[Ron Ramirez]

An easy way to overcome the problem of needing a long shaft on a potentiometer or rotary switch is to use a 1/4" shaft coupling and a long shaft.

I bought some shaft couplings on eBay some months back, and I've also seen 1/4" round brass stock on there as well.

I think these are the couplings I bought, but I also think the price has gone up since I bought mine:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251377224704

Be careful if you buy 1/4" brass rods. I bought an aluminum rod from Home Depot that was supposed to be 1/4 inch. It wasn't - it was just slightly larger than 1/4 inch, and would not fit into my shaft coupling. I ended up having to cut a shaft off an old control.

But if you're replacing an old worn out control with a long shaft, you can cut that shaft and re-use it, with the coupling, to make the shaft long enough.