Thin changer washer

[Scott Howard]

I have a changer I got sometime back and was wondering where people are getting the very thin washer / shims / spacers or whatever you want to call them . I need the ones like used on MSA's and Dekley's going between each finger and string lever on the changer.

I have almost enough to do the changer but they are a little thicker than others I have seen . I am using a 1/2 inch shaft for the changer.

[Bent]

Scott I have 10 of those laying around. I got them from spaenaur.com here in Ontario. They are called shim rings.
Here are the measurements on mine: 1/2" ID(or exactly .508), 7/8" OD (.874) and exactly 1/32" thick. Looks like stainless.
I am sure you can get them from a hardware supplier there but in case you can't I would gladly slip these 10 in an envelope and mail them to you. send me an email with your address if you want to.

Note: OD corrected to 7/8"

[Ross Shafer]

mcmastercarr.com...is always my first stop when looking for something like this. I'd be surprised if they don't have them.

[Allan]

Scott,

I may well be out on the wrong track here, I don't know how thick you need these things to be. I make shims from soda cans. Cut the side of the can and pull it flat then sandwich it between two pieces of MDF or something of that nature. Drill the holes and then open up the sandwich and cut the outer part of the deal to suit with a scissors.
I use this method because I was told, years ago-and it seems to be true, that the lining inside these cans is a pretty good non-stick finish.
The important thing is to use a good bit on a VERY TIGHTLY screwed together sandwich of MDF-metal-MDF. Oh, I also found that some kind of spur bit makes a nice job of cutting the inner hole too. I have a few bits if drilled can, that I can cut to suit the current need, lying around most times because it makes sense to drill a complete piece of metal if you are setting up anyhow.

Regards, Allan.....

[Scott Howard]

Thanks very much for the offer Bent , but I am looking for a supplier for future use.All the shims I have had in the past were nylon or some type of plastic. I have some that are about 1/32 but looking for the ones that are almost paper thin . I am not sure I am going to use this changer and thinking of building my own . I am thinking of selling a bunch of stuff but the market is just so bad . I have 2 steels and parts for building my own along with several amps that I don't need just collecting dust.

I may give the drink can a try if I can't find them. Thanks

[Bent]

Scott, when you find a supplier let us know, please. spaenaur has only a few thicknesses and a shop should always be stocked with items like this. I would like to see
1/128, 1/64, 1/32, up to 1/16

[Ross Shafer]

Hi guys,

I just checked Mcmaster Carr, they do have what you need. .5 id x .75 od washers as thin as .001. They have in two different plastics, brass and stainless. Spend some time looking around at Mcmaster Carr...I promise you'll be glad you did. Shipping is usually cheap and its always arrived in 1-3 days without extra charges. I do a lot of oddball fabrication and protoyping work and these guys are one of my most used suppliers. Been buying from them for probably 20 years. Don't know what I'd do without them! They're also a fantastic source for small quantities of materials like chunks of aluminum, delrin, brass, etc...

Oh yeah the only trick with using Mcmaster Carr is knowing what the name of something is which can be tricky sometimes. In this case just type shim washers into the search window and you'll get there. Sometimes you have to get a bit creative with what you type into the search window before you'll find what they need...but believe me, if they don't have it...you probably don't need it. Always go there first, you'll save a lot of internet searching.

[Bent]

Ross, I tried for an hour just now...
For fun I tried, unsuccessfully, to find what we call the lower return springs.. You know, the ones with the narrow taper in one end to accept the #6 wood screw for tension adjustment. I tried "taper spring" and also looked through some of their vast holdings of springs of all types. I mean ALL types! It just boggles the mind!

When you have a chance, see if you can find that one, put a link and an explanation how you did the search.
Thanks!

[Scott Howard]

I looked and only found brass ,steel and other metal ones but not plastic . It might be a good idea to list the supplier and link / part numbers for people like me who can never find what I am looking for . I guess that is what the supplier section is for. I will do some more looking later . Thanks

[Ross Shafer]

Scott-I can't get a link to take me to the exact page..so here's the search terms I just used and double checked:
"shim washers">on the main body of the page you'll see different categories with pictures..in that area choose "shims and shim stock">"round shims">standard>material?plastic>voila....both polyester and pvc.

They're a little spendy. Mcmaster Carr pricing tends to be on the high side, but I've often been surprised.

Bent, I looked for your spring and thought I'd found it, until I go the specs and the only one they appeared to have was 17/32" diameter...to big, Dang! It was a swivel hook end spring or something like that.

A quick search at Century Spring (centuryspring.com) didn't yield anything, but a call to the very helpful folks there might.

I hope something here is helpful...I'm gonna go practice now. Have a good weekend