Sunday, July 8, 2012

Tilt-Swivel Base Repair Trick

We were experimenting with one of our Tilt-Swivel bases. We use them in the Orbital Holding System and the Orbital Easel. But we came across a slight problem with one of them. Mind you, we have never heard of a customer having a problem, but at Grip-All Jaws we like to stay ahead of the curve.

The problem is, there is a little pressure disc inside that the clamping screw pushes against to keep the head tight. We found that if you unscrew the clamp too far and bounce the base around a bit, that pressure disc can slip out of place and the clamp won't tighten properly. We fix them here before we ship them out but if you ever notice that your clamping screw doesn't hold tight enough, you may have a "slipped disc". Also, the knob will tend to bind against the housing. At any rate, it's an easy fix you can do yourself. Here's how:
The first thing to do is take the base off the clamp board. Then take the screw knob all the way out.









  
Turn the unit upside down and remove the three screws that hold the retaining ring.

The ball falls right out and that's what we want.
With a 3/8 wrench, take off either of the acorn nuts that hold the ball together.
Separate the ball and there is the little offender - the pressure disc. If it hasn't fallen out all ready, take it out of the split clamp.
       

With the pressure disc removed, put a dollop of non-hardening adhesive in the corner of the split clamp. You don't need much. We use Liquid Nails Silicone Adhesive but you could use common rubber cement. But stay away from hardening glues like wood glues are Elmers.
You can't really see it that well, but the pressure disc is curved and you have to reinstall it with the curve up.
The last point is when you reinstall the retaining ring, make sure that the ridge around the edge is down and against the housing. This one is upside down to show the difference, this side goes down.

Then reassemble the whole thing and off you go. Happy carving!