Steve's Detector Rods' Deus II shaft project update -- IT'S "WAIT LIST" TIME...

[sgoss66]

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

 

[Tbone1]

Looks great!
Email sent

 

[sgoss66]

Thank you, sir! I'll be answering a bunch of my emails this evening, so I'll look for yours and give a reply at that time.

THANKS!

 

[T-DUB]

Looks amazing, will continue to follow, potentially down the road I may get. Thanks for your efforts SGOSS66

 

[geneg]

Wow, nice looking setup.

 

[Steyrshrek]

That looks sweet, looking at grabbing Deus 2 for next season and this will be one of the first accessories I’ll get. Very nice work.

 

[sgoss66]

Looks amazing, will continue to follow, potentially down the road I may get. Thanks for your efforts SGOSS66

Thank you for the kind words, T-DUB! I appreciate them; if you decide you'd like to order at some point down the road, just send me an email and I'll be glad to get you taken care of!

Thanks!

Steve

 

[sgoss66]

That looks sweet, looking at grabbing Deus 2 for next season and this will be one of the first accessories I’ll get. Very nice work.

THANKS, Steyrshrek! Much appreciated. And I'll be happy to get you taken care of with a new shaft, if you follow through on getting the D2.

Thanks!

Steve

 

[sgoss66]

Wow, nice looking setup.

THANK YOU, geneg!

Steve

 

[coinworld]

Looks good Steve; I’m sure interested and jut emailed you. One question; do you know how much much additional weight the carbon fiber shaft adds to the weight of the machine;? This is one of the benefits of swinging the Deus2 is the light weight ergonomic benefits when detecting all day 8 hours plus when I hunt on Saturdays.

 

[sgoss66]

coinworld,

THANKS for your interest; I'll check my email shortly.

Meanwhile, you talked about the ergonomics of the Deus, and are asking about the weight. I totally understand your concerns/questions there. And these concerns/questions were a big deal to me, during the design stage. First of all, let me say that I fully believe you will find this shaft MORE ergonomic than the current D2 shaft, which I'll explain in detail, below.

First, though, you asked about weight, specifically. It's a bit tough to be exact at this point, because the final version of the shaft includes a few tweaks, as compared to the prototype version, that will change weighting slightly.

The other issue, though, with talking about "absolute weight," is that my shaft is not "apples and oranges" with the stock shaft, due to a few things -- one of those being that my standard shaft is built longer than the stock Deus shaft. When assembling my field-test prototypes, I had some folks inquire about the weight of the shaft. SO I weighed one of the prototypes, and it showed 16.3 oz. IF I understand correctly, the regular, stock XP Deus shaft weighs about 16.6 oz. And apparently, the Deus Lite S-Stem -- the lighter alternative to the standard Deus stem checks in at 14 oz. So, if I have those numbers correct, my field-test shafts were a hair lighter than the standard Deus shaft, but not quite as light as the Deus lite.

What I can say, though, is this. IF I made my shaft shorter (i.e. Deus stock shaft length), obviously it would be lighter. In fact, building my shaft to Deus standard shaft length, would reduce my shaft weight by almost an ounce (0.9 oz.) I can do that, for any customer who doesn't need the extra length. At "Deus length," my shaft weight would then be reduced to approximately 15.4 oz.

In addition, the Deus arm cuff includes neither an arm cuff pad, nor an arm cuff strap, if I am not mistaken? Eliminating those from my arm cuff, would remove another half ounce (0.55 oz.). This is also something I can do, for any customer that doesn't need a pad or a strap. So at that point, my shaft would be reduced to 14.85 oz. -- and would be within 0.85 oz. of the weight of a Deus Lite shaft (and just over an ounce and a half lighter than the Deus standard shaft).

Further, there is one additional thing I will say, which I think is a very important consideration -- BALANCE. To elaborate...

The standard Deus arm cuff weighs 2.2 oz., if I am not mistaken. With the strap and pad included on my cuff, mine weighs 5.6 oz. (it checks in at 5.0 oz. without the strap and pad). And that 3-ish ounce difference accounts for the reason I can't quite match the Deus Lite shaft weight. While my cuff is carbon fiber, it is larger, and quite heavy-duty. It also has a larger/taller stand on the bottom than the stock Deus cuff, so that my shaft will rest properly upright, when a coil is attached. Finally, my cuff uses four small bolts and locking nuts (marine-grade stainless steel) to attach it to the shaft. Given those features, it ends up just over 3 oz. heavier than the Deus cuff.

HOWEVER, while I could have substantially reduced the cuff weight by making the cuff less heavy-duty, I did not want to do so, as I am all about solid, heavy-duty builds. BUT -- but more importantly -- I DID NOT WANT to reduce the weight, because having a cuff on a Deus shaft that is slightly heavier, is a POSITIVE. The reason is BALANCE (and thus, user comfort). Like other machines, a Deus has nearly all of the weight at the "coil end" of the shaft, and next to NO weight, at the butt end. This, of course, means it is nose-heavy. While the Deus 9" coil is light enough that the imbalance is not a major problem for most users, it is still nose-heavy, which is not ideal. And therefore, adding 3 oz. of extra weight to the butt end of the shaft (via the arm cuff) IMPROVES the balance of the shaft, and OFFSETS the fact that my shaft is a fraction of an ounce heavier than a Deus Lite shaft.

This fits neatly in line with what I feel is the philosophical foundation of a perfect shaft design. And that is, do everything you can to reduce the weight of the shaft as much as possible FIRST, AND THEN -- once you have the lightest shaft possible -- ADD A BIT OF WEIGHT, in the RIGHT PLACE (the butt end) to bring better BALANCE. This maximizes the ergonomic comfort of the detector, making it a more comfortable machine to swing. Reducing the "absolute" weight of a detector is just ONE consideration, when attempting to design a comfortable machine to swing; balance is just as important, IF NOT MORESO, than the "absolute" weight. And, from an ergonomics perspective, BALANCE is, in my view, the most neglected aspect of today's detector designs.

The last thing I will add, which I mentioned above, but is pertinent in this discussion, is that I will also offer the option of counterweighting the shaft (via the optional addition of a threaded fitting in the butt end of the shaft, which accommodates attachment of the counterweight, with the shaft then capped with a screw-in end cap). This is another option that can help with the ergonomics of the D2 shaft -- for anyone interested. The counterweights have been VERY popular, with my Equinox shafts, and may be something that some Deus users may wish to have available also -- ESPECIALLY for the future, when larger coils become available.

Thanks!

Steve

 

[sgoss66]

Looks good Steve; I’m sure interested and jut emailed you. One question; do you know how much much additional weight the carbon fiber shaft adds to the weight of the machine;? This is one of the benefits of swinging the Deus2 is the light weight ergonomic benefits when detecting all day 8 hours plus when I hunt on Saturdays.

coinworld -- just FYI, I don't see an email from you; steve@stevesdetectorrods.com is my address, and please mention your forum name also, in the email, so I know it's you!

Thanks,

Steve

 

[T-DUB]

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

View attachment 31026

Steve, can you provide a pic of everything fully extended? By the pic I see how the RC is connected , does your version come with that, or a “standard like version” of yours that comes with the Deus set up?

 

[sgoss66]

T-Dub --

I have a few pictures from one of my field testers, of the shaft fully extended. I will attach a couple of them here.

As for the RC "mount," I'll attach a picture of the 3-D printed "prototype" of the locking mount that will be included with my shafts; the injection-molded, production-grade version of the mount will be the same as the 3D prototype, except for a slight change in the height of the rectangular "post" that the screw screws into (to provide slightly "tighter" fit of the locking mechanism to the RC), AND the screw will have a slightly different head (it will be BOTH knurled, for thumb adjustment, AND will have a slot so that it could be tightened with a flat-head screwdriver also). Otherwise, the production mount will be the same as the prototype one in the picture.

This injection-molded "locking RC mount" will be the standard mount included with my D2 shaft.

Please let me know if this fully answers your questions.

THANKS!

Steve

 

[T-DUB]

T-Dub --

I have a few pictures from one of my field testers, of the shaft fully extended. I will attach a couple of them here.

As for the RC "mount," I'll attach a picture of the 3-D printed "prototype" of the locking mount that will be included with my shafts; the injection-molded, production-grade version of the mount will be the same as the 3D prototype, except for a slight change in the height of the rectangular "post" that the screw screws into (to provide slightly "tighter" fit of the locking mechanism to the RC), AND the screw will have a slightly different head (it will be BOTH knurled, for thumb adjustment, AND will have a slot so that it could be tightened with a flat-head screwdriver also). Otherwise, the production mount will be the same as the prototype one in the picture.

This injection-molded "locking RC mount" will be the standard mount included with my D2 shaft.

Please let me know if this fully answers your questions.

THANKS!

Steve

View attachment 31154
View attachment 31155
View attachment 31156
View attachment 31158

Steve, thanks for the added pics and as well the info on the RC mount, much appreciated.

 

[Mark kus]

Looks good Steve will you sell a lower that will fit the stock upper?
Mark

 

[sgoss66]

Steve, thanks for the added pics and as well the info on the RC mount, much appreciated.

T-DUB -- my pleasure!

Steve

 

[sgoss66]

Looks good Steve will you sell a lower that will fit the stock upper?
Mark

Mark,

My apologies, but since the XP shaft uses "trapezoidal" tubes, my lower rods won't fit the stock shaft (my shaft uses round tubes).

It's much more expensive to build a carbon-fiber shaft with non-round tubes; a non-round tube requires up-front investment in a mold, and then building a lower rod with that tube would also require investment in a plastic injection mold, to produce that lower rod plastic piece (where the coil bolt hole is), to fit into the non-round tube.

As such, it would not be cost-effective for me to produce a lower to fit the stock shaft; I'd have to sell such a lower rod at a much higher price than folks would be interested in paying, unfortunately.

Thanks!
Steve