Deus 2 shaft project update...UPDATE -- "IT'S WAIT LIST TIME"

Hi all!

I am making good progress on the D2 shaft project. The last loose end is the remote-control mount. The one that was tested by my field testers was a non-locking version, similar to the one that is on the stock shaft. However, over the past couple of months I've been working to revise the design to include a locking mechanism on the mount. That revised design has been completed, and I have a few 3D-printed samples of this new locking version of the mount en route to me. I need to test these new mounts to be sure the dimensions are correct, and that the locking mechanism works as intended.

As soon as testing on the locking mount is complete (I expect that it won't take long), and assuming it works as intended with no design tweaks needed, then I will initiate production of the injection mold needed to produce the new mounts. Usually, it takes about 4 weeks to produce a mold, and then I'll immediately have the first batch of those mounts produced with the new mold. Production of injection-molded parts only takes a couple of days, and then they can be shipped to me. All other parts for the first production run of shafts have been ordered -- some I have already received, and some remain in production, with receipt expected in 3 to 4 weeks. So, it's just the mounts that are the delay at this point. As soon as I receive them, I'll begin producing -- and shipping -- the first run of shafts to customers.

I already have a large number of names on an informal "wait list," but will be setting up a "formal" wait list as soon as I confirm that the 3D test mounts are proper, and have begun production on the necessary injection mold.

Thanks everyone, for your patience!

Steve



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/2022 10:28AM by steveg.

Thanks for the update Steve.----------Del

Del,

Sure thing!

Steve

Really looking forward to it Steve. I’ve been putting the D2 giving it a workout after IAN came visiting and although it has been good (I only nudged the D2 off the shaft twice lol), having the new shaft with the lock would be the topper. Keep us posted!

Will the lock work on the original shaft, or only your shaft?

Gary,

Thanks for the kind words!

67GTA -- only my shaft, unfortunately. My shaft will use round tubes, and so the mount will be designed to fit into a round tube. Thus, without "modification," it wouldn't fit into XP's "trapezoidal" tubes...

Steve

Locking mount now being tested...

(See picture).

Thanks!

Steve

Nice!

Jason J.

Jason,

THANKS!

Everything is coming along nicely. The final design for that locking mount is now being prepped for initiation of the injection-mold production, which is essentially the final hurdle...

I say "essentially," as I'm still trying to hammer down the best way to accommodate those few water hunters I've talked with who are adamant about wanting a way to run the antenna wire through the shaft, but other than that detail, the design is essentially finalized...and I hope to begin production in about 6 weeks, give or take a week or two.

Steve

It sure is a pretty shaft that's for sure

Thanks, u2robert!

Steve

Hi all!

With the final injection mold associated with the Deus II shaft project (for the locking remote control mount) now entering the production process, the project is nearing completion. I expect this final mold to be complete in about 6 weeks, give or take, with the molded mounts then arriving a couple of weeks later. With the production of all other parts needed to begin building the first batch of shafts already in progress, I am ready at this time to begin to assemble a formal “wait list” for folks who are interested in purchasing.

At first, these shafts will be of one main configuration, with a couple of optional add-ons available.

MAIN CONFIGURATION: This shaft configuration will be available at an introductory price of $229 plus shipping ($20 shipping within the lower 48 states; additional for Alaska/Hawaii customers, and international shipments). This configuration will consist of be a black, three-piece, collapsible carbon-fiber shaft, with locking remote-control mount, and custom carbon-fiber arm cuff.

ADD-ON #1 -- For an additional $20, the shaft can be produced in a “counterweight-ready” configuration (that would allow it to be used with one of my carbon-fiber counterweights, to improve the balance of the shaft)

ADD-ON #2 -- For an additional $20, the shaft can be produced to allow the antenna cable to be run inside the shaft; the antenna would enter through an oval opening on the underside of the lower rod, and exit through an oval opening on the middle shaft section, just “forward” of the handle. Note that when the antenna wire is being used in the “inside the shaft” manner, the wire protruding/exiting from the middle shaft section will prevent the collapse of the middle shaft back through the handle (i.e. into fully collapsed “transport” mode). The wire would have to be retracted back into the inside of the middle shaft section, for full shaft collapse.

I have many customers’ names tentatively included on an “unofficial” wait list at this point. Though some will likely not follow through for inclusion on the “official” list, the number of names may still exceed the number of shafts being produced in the first production run (32 shafts). Still, subsequent production runs will follow quickly on the heels of the first run, and so I welcome anyone with interest to have your name added to the wait list. EVEN IF YOU HAVE ALREADY MENTIONED YOUR INTEREST TO ME IN THE PAST, please confirm with me that you would like to be added to the “official” list. The list will be first come, first served, UNLESS you have already been added to the “unofficial” list, in which case your place in line WOULD be maintained.

To confirm your interest in being placed on the wait list, PLEASE SEND ME AN EMAIL at steve@stevesdetectorrods.com. ONLY an email to my email address, will be counted as a request to be placed on the list.

Thank you very much, to all of those who have expressed interest, and a particular thank you to those who urged me to pursue the project, who offered suggestions and improvements along the way, and to those who gave of their time to field-test the shaft and help bring it to its current, advanced stage of development. I am VERY pleased with how this shaft has turned out, with numerous improvements – some small, and some more subtle – that have been incorporated into the design. I think the shaft will be well-received, and highly regarded.

THANKS!

Steve Goss
www.stevesdetectorrods.com
email: steve@stevesdetectorrods.com