quote:

Originally posted by blackcat4866:
I've been making drive tools like this for years. All the way back to the Mita DC-131 which (when full of developer) was just too hard to turn without some sort of handle to grip. Mita made a handle that fit over the drive gear for the DC-131, and I took the idea from there. I still have it, by the way.

I've probably got hundreds of these drive tools around, for every conceivable model or unit. For exanple, Sharp made it especially easy since every developing unit for 10 years uses basically the same drive coupler. There are only a few variations for Sharp.

Here's how it works:
Order up the mating gear on the drive pack for whatever you want to hand drive. Or scavenge what you need from a broken drive pack or the copier graveyard. Find a metal feed shaft that mates to the coupler, or customize the metal shaft to fit. Find a fuser drive handle with a nice grip. Epoxy, or drill & roll pin the three pieces together.

The Voyager developer coupler is especially easy since it mates with itself. So before you throw away that old (not seized) developing unit, scavenge the white coupler off the back. Since the developer shaft sticks through the coupler a little on the developing side, your drive handle will have to be slightly recessed to acommodate it. Handles are easy enough to come by. I was around for the fuser modifications on the Ricoh AF350, which changed the press roller shaft and the associated fuser knob. So I've got a pile of the old Ricoh fuser knobs lying about.

Am I the only person who has been making drive handles?