Equinox After market Shaft

[sandmartin]

Following on from my previous post here I'd just like to add even though I made my own shaft I would have bought one of Steve's. It was only due to the extra cost of shipping over the pond that I didn't. The quality and finish is excellent. Again I would recommend having the counter weight, it makes a big difference.

 

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[Iron Buzz]

I have one of Steve's rods and 2 extra lower shafts for the other coils. They are awesome! Btw, if you decide to order the counterbalance inquire about the shorter version. I opted for it and have used other's who have the full length and, at least for me, I chose wisely (Indiana Jones reference there). Steve is a great guy and will take care of you!

-Bill

Why the shorter counterbalance, Bill?

 

[slider66]

Steve I would like to see you take a shot at making an Excalibur II carbon fiber shaft. Anyone else? I’d love to see a shaft with no holes that use your clamp design.

 

[sgoss66]

THANKS again, everyone! You all are terrific! I am very blessed!

slider66 -- ha, funny you should ask. It's happening as we speak. A prototype has been designed, and is going to be complete shortly. The biggest hurdle is that I don't HAVE an Excal, and so I need to to get one "in hand" to note the locations of the mounting bolts/screw holes for the control box (and for the spring clip, that clips the battery pod on). The customer I'm building the prototype for, is going to drill his own mounting holes, which works out well in ​

this

case, but obviously, that still leaves me unsure of the exact hole locations. In order to offer the Excal shafts more "broadly," for those who want the holes pre-drilled, but I need an Excal in-hand to nail down those details/measurements. All other parts, and all other design details, are completed. In fact, I already built a Sovereign shaft for a customer who hip mounts his control box, and the Sov and Excal use the same lower rod...

If you are interested, slider, send me a PM, or email me at ​

[email protected]

. I can talk to you about the Excal design that I've come up with, and any "custom" ideas you might want to discuss...

THANKS!

Steve​

 

[slider66]

I would suggest you avoid spring clips and use plastic bolts. That is what I use they work great and don’t rust. I am also not a fan of plastic clips either.

 

[sgoss66]

Slider,

I appreciate that Excal advice; I'd like to chat with you. Sending you PM...

Steve

 

[dirtlooter]

The real secret with Steve's rod is quite simple. quality sells itself. Then happy customers do the rest as they obviously have and are doing. Then you throw in the fact that he seems more than willing to work with people even on special needs and even more happy people. To those that don't need the lighter shafts or the counter weights, keep swinging and be happy but to a lot of us, our shoulders, arms, wrists and backs aren't what they used to be and this is a great option to keep swinging and swinging longer.

 

[Donut]

I agree with dirtlooters. At first when I got mine in mid summer I was skeptical but guaranteed not now it helped me a lot with not having that off balances coil on the end. That only makes common cense.
I thought the NOX was great out of the box but after making the change to Steve’s shaft and counting weight it changed my mind completely.
I do not recommend using the counter weight in water because it counterweights so good i couldn’t keep the coil on the bottom with the waves but as soon as I came back in the beach I just screwed the counter weight on and kept going.
the counter weight makes that much difference.

Doug

 

[sgoss66]

dirtlooter and Donut -- THANK you both! It is so gratifying to hear so many of you being happy with your shafts! Truly gratifying!

Steve

 

[MetalArchSC]

Steve’s rods with the counter balance is superb quality. Love it.

 

[Iron Buzz]

OK, I think I'm convinced, but unsure which of the many options I need.

Are we talking about the complete shaft, or just the lower shaft? Long or short counter balance? Button holes, or no button holes? What does "counter balance-ready" mean? Anything else I need to know first?

 

[CoinHunterAZ]

Counter balance ready means the rod has a threaded insert at the top to accept the counter balance. It comes with just a cap that screws in if you don't get the counter balance. The counter balances are sold separately. I'm another very happy customer of Steve's. Both his rods and customer service are a class act. The blue goes very well with the black hardware on the Equinox.

 

[Donut]

You have to get the upper shaft for the counterbalance to thread into it ( it is fine thread machining). I’d get the lower shaft also so both lower shaft and upper shaft matches cosmetics. The carbon fiver shaft has a distinct really neat look to it. All together looks really nice.
I also would suggest having a lower shaft for each coil so you don’t have to mess with the bolt every time you change coil.
just slide in flip the cam lock , coil wire around shaft connect and go.
With the cam lock you don’t have the silly pin to push in and you can adjust to any length.
If I don’t like something I would never recommend it. I do not know Steve except for here. He is a really nice guy that will work with you as he did with me.
Your Friend;
Doug

 

[CoinHunterAZ]

Get the complete shaft assembly, counter balance ready. And the counterbalance if you want one, you can always add it later though.

 

[Donut]

Get the complete shaft assembly, counter balance ready. And the counterbalance if you want one, you can always add it later though.

Also I’d get the counterbalance. You have the coil hanging at the end of a stick.
I actually detect with a light hand grip with my pinkie finger under the shaft.

Doug

 

[sgoss66]

Wow -- you all are just terrific! THANK YOU -- each of you!

Iron Buzz, I will try to answer your specific questions, but in the mean time, everyone sort of "took care of it" already, by chiming in! THANK YOU, everyone!

I'll throw a few more thoughts out there...

Complete shaft, or just the lower rod? Both are available, either "standard," or "customized" to your specific needs (I've done ALL KINDS of custom shafts -- three-piece shafts, tall-man rods, dive shafts, shafts to fit specific cases/carriers, etc.) But, obviously the most popular, that works well for most, is the standard, complete shaft.

Long or short counterweight? I build these based on each customer's needs -- based on their feedback as to how the Equinox "feels" to them, and what issues they are experiencing (if any). Obviously, longer tubes have a higher maximum weight capacity, with the small downside for some being the extra length; the idea is to find that "sweet spot" -- keeping the balance as short as possible, but not TOO short, such that the weight capacity is insufficient to achieve the balance necessary for that specific person. Some EQX users don't need counterweighting, some need "some," and some need a whole lot. I "consult" with each customer, at purchase time, to narrow it down based on their specific needs. Another note -- there is flexibility here, too, since the counterweights themselves are "adjustable," in terms of how much weight is installed (via the removable cap, on the tube). So, user experimentation, AFTER purchase, allows each individual to hone in on the amount of weight that works best. There is a blog entry on my website, in the "blog" section under the "What's New" tab, that addresses this very question, in detail (www.stevesdetectorrods.com/blog/index.php)

Button holes or no button holes? Great question! I designed the shaft specifically to ELIMINATE the need for button holes. That was a main objective, and to accomplish that, it required a specific, heavy-duty, adjustable clamp-type cam lock. The cam lock was a MAJOR focus of my design, because eliminating those pesky button holes on the shaft was important to me -- one, because they are tedious/cumbersome to use, and two, because they force you into limited, fixed adjustment lengths on your lower rod. That is unnecessarily restrictive. A proper cam lock ELIMINATES the need for the button holes, as the only reason many shafts include them is because the cam locks being used (those twist locks) are not heavy-duty enough to achieve a sufficiently secure connection of the shaft sections by themselves. But a proper, clamp-type cam lock does NOT require any "extra help," in terms of connection stability, and thus eliminates the need for the button/button-hole design (as illustrated by Minelab's CTX 3030, E-Trac, Safari, and Explorer series, XP's Deus, Tarsacci's MDT-8000, and others, that employ a "proper" cam lock, and thus no spring button/button holes required).

SO -- why do I even offer the button holes? The reason is because I have had occasional customers who specifically WANT them, for whatever reason, and to accommodate, I do keep the button holes as an available option, on the black shafts. Otherwise, my "standard" shaft does not include them, as that was the original design intent of my shaft.

I should note here, though, that I usually DO include a spring button on my lower rods, just so that the rod is compatible with Minelab's stock shaft, should anyone wish to utilize that option. But when used with my "hole-less" shaft, the button just remains depressed/"pushed in," while inside the shaft, and behaves as if it is not even there.

Customers who opt for the standard "hole-less" shaft seem to love the cam lock, they appreciate not having to mess with the button, and appreciate the easy/quick/unlimited adjustability of the lower rod length that results. I also wrote an extensive piece on this specific subject, as well, in my website's blog section (it's the entry right underneath the "counterweight" entry -- and again the blog resides at www.stevesdetectorrods.com/blog/index.php.

What does "counterbalance-ready" mean? As others have stated, it just means that the shaft comes with a threaded fitting installed in the butt-end, which permits the attachment of the optional counterweight. Otherwise, the shaft is identical to a "standard" shaft. The "standard, or "non-counterweight-ready" shaft comes with a regular rubber end cap; the "counterweight-ready" shaft, with that threaded fitting installed, includes a threaded end cap, which thus allows the shaft to be "capped" whenever the counterweight is not attached.

Some folks prefer to order just the "counterweight-ready" shaft initially, without the counterweight (especially new Equinox users who aren't yet sure how the unit's imbalance might or might not affect them, as well as those who may be planning to purchase the 12" by 15" coil later on, but are concerned about the extra nose-heaviness that will result). That way, having the shaft "ready" to accept counterweight attachment, they leave the option open to purchase the counterbalance later, if necessary, once they have the time to figure out if swinging the EQX causes them any ergonomic issues.

Anything else you might need to know? I'd say the only other things that may be good to know, are 1). whether you have any interest in a colored carbon-fiber shaft, as opposed to standard black, 2). if you have any specific needs for shaft customization, beyond what the "standard" shaft offers, and 3). whether you have any interest in upgrading to a Jeff Herke aluminum arm cuff (and optional, padded neoprene cuff cover). The "Herke" cuffs are nice, powder-coated, heavy-duty cuffs, that integrate seamlessly with my upper shaft.

We can discuss any of these options during the purchase process.

If you are unsure of what to order, and asked for my recommendation, I would typically suggest, for the average customer, a black, counterweight-ready shaft, no button holes, and -- if they have multiple coils -- ONE extra lower rod (as the Minelab lower rod can be used perfectly, with my shaft system). This is a very flexible, and yet relatively cost-effective option that would allow you a lower rod for all three coils, AND the ability to add a counterweight -- either at time of purchase, or at any time down the road. A cuff could also be added later, if/when the need arose.

I hope, Iron Buzz, that this lengthy mess of words answers most or all of your questions -- and they are good questions, as I have had others, at times, that also are unsure of what exactly they might wish to order. THANK YOU for asking, and for your interest!

Steve
www.stevesdetectorrods.com
www.facebook.com/stevesdetectorrods

email: steve@stevesdetectorrods

 

[HighVDI]

Always nice to support a forum sponser AND a person who actually uses and knows the machine he designed these for!

 

[sgoss66]

Thank you, sir! I appreciate it!

Steve

 

[Iron Buzz]

Wow -- you all are just terrific! THANK YOU -- each of you!

Iron Buzz, I will try to answer your specific questions...

...

THANK YOU for asking, and for your interest!

Steve
www.stevesdetectorrods.com
www.facebook.com/stevesdetectorrods

email: steve@stevesdetectorrods

Excellent answers, Steve. You should post that as an FAQ on your website (if it is already there, and I just missed it, I apologize, but I did look)

Not to be dense, but just to make sure... I think you said that the standard lower rod will work with your upper rod, so if I'm already content with the weight of my little 6" coil, there is no need for one of your lower shafts for that?

 

[sgoss66]

Excellent answers, Steve. You should post that as an FAQ on your website (if it is already there, and I just missed it, I apologize, but I did look)

Not to be dense, but just to make sure... I think you said that the standard lower rod will work with your upper rod, so if I'm already content with the weight of my little 6" coil, there is no need for one of your lower shafts for that?

Funny you mentioned "FAQ," LOL! I was thinking that exact thing, as I was typing that all out...that I should include that as an FAQ on my webpage! LOL!

Yes, sir -- you are correct about the 6" coil, and factory lower rod. The ONLY "benefits" to using my lower shaft for your 6" coil, vs. the stock shaft, are 1). the weight savings of the lighter shaft (which is, as you noted, partially negated by the fact that the 6" is such a light coil anyway), and 2). the "aesthetic benefit" of having "all" carbon fiber, versus a carbon upper and composite/plastic lower (which of course is a minimal issue for most).

I will note that the one OTHER benefit of my lower rods, but which would be irrelevant when using my lower with my upper, is that my standard lower rod is 26", versus 24 1/4" with the Minelab lower. The possible benefit there -- and the reason I use a slightly longer lower rod than Minelab -- is that when using one of my (1 3/4" longer) lower rods with the MINELAB shaft, that longer length can help add a bit more stability to the sometimes wobbly Minelab stock shaft. Reason being, for any given lower rod adjustment length, 1 3/4" more of my lower rod remains inserted in the middle shaft, than if using the Minelab lower at that same adjustment length. Especially if you tend to extend your lower rod out a reasonably long distance, having more lower rod "left inside" the middle shaft, on a shaft system using a relatively weak cam lock, can help a bit to increase stability/decrease wobble. BUT -- obviously, that is only a "benefit," for those using MY lower in a MINELAB middle/upper shaft. The TRUE solution to "instability/shaft wobble," is -- of course -- to switch to a shaft with a proper, heavy-duty cam lock, and good, tight shaft tube tolerances.

BUT YES -- if you have the 11" coil and 6" coil, my "complete shaft," which includes one lower rod, would let you use the carbon-fiber lower on your 11", and then the Minelab lower on your 6" coil, with no issues (aside from it being a bit heavier than a carbon rod would be).

Thanks!

Steve