The ULTIMATE DIY Nemesis switch fix —clone or original, common household tools!

ForeverDiving;13785360 said:

Premise: ALL Nemesis switches are crunchy. It's a design issue.
Reason: There are four surfaces that slide one against another and cause friction and sticking.
Solution: Eliminate those friction areas as much as possible.
Procedure:

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The Nemesis switch consists of seven parts in two groups.

From the bottom up:

1. Button and Post.
2. Small Spring.
3. Large Spring.
4. Rice Pin.
5. Brass Thread.
6. Delrin Isolator Ring.
7. Contact/Fix Silver Screw.
Note: Some types may have only one spring (#3) and not have #2.

The first thing you may want to consider is to get rid of the springs and upgrade your switch to magnets. You can find them, among other places in fasttech, Kidney Puncher and Fat Daddy Vapes. The KP and FDV are reputedly better, I use the FT ones because they work, are cheap and come in lots of 10. They (all) are fragile!

If you do, you will introduce an extra source of friction but since you will have to deal with others, you might as well opt for it. It's very worthwhile.

Now, prepare a clean uncluttered area, preferably a table and have a plate or bowl to keep the loose pieces from getting lost.

Disassembly of the Switch:

Remove the switch from the mod. Place bottom down on the table and press the Delrin Isolator down. Unscrew the silver Contact Screw. If it's stuck, use some small pliers, needlenose work fine. Take extreme care not to let the top assembly spring up. You will lose your rice pin!. Keeping pressure on the Delrin Isolator slowly remove it from the bottom assembly keeping attention to the whereabouts of the rice pin.

Separate all the pieces an place them on your plate or bowl. Now is the time to clean them thoroughly with a toothbrush and soapy water. Dry them on a paper towel.

The pieces that cause the sticking and crunchiness are:

1. The Center Post which is part of the Button and is the main piece of the bottom assembly. On this piece rest the spring(s) (1 or 2). Remove the springs. If you are going to use magnets, place them where you can find them just in case.
2. The Rice Pin.
3. The inside of the Brass Thread.
4. The Top Magnet.

First we will bevel, chamfer or round some corners. We want to that now before we get to the polishing part. These are:


a) The lower inside rim of the Brass Thread. We need to kill the right angle of it and convert it to a 45° bevel or round surface. The easiest way to do this is with some fine sandpaper and your pinky. Wrap some 1000~2000 grit sandpaper or curve a cardboard nail file lengthwise over the edge of a table (much coarser, not the best solution) and use it to create a small degradation of the sharp edge.

b) The inner edges of the Top Magnet. Using your sandpaper or nail file, you need to kill the sharp inner edges of the Top Magnet where they slide against the Center Post. Just a tiny bit is necessary; remember they're very fragile. Don't drop it! (a good reason to get the 10x lot from FT). If you get them from FT, don't try to separate them with a knife, you will break them!!!.

First, mark the surface facing top with a sharpie. You will need that mark later. Now, with your fingernail push the topmost magnet sideways until you can pinch it between your fingers and pull it sideways. Now again mark the now topmost magnet with your sharpie and slide two of them off the same way. Place them far from the first! Save away the rest.

c) The edges and seat of the Rice Pin Channel of the Center Post. Look at it closely, preferably with a magnifier ald look for sharp edges and burrs. The rice pin slides against this channel. At the bottom of this channel there may be some extra metal that won't let the magnets slide down. Check the area and also sand down with your sandpaper or nail file. The magnets must be able to rest against the inside of the Switch button.

Now the polishing part. Plenty of elbow grease.

a) The perimeter of the Center Post. If you have a Dremel tool you also should have a small buffing wheel. Use polishing compound and the wheel at the lowest speed setting of the tool (if graduable) until you get a high shine. If all you have are yur hands, don't dispair. Use first a 1000 grit piece of sandpaper and then go to 2000 and posibly higher, depending how much you want to remove friction.

b) The Rice Pin Channel itself. Use a paper clip wrapped in high grit sandpaper (2000).

c) The inside of the Brass Thread piece. This being brass is very easy to do. Wrap a pencil in your sandpaper and tape it top and bottom so it doesn't turn nor slides. Place inside the Brass Thread and turn between your fingers applying at the same time a see-saw motion. It should come shiny in a couple of minutes.

Now, lets lubricate.

I've tried everything... Grease of half a dozen types, oil, talcum powder... The best results are from graphite or lead powder. A simple pencil tip does it! Just rub it against the sliding surfaces (Center Post, Rice Pin Channel, Inner circumference of Top Magnet and Inner side of Brass Thread).

Now you are ready to assemble the switch.

First slide the two Bottom Magnets over the Center Post with the sharpie mark facing up.
Next slide the Top Magnet down the post but with the mark facing down. Hold it with your fingers or it will go flying over your head and break.
Now slide the Brass Thread over the Top Magnet with the Delrin facing up. Keep the whole assembly pressed down. Turn the Brass Thread and align its channel with the one on the post.
Pick the Rice Pin between your fingers, or use a pair of tweezers if you find that easier, and slide it on the hole formed by the channels. Keep pressing the whole assembly down.
And finally screw down the Contact Screw and tighten fast. Use some needlenose plyers if needed.

Things to check before and after:

While you have thole switch disassembled, screw the Contact Screw on its thread at the b and check it goes down flush with the top of the Post. If it doesn't, file away some metal from the tip. Place the Rice Pin at the Channel and see it doesn't protrude from the top of the post. If it does, also shorten it. It must let the Center Screw tighten against the top of the Post.

When you finally screw the fixed and assembled Switch on the Mod, check if the inside of the button rubs against the Mod. In that case, take it down and sand the sharp inside circle of the button so it doesn't catch against the outside of the Mod.

That's all folks! You should now have a butter smooth Nemesis Switch that will make the envy of StingRay Magneto and Tree of Life owners!

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