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Author Topic: How To: Brass Caps for Tactile Switches  (Read 12618 times)

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Offline Darth Chasm

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How To: Brass Caps for Tactile Switches
« on: November 27, 2016, 07:52:50 PM »
Here's a little walk through of how to fabricate brass caps for your tactile switches.

Please note, I am not claiming this is an original approach as I'm sure exactly the same and/or very similar has been done before.

The whole process takes maybe 10-15 mins at most.

Things you'll need:

6mm Momentary Tactile Switch(es). (The ones pictured here were bought from DigiKey.)
Male/Female Hex Standoffs. (Can be found at any electronics supply. Make sure to buy extra, they're cheap. Do research on sizes to make sure they will fit the actuator of the specific switch you have. Also make sure the standoff's OD is smaller than the base of the switch. This will allow you to drill a hole in your hilt big enough for the switch cap but small enough so the base doesn't slip out. I am using 3mm standoffs in this example.)
Power Drill
Heavy Duty Cutters
Flat File
Sandpaper of increasing grits
Flat Hobby File
Dremel (optional)
Hobby Knife or Box Cutter (optional)
Needle Nose Pliers (optional)
PSE...always wear your goggles/glasses and mask




First step is to take your cutters and snip off the threads of your work piece.



Then, use your large flat file to grind away the remainder of the threads. You can also use a Dremel. After you have ground down the threads, chuck up one of your spare standoffs in the power drill and mate your work piece to it. It should look something like this. Make sure your drill is in the forward setting. Otherwise your piece will unscrew as you work on it.



Then grab your lowest grit sandpaper and press it to the end of the standoff and start your drill. Make sure you're on a low torque and you start slowly then work your speed up while keeping the drill and sandpaper steady. Remember to keep applying pressure, but not too much.



A few seconds on each grit should be enough to get you a nice "machined" spiral on the end. Obviously from the picture below I need to do a little more.



After you've gotten the end to your liking, sand down the flats of the hex to remove the nickel plating to match the top.



Next step is to file down your switch actuator. It's highly unlikely you'll find a switch and standoff combo that fit perfectly. If you have the same switches and standoffs as I do simply use your flat hobby file to grind down the four corners. Go slow and test fitment along the way. Again, Just a few seconds on each corner should be fine. Here's a before and after.




Last step is to screw your newly fabricated switch head to the actuator and your'e done. If you've gone slow and done the job correctly they won't slip off. You can even tug on them and they wont budge. The plastic of the actuator is soft enough to form a tight bond in the threads of the standoff, so make sure you leave enough material.




If you don't like the hex shape or if you want to differentiate your Main and Aux switches with shapes, you can create a round switch head from a hex. Yes, you can just buy round standoffs, but I found it extremely hard to find exactly what I wanted. So if you're interested in learning how to make your own from a hex keep reading.

Follow the same steps as above but rather than sanding the flats, leave the standoff chucked up. Start up your drill and slowly run your large flat file along the standoff as it spins.This will roughly remove the points creating a cylinder. I'm showing the file laying down for the photo but you should do this this with both the drill and file in your hands. Once again, start slow and build up speed while maintaining control.



Next, pinch the standoff with your lowest grit sandpaper and run the drill. Slow and steady...see a theme here? Work your way up through grits until you get the finish you want. If you feel the work piece getting hot just stop and let it cool for a bit.



And you're done. A nice round switch head. I'm sure if you get creative you could make other shapes like squares and triangles. Experiment and have fun with it. After all, it's probably one of the easiest steps in creating a custom hilt.



Here are both of mine all assembled.




And here they are installed.



That's it for now. Hope this helps you out. And as always, questions and comments are welcome.
« Last Edit: January 23, 2018, 07:49:55 PM by Darth Chasm »

Offline erv

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Re: How To: Brass Caps for Tactile Switches
« Reply #1 on: November 27, 2016, 10:24:00 PM »
very cool tutorial that can be achieved with common tooling, thumbs up !

Offline Caine

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Re: How To: Brass Caps for Tactile Switches
« Reply #2 on: November 27, 2016, 11:00:44 PM »
Very cool tut. Thanks for sharing!

Offline LUKE SKYWALKER

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Re: How To: Brass Caps for Tactile Switches
« Reply #3 on: November 27, 2016, 11:32:29 PM »
Thanks for that tutorial! I think it deserves a sticky  :wink:

Offline jbkuma

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Re: How To: Brass Caps for Tactile Switches
« Reply #4 on: November 27, 2016, 11:37:55 PM »
Great tutorial! Thanks for sharing here!

(Guess I'll go update my link in that other thread..)

Offline EXAR KUN

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Re: How To: Brass Caps for Tactile Switches
« Reply #5 on: November 28, 2016, 07:51:09 AM »
Muy moy I love you.

Offline Sawyer

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Re: How To: Brass Caps for Tactile Switches
« Reply #6 on: November 28, 2016, 10:39:09 AM »
Fantastic! Thanks a bunch


-Cheers

Offline Darth Chasm

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Re: How To: Brass Caps for Tactile Switches
« Reply #7 on: November 28, 2016, 12:00:00 PM »
Awesome. Glad you all find it helpful. And thanks for the sticky, Luke.

Offline pris335

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Re: How To: Brass Caps for Tactile Switches
« Reply #8 on: November 28, 2016, 09:23:37 PM »
Wow thats pretty good!
Thanks for the great tutorial

Offline Onli-Won Kanomi

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Re: How To: Brass Caps for Tactile Switches
« Reply #9 on: November 28, 2016, 10:29:26 PM »
Great tutorial - very clearly explained and very useful. BRAVO!
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Offline Professor Huyang

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Re: How To: Brass Caps for Tactile Switches
« Reply #10 on: April 26, 2017, 02:16:09 PM »
Excellent tutorial, sir!

I am curious what dimension switches you use? I typically use 6mm x 6mm base switches, which look very similar based on the pics you have.

I have been experimenting with copper plating, and these would be perfect for this. I also imagine that the standoffs can be unscrewed if you needed to? 
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Offline jbkuma

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Re: How To: Brass Caps for Tactile Switches
« Reply #11 on: April 26, 2017, 05:40:21 PM »
I've done similar things with 6mm switches and screw type rivets. 


Offline GreaSyde

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Re: How To: Brass Caps for Tactile Switches
« Reply #12 on: April 26, 2017, 05:55:34 PM »
Most impressive. I'll definitely give this a go.
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Offline Darth Chasm

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Re: How To: Brass Caps for Tactile Switches
« Reply #13 on: April 26, 2017, 06:36:42 PM »
Excellent tutorial, sir!

I am curious what dimension switches you use? I typically use 6mm x 6mm base switches, which look very similar based on the pics you have.

I have been experimenting with copper plating, and these would be perfect for this. I also imagine that the standoffs can be unscrewed if you needed to?

Thanks!

They are 6mm and yes, the stand-offs will unscrew if you need them to.

Offline Rake

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Re: How To: Brass Caps for Tactile Switches
« Reply #14 on: December 17, 2017, 10:02:00 PM »
I would really like to view this tutorial but the pics are missing, for me. Am I doing something wrong or are the pics just gone?

 

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