I am thinking of building some carbon-fiber shafts for the Equinox.  I plan to start out with just lower rods -- mainly for people who want an extra shaft, as the accessory coils become available.  I terms of progress on this, I am at the stage of completing the design for the lower portion of the rod where the coil attaches, and getting bids on the price to machine these pieces.  At that point (soon), I will build a prototype lower rod for myself, which will fit into the Minelab middle rod.  Once I have a good prototype, I will likely begin to offer those for sale.  Then, from there, I may consider other options -- a middle rod, to go with the lower (and some type of good clamping/cam-lock system to attach them); possibly a lower and middle rod as one piece, that would fit into the Minelab upper; OR, possibly an upper and middle rod combined into a one-piece...this option might help for those having the "wobbly rod" issue.  Anyway, these are just ideas I'm working on putting into action; meanwhile -- didn't mean to thread-jack...I just thought this was at least peripherally pertinent to mention here.

The electrical tape idea seems like a good "quick fix."  A big problem with the design, aside from the somewhat "iffy" cam locks, and the apparently "iffy" QC by whoever is making Minelabs rods, is this...if you remove the handle/control box, what you will find is there is a little "nipple" at the bottom of the handle that fits into a hole in the upper rod.  This is likely so that the handle/control box cannot rotate/spin.  BUT -- the problem is, that "nipple" is only a few inches above the upper cam lock -- and it sticks far enough into the upper rod that you cannot make a middle rod any longer than the current middle rod -- the length of the middle rod is in other words LIMITED by the position of that "nipple."  A much longer middle rod, that could insert much farther into the upper rod, would -- as Alluminati mentioned -- be beneficial, as the farther into a rod that another rod can be inserted, the more you cut down on the "slop."  And that's part of the problem there at that upper cam lock -- they couldn't build the middle rod any longer, because the distance it can be inserted into the upper rod is limited by that "nipple" on the control box handle.

Steve

[Chase Goldman]

Steve, the only potential issue I see with your lower shaft plan is you knowing what the ID manufacturing variation is on the ML middle shaft which can negate all the effort you put into the precise dimensions you are using for the lower shafts you are making for others.

[steveg]

Chase -- I agree with you.  And further, there is of course the same issue (some manufacturing variation) on the OD of the CF tubes from my supplier.  Tolerance is supposed to be +/- .1 mm, but with the CTX lower rods I build, I have to check each tube individually with a micrometer, to hold them to that tolerance...

But yes, what you are saying as a "potential issue" is a part of why I have been hesitant to attempt any production of Equinox rods.  As I understand it though, with most of the "wobble" issues occurring at the UPPER cam lock, I have decided that I am willing to give it a shot, starting out with lower rods.  As I said, I think the length of the Minelab middle rod being necessarily limited by that "handle nipple" is part of the issue.  As Alluminati said, the longer the portion of one rod that is available to be inserted into the next rod, the less "wobble" or "slop" you should have.  Length matters, LOL!  And from that perspective, I feel confident enough that making a lower rod, with a little extra length to it, should work out reasonably well; I just need to make sure I hold my supplier to tight tolerances, and hope Minelab now does the same!  ?

Steve

[BeachHunter]

I fixed mine with the purchase of an Anderson Shaft. Lol!

[Alluminati]

Part of me wants to try a wooden broom stick.

I'm happy to report the tape in the above picture is still holding up.