Larger Knobs and Thumbscrews on the WE130
- This topic has 22 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 08/10/2019 at 4:47 pm by
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Ed: I used stainless mainly because all the prior mods were SS and it just looked better.
I’m sure WE could make the same stuff for a lot less cost and less time for sure. They’ve obviously got at least one good machine job shop at their beck and call.
I just made a new pair of ball joint/adjustment screws to replace one that got some grit in the joint and tightened up on me. I found the ball joints (called Heim joints in automotive and farm equipment) at a local Fleet Farm in their nuts/bolts/washers and similar shit department. They were under $8 each. I cut two pieces of the threaded rod with a hacksaw, cut off 1/2″ from each ball joint with the hacksaw and epoxied them together. Took maybe 20 minutes, including filing the set screw flats, but then, I’ve got all the tools and had done it several times before.
BTW, I took the bad ball joint out and tried to free it up. I think some grit or filings got into the joint and caused it to (nearly) seize up. I worked it back and forth a few times, then chucked the screw end up in a cordless drill and let it spin for a half minute or so. It now seems to be free-turning again.
Fleet Farm is a chain of stores around Wis and Minn which carries everything from candy to automotive to penicillin for horses. Outdoor, tools, paint, pumps, garage door openers, you name it. We call it “the men’s mall.” Good prices, too.
Tom,
The “Heim” joints I get from Mcmaster-Carr are cheaper but the shipping cost probably makes them comparable to Fleet Farm.
What I’ve found is that the joints have a small hole in the bottom of the threaded part that is open down to the swivel ball. So, I take the time to wrap the outside of the ball joint with paper towel and tape it tight. Then push some down into the threaded part before I start cutting and sanding. Even with that precaution, I’ve had to throw two away because the ball bound up when rotated. They might have been bad from the factory.
Ed K.
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Tom, not my light, picture owner’s light. Ed K., the adjusters are working great.
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I can tell you, that lubricant is the bee’s kneez! (trying to keep it clean, here folks)
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The attached picture show’s Ed Kenny’s adjusters. It’s not my setup, and I don’t remember where I grabbed the picture, I think that I was looking at something from one of Dale postings, which led to this picture. So, I give credit to whomever’s setup I’m showing. I can say that using Ed’s adjusters, once I’m locked in, nothing has loosened or changed.
Me too, me too! I received the “Ed K. adjusters” a couple of days ago and they are great! Thank you Ed for making them and thank you tcmeyer for sharing the mod! I wasn’t expecting the ratcheting doodads but many thanks for them, they are a great help. I also have the stone bumpers from airscape, all I lack now is a set of 50/80 (just in case I need them) and time to practice.
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