Homemade Excalibur straight shaft

[CollegeKevin]

Well, I went out last week after getting my Excal and within about 30 minutes my arms looked like I ate Popeyes spinach from the stock shaft. I decided to make my own shaft today so I will show some pics. The setup isn't perfect yet. I took it out about an hour ago and the weight of the detector past my arm cuff makes for a rough swing (object in motion tends to stay in motion). It is although much better then the stock shaft. I plan on either putting a cuff over the detector and battery part, or relocating the detector and battery to a 2nd rod mounted below the cuff (I saw pics of one but don't recall where).

So anyways for a $27 project, I'm satisfied.

[CollegeKevin]

[roob47]

hey ck didn't you just recently purchase this detector? if so great job on already making mods to it , might i suggest hip or chest mount to lessen the weight? That's what im working on right now with my dual field pi should be ready to go on my next beach outing! good luck and happy hunting!

[CollegeKevin]

Originally Posted by roob47

hey ck didn't you just recently purchase this detector? if so great job on already making mods to it , might i suggest hip or chest mount to lessen the weight? That's what im working on right now with my dual field pi should be ready to go on my next beach outing! good luck and happy hunting!

Yea it actually arrived last Tuesday and I had it out the first time last Wed. I was thinking chest mount but then I was thinking about a lot of movement with the wires might cause problems down the road. I want to try to keep the wires in a stationary position, but maybe I'm wrong about moving coil wires. I'd like to see what you come up with tho. Thanks and HH to you also.

[dogpound]

looks good.
i moved my controls under the arm cuff (it was set up like yours, behind the arm cuff) i wanted a shorter machine plus it is easier ta get to the control knobs. anything is better than the stock shaft tho

[CollegeKevin]

Originally Posted by dogpound

looks good.
i moved my controls under the arm cuff (it was set up like yours, behind the arm cuff) i wanted a shorter machine plus it is easier ta get to the control knobs. anything is better than the stock shaft tho

Yea shorter is better. I noticed it was a little hard getting it in my passenger side door. Do you have any close up pics of how your cuff is mounted? I also noticed its a little hard to turn around to get to the pinpoint.

[zeemang]

Nice job! I keep my control pod under the arm cuff too, it's an easy add on to do....i find the weight is just fine like that, plus it fits in my trunk that way, the longer way with the pod back behind the cuff the machine gets pretty long...

[dogpound]

Originally Posted by CollegeKevin

Yea shorter is better. I noticed it was a little hard getting it in my passenger side door. Do you have any close up pics of how your cuff is mounted? I also noticed its a little hard to turn around to get to the pinpoint.

thats why i shortened it, the detector was almost as tall as me
it was an easy mod for me, the aluminium arm cuff for it had 2 holes, well those 2 holes in the arm cuff also lined up perfect for the battery & controls so i only had to drill 1 hole for all 3rd bolt. my straight shaft was originally a 3 piece which put the controls behind the cuff, so i just removed that extra one foot section.

[CollegeKevin]

Well went out today with the same setup only this time I tied a piece of rope around my arm and the detector shaft. What a HUGE difference. The thing feels natural now. The balance I think is perfect. Detected for an hour and a half and I didn't feel swinging arm at all. Im going to have to work on a more permanent strap for the arm cuff. It also helped with making adjustments with my left hand because Im not trying to balance the detector in my right hand. Well anyways, I am officially $0.25 and 1 pound of bottle caps up (I can tell the sound of the bottle caps now but its still enjoyable to dig em anyways). If it wasn't high tide I would have spent more time in the shallow water. Well anyways, Im happy. HH everyone.