PSI stylus assembly problem - and solution

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
See more from monophoto

monophoto

Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2010
Messages
2,542
Location
Saratoga Springs, NY
I made one of these a couple of years ago and have been very pleased with how well it works with my iPod Touch. Last week, a friend indicated that she would like one also. I had a spare kit, so I made one for her.

In the course of the project, I learned (the hard way) a subtle pooint that is not addressed in the instructions.

The two ends of the small round nut that is pressed into the end of the tube to receive the threaded stylus bulb are very slightly different - on one end, the threaded portion extends all the way to the face of the nut, while on the other end, there is a slight recess (perhaps 1/64"). And there is a very short segment of the stud on the rubber bulb that is not threaded.

So if you press the nut into the tube with the recess end facing outward, the stud will screw in with the unthreaded portion fitting neatly into that recess. But if you press the nut in the other way around, and if the nut is exactly flush with the end of the tube, the stud will not screw in all the way, and the base of the bulb will sit about 1/64" proud of the end of the barrel. And of course, it's really not practical to try to remove that nut after it has been pressed into the tube.

If you find, as I did, that you put the nut in the wrong way, a simple solution is to press it a bit further into the barrel so that the bulb can screw in until the bottom of the bottom of the metal base is flush against the end of the tube. I use a drill press as an assembly press, with a block of wood on the platform and a small block of wood glued to the head of a nut in the chuck. In this instance, I threaded a small screw into the block of wood on the platform to create a 'bump' that would press the nut past the end of the tube.
 
Top Bottom