Ideas for connecting two ship's wheels (4790b)

[ejred]

I want to mount two ship's wheels [4790b] together (supported by a bracket in-between them), in such a way that the two wheels are firmly connected and spin together--basically a secure pin-to-pin connection

The pin on the wheel is frictionless, so a joiner-round [62462] or something like that won't work.

Sticking a 3L bar [87994] into both the pins seems good, but then the whole assembly is bumped out another 1L, which is undesirable.

I tried one of the small pneumatic T's [4697b], with one end in each pin and the center bar sticking out, but the connection seems weak.

I could try cutting down a thin hose [75c03], but I cringe at the idea of damaging a lego, even in a good cause :)

Anyone have any clever ideas? Is this a solved problem? Thanks!

[62Bricks]

You don't mention whether the connection needs to be cylindrical without any protrusions from the center. If not, then any 1-brick wide piece with a pin hole would give you a fairly secure connection by inserting each pin halfway in. This is not a "legal" connection, since it holds the pin ends in compression. Here's an example with a 1x1 Technic brick.

You could also just flip the wheels around and use a cylindrical pin joiner on the studs:

[ejred]

Thanks! Needed to jog some new thinking--those both look promising.