MadCow Posted May 1, 2015 Posted May 1, 2015 I've been mulling over the idea of building my own stick extension for quite a while, and I have finally decided to give it a whirl. Does anyone have any experience making an extension out of plumbing PVC material? If you do, is there any chance you remember item numbers? It'd be great if I could roll up to Home Depot and get what I need without having to hunt around, and I definitely would prefer to not bring the joystick in to dry fit things :) Also, is there any reason why I would want to put the bend in the extension similar to the real stick? It seems like you may cause some strange balance issues if you're shifting the weight of the stick back due to a bent extension.
Curly Posted May 1, 2015 Posted May 1, 2015 The thread size on the Warthog is M36 x 2. If you're going to a Home Depot in the US it is very unlikely that they will have any pipe stock or fittings with that threading. They maybe able to cut that thread size for you if they have metric tap and die set, though i get the feeling most stores do not. You'd want either 1 1/2 inch or 40mm pipe. This is why you see so many people making a Gardena extensions. Though you could 3'd print and adapter with metric threading on 1 end and us threads on the other. Or buy a tap and die set and cut the threads yourself.
TonyZ Posted May 1, 2015 Posted May 1, 2015 Whatever extension you use you must make sure that if you bend the gooseneck in the extension that the handle sits right above the base when the stick is at rest. The longer the extension the more off balance the stick will be and the more trouble it will have re-centering if the C.G. of the handle does not sit right above the pivot. Also you do not need a very long extension for the stick. I use a piece of 4'' pvc drainpipe about 18 inches long with two 4 ''endcaps which I drilled out each end to mount the base plate on the bottom cap and the stick pivot base on the top cap. Then I use 1 " copper water pipe about 1 foot long with 1" to 1 1/4" copper couplers and the Gardena hose adapter for the finished extension. it has worked well for years and all you need to finish it off it the 5 pin ps/2 extension cable male to female with the tabs in the middle cut down to fit and the appropriate pin drilled out. There are other websites and post explaining how to do this.
agrasyuk Posted May 1, 2015 Posted May 1, 2015 Long time ago amazon canada sold me the Gardena adapter that fits (its a garden hose adapter actually)https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-verizon&biw=360&bih=296&tbm=shop&ei=7fRDVc3HAZDVoAS20oH4CA&q=gardena+hose+repair+&oq=gardena+hose+repair+&gs_l=mobile-gws-serp.3...5689.12688.0.14265.19.17.0.2.2.3.276.3538.0j9j8.17.0.msedr...0...1c.1.64.mobile-gws-serp..6.13.2360.KQMXTwhJWF4#spd=5744537928093420010 You will need to take a hacksaw or dremel to it, but be careful to not destroy the plastic thread. As for pipes I used copper instead of PVC. Anton. My pit build thread . Simple and cheap UFC project
MadCow Posted May 4, 2015 Author Posted May 4, 2015 All of this was very useful information, so thank you to all of you that responded. I want try using PVC for my pipe to start with as it seems cheaper to dial in the perfect length with PVC, and then once I have a length that feels good to me I can move into copper. The Warthog thread size was particularly helpful. I know now exactly what to hunt for. Again, thanks for taking the time to respond!
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