Found some snow rods. There 9/32 in diameter. So they will be good for extending control shafts. And good if you need to isolate the shaft.

Looks great .
I am always look for part like.
Hard to find when need

Dave

9/32 seems too large for 1/4" shafts?

It's also too small to drill and tap to make couplings.

Any other sizes available?

Rich

I was in the same boat last week where I needed to make a replacement 1/4 inch fiber control shaft for a tuning cap. I found a similar fiberglass rod with a reflector at Lowes that was 1/4 inch dia.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=420044&start=20

I took another reading on the rods. They are 1/4 inch. So looks like I am set for a long time.

When hobby shops were a thing, they'd sell brass tubing and pieces of brass. I used both in various projects. They probably still sell it, but no nearby hobby shops.

What would this be used for? Broadcast equipment?

You can get K&S Metals rods and tubes from Amazon, Hobby Lobby, and some Home Depot stores.

https://ksmetals.com/

I get my plastic rod from TAP Plastics.

Rich

That would be great for hot chassis knob isolation. So, how exactly would you extend a control shaft using that? How would you join the metal shaft to the fiberglass rod? Some kind of tubing?

You connect the two shafts using a coupler, and run the extension through a panel bushing.

I have extended volume pot shafts by notching and glueing the two sides, and then using a small profile compression fitting that nicely fits over 1/4� shaft. Went crazy one day looking for something that would fit snugly over the shaft joint and came across these in my plumbing parts box. A little glue and the fitting and its done.

I did find out, however, that the case opening for the knob shaft is usually small, and I could barely get the small compression fitting to pass through, so had to use the old dremel to shave and narrow down the fitting a bit.

How would you use that coupler, since it appears kind of large? Do you drill out the radio case knob opening larger for it to fit, and how is the panel bushing used? Unless I have misunderstood and this is for a different application?

Just curious and interested, and thank you for the response!

The coupler is for round 1/4" shafts. So if you have a half moon shaft, you need to add a piece to make in round. Then the coupler would side over and get locked into place with one of the set screws. Of course, if the control shaft is round, just slide on the coupler and extension and your good to go.

Ace Hardware also sells brass as well as aluminum tubing.

Nick