OK..It's snowing (another foot) again on Cape Cod. so, with nothing to do...I upgraded my $99 Blakeslee Ctg Box. I just got.
If you look at the original, it has a metal lip around the end of each tube. Protects it and makes it easier to grab.
How to do it?
I went to the hardware store, and in the electrical dept. I found a part, made of a non ferrous metal, easy to work and
cut, and I bought two at .99 each. two bucks... nice, but don't solder it...it may be too soft.
I cut a 1/8 or so slice piece of each, six in total ...(cut them bigger so you have some to work with) fit , sanded and filed and got them to fit the end of the tubes very tightly, easy because they're a close fit anyway, and then epoxied them in place. sand the tube and ring so epoxy had a clean rough service to grab.
tricks..... get a copper plumbing end as pictured to make it easy to sand, and make a wooden plug or use a pair of needle nose pliers to push in and round off before the glue sets. You want the inside to be a tight fits to the rim you just made, and smooth so the bullets slide in. The electrical part is the perfect size. (bring a tube with you).
Next, to keep the belt in place, as per the originals, I used an old black belt (It shrunk in the closet and doesn't fit anymore!)
and cut and saddle-stitched two belt type loops to keep the strap tight.
When the epoxy is dry, and during the next snowstorm...Monday...I'll hand sand and made them look nice and smooth and polished. Remember, epoxy does NOT like heat... so go slow.
(Photos Posted by Two Flints)
Good luck....Ken