[jackdoud]

so the all knowing jack is there any otehr switches out there resembling the original?

If you don't want exact then pretty much any industrial switch would do. I don't really know how to answer your question?

[Cosmic-Riptide]

Thanks a million for the info jackdoud, mine came in the mail just the other day.

It looks like that in order to make the button itself screen accurate you have to unscrew the bottom ring, remove the rubber washer (otherwise the ring won't sit low enough, plus it doesn't seem to be there on-screen), and then reattach the ring upside-down.

The part that's throwing me is that on Janine's button, there appears to be a hole where the little metal peg, that keeps the rubber washer from spinning, should be. I was hoping that the peg was a separately machined part that could be removed but it appears to be molded to the base on mine.

Even more strange it that the peg on my button is chromed, where as yours appears to be brass. I'm not sure if the chrome coating has worn off on yours, or if I have a variant.

[jackdoud]

I was hoping that the peg was a separately machined part that could be removed but it appears to be molded to the base on mine.

That's how mine is, should be able to just pop it out. I'm guessing you have a variant.

[jros3484]

Same here... mines brass

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

[Cosmic-Riptide]

That's how mine is, should be able to just pop it out. I'm guessing you have a variant.

Yup, its a variant. I was hoping that the chrome peg was a separate piece after all, that was just attached very snuggly, but it was in fact molded to the base and I ended up chewing it up pretty badly with a pair of pliers.

I decided to cut it off with a hacksaw, which went surprisingly well, but it left a sharp nib. So I tried to carefully file that down... which ended up scuffing up the base of the button pretty badly.

At a later date I'm going to see if I can bore out the hole with a drill and polish up the base again with a Dremel (it doesn't appear to be chrome plated after all, but the same color metal all the way through).

Oh well, I guess someone has to experiment with these things to save others from the hassle.

[XxEctOxX]

i never noticed this thread. Last year while on my trip to mexico i was boarding a plane and spotted a similar switch... sorry for the blurry picture. And great find jack!

[jackdoud]

So I was poking through one of my local thrift stores today and came across this:





It's a little large but for $1 I'm not complaning. Amazon has similar retractable clotheslines for about $10. Now I just have to clean off the stickers and mount the switch.

[AJ Quick]

That looks pretty good!

It actually reminds me more of a light fixture base now. I'll have to do some looking around and see what I can find.

[Kingpin]

Looking pretty sharp.

Has anyone found a better source than eBay? So far all of the closest matches have the inaccurate "half guard" on them, and a second closest match has a shipping price that'd be pricey if it turned out I couldn't convert it with the button of another switch.

[jros3484]

Jack... That looks pretty awesome man, great find. My switch is looking pretty lonely all alone on my desk... i might get one to keep it warm for a while until we find a closer match!

[Kingpin]

I decided to take the plunge and went for one of the half-guard variety. The button's actually surprisingly small in person, but that should work to my advantage as I plan to saw off the guard from the button housing... I'll update on my progress over the next few days.

It looks like I lucked out with the one I bought, as the brass-coloured peg is silver on mine. I may attempt to saw this piece off as well to make it more screen accurate. I also plan to glue the washer in place so that the holes in the washer and button housing line up.

[Kingpin]

The near-end result of about a hour's work today:



Here's the breakdown of the button build

[Boomerjinks]

The pencils make this shot.

There NOT enough love for this little part of the movie.

[FeinDTacticS]

The base closely resembles a part of a urinal. The portion where the pipe goes from the top of the urinal into the wall...usually there's a metal "dome" covering the connection area.

Wow. I was just going to suggest that!

ditto........sheesh.... we spend way too much time at the urinals haha

[onlyalad19]

Great work finding the right parts. It truly is amazing to see the community effort. Well done Jack... as always.

[Letmebleed75]

The pencils make this shot.

There NOT enough love for this little part of the movie.

agreed

[adsfuse]

FIrst of all, very awesome prop. If I weren't already invested in three packs that are just piles of parts or somewhere in the US postal service, I would probably try and put something like this together.

For those of you that are looking to do this though, I found a website that is selling two of the original switches:

http://www.plccenter.com/Shop/GROUPE%20 ... leShopping

[gdonovan]

Just an FYI- I work in a hospital setting and the base looks like a dead ringer for a wall mounted door stop with the rubber bumper missing. Might do if looking for a cheap base.



Here is one from a random scan through ebay listings, lots of different styles out there.

[AJ Quick]

Just an FYI- I work in a hospital setting and the base looks like a dead ringer for a wall mounted door stop with the rubber bumper missing. Might do if looking for a cheap base.



Here is one from a random scan through ebay listings, lots of different styles out there.

Wayyyy too small.

Sent from my HTC Glacier using Ghostbusters Fans on Android

[gdonovan]

How wide is the base?

[Mr. D.]

Just an FYI- I work in a hospital setting and the base looks like a dead ringer for a wall mounted door stop with the rubber bumper missing. Might do if looking for a cheap base.



Here is one from a random scan through ebay listings, lots of different styles out there.

Wayyyy too small.

Sent from my HTC Glacier using Ghostbusters Fans on Android

And not "domed" enough.

[gdonovan]

As I stated, the one shown was a random image plucked from Ebay.

There are a large number of sizes and styles to choose from if one wished to research a bit.

[bnkpro]

Just found one on Ebay.
$25.00 for the switch....... and $190.00 for shipping to Australia!!!!!!???????

[Carpeteria]

Sounds worth it to me.

[Alex Newborn]

Sorry to necro-post-- again-- but this thread has been one of my guides about this part, and having finally received one in the mail today, I was consulting it to see Cosmic-Riptide's explanation of removing the rubber washer and the metal peg.



Originally, I was going to suggest that they had simply painted the rubber washer silver, but after playing with the images of mine and the frame from the movie, I have been won over by his analysis of the pixels. Removing the rubber washer is the only way to get the holes to line up correctly without the indented words being in the wrong position, even though it will need some glue to stay in that postion.

Does the one I bought look like the peg will pull out? I don't want to have to cut. Hopefully tomorrow I will locate my needle-nose pliers and give it a try.

Alex

[ramcuda]

Alex

you got the button ..... just pull out the brass pin and your good ....and to mount that button you will need to drill out holes in the CL cover ... make sure you center the button .. later when you get the switch part you only need to drill an offset hole ..


great start !

if you need any help

[Alex Newborn]

Hopefully tomorrow I will locate my needle-nose pliers and give it a try.

Well, that wasn't such a chore now, was it?

Alex

[ramcuda]

wow maybe dental school in your future ????????

[westies14]

As a standalone piece, the base is called an "escutcheon." If you've scaled a proper diameter and height for it, you can likely find a perfect one by searching for a chrome "bell" or "cup" escutcheon: