NEQ6 Centre primary locking shaft & centering dowel

[Swagman105]

Resurrecting a NEQ6 tripod and looking for a Centre Primary Locking Shaft and metal Azimuth alignment dowel.
Skywatcher say they could be ordered but could take months at present.
If anyone has these lying around perhaps as a result of going to a pier mount would be interested.

[Merlin66]

Geoff,
When I mounted my NEQ6pro head on the pier, I used an M12 x 1.75 stud.
You may be able to find a suitable stud locally?

[Swagman105]

Hi Ken.
Thanks for that suggestion.
I have a fully threaded M12 rod but find it difficult to tighten the two non rotatable female threads of the NEQ and tripod head together.
When I thread the rod through the female thread of the tripod head it pushes up on the mount slightly before it engages with its female thread. I just don't seem to be able to retighten this small amount of "push".
I notice that proprietary locking shafts of this type have a narrowed section between the upper and lower threads like the attached image but I have not seen anywhere where I could readily buy one of the right dimensions like these.
I'll go down to National Nuts and Bolts with my measurements tomorrow and ask.

[Swagman105]

Went to National Bolts today and picked up some stainless M12 threaded rod. Had to buy a metre of it for $20 but happy to have some spare. Cut off about 350 mm and just ground off a section of thread to prevent the rod engaging two female threads at the same time. Works a treat with the leg spacer and holding knob and the mount seems solid as a rock on the tripod.
Thanks for the clue Ken, was a really easy job in the end.
I’ll leave the ad in place for a while just to see if anyone has an original to spare mainly for cosmetics only.