Steven,
Yes it was your post. I see the washers mounted on either side of the pin through the bottom of the rod to take up slop. This is similar to what was done with the modified rods that I got from Clay. The piece I was talking about … from what I can see in the pic looks like a fiber washer that the rod itself goes through. The thing that is below the zip tie on the rod just above the flat part of the rod. It is brown in color and looks like you just slid it down over the rod and then put a zip tie above it to hold the straw.
Not sure why I am having difficulty describing it, but maybe you understand from this..
Ah! The rubber washer. I put it there so when I fumble the stone it drops onto the washer and does not damage the stone. I guess it does shield the joint a little as well. I got them at Sears.
I know this is a vastly inferior product but I thought the nylon bushing or the way it is held maybe you can use a similar method to hold the end rod bearing. Check out 2 min 30 secs. for how the bushing is held
I have a question for the group, though I swear it has been posted somewhere on the forums before, I can’t find it.
What is the proper size replacent screw for the base of the rod assembly where it slide on the square part with degree markings.
I took the original over to Home depot and could not get it to thread into any of their gauges. 10X32 and the M5 .8 were the closest. I brought both home and the metric one seems to fit the best. That doesn’t seem right. The 10X32 also fit, but seem pretty loose.
Thanks.
Both sets of screws that I bought work. Both when screwed in partialy have a bunch of slop axially in any direction until they are snug. But, they work OK with minimal pressure. They just don’t thread in properly.
I figured out a work around. I have two sets of arms. One stock and one that the nice folks at WEPS modded for me. I took one set of the knurled screws and just filed the ends flat. I ran them into a 10 X 32 die to make the starting threads good. That is it. Original screws that work for fine adjustments.
I can tighten them by hand, and the adjustment is not going anywhere. Much better than using the pointed screws on the back side of the square adjustment bar… and, I don’t have to reach over the device to tightens them. For some reason, still would like to know why, they thread in much better, with less slop, than either of the hardware store replacements.
Clay, when you have time, can you confirm the actual size and thread of the original screws??
I have a milling machine so I made new arms out of 1/4" drill rod. Fits much more snugly into the stones which are about .255 ID. The arms that came with the machine are .235 or so. I machined the width of the bottom tongue to fit very snugly into the u-joint and eliminated just about all the movement. Took me about an hour using a collet block to get the faces parallel.
[quote quote=“Billabong” post=7264]Just thought I would bump this thread as cbwx34 thinks this was never an issue and I am only one of a few with this problem.
I also failed to see where CBW said that… what he said was
[quote]I think because a few we’re pretty vocal about the pins, it was perceived as a problem that needed replacing. I’m not sure of the numbers, but I’m guessing that if it was a large number it would be replaced, if for no other reason than it would quickly become time consuming and costly to replace a large number after they’re sent.[/quote]
he said a “few were pretty vocal about the issue,” not that only a few had the problem. He said that he was not sure of the numbers…
I posted on this thread a while back and have had my WE for around a year now… I am well aware of the issues that it had back then. I modded mine to suit my needs/desires, and since then, Clay and the team at WE have only made it better. The ball joint upgrade option is one example of this. They jumped right on the issue when my vise bent, and sent a new one out without me sending in my bent one first. If you have a problem w/ the way WE did something, call them and work it out. I know first hand they will work with you and make it right…
So, the consistency issues are being worked out continually… but most never need the upgraded ball joint arms. Like Philip posted from Bob Nash, unless you are sharpening straight razors and OCD you don’t need it =) I sharpen straights w/ my old joints and they are fine.
Now that this thread is thoroughly disrailed :lol:
[quote quote=“JerryStephenson” post=3443]Took me about an hour using a collet block to get the faces parallel.
–Jerry[/quote]
Hi Jerry, that’s the bit I still have an issue with.
It’s great to see you sorted it out.
This thread is a great read and shows how a community all pitched in to deal with it.
[quote quote=“JerryStephenson” post=7297]I have now used my replaced arms (see post previous page) for several months with great success. The improvements I made are:
Diameter better matches the holes through the stones.
Thickness of flat section matches the inside dimension of the u-joint.
Hole in flat exactly matches the pin.
My arms are perhaps 1/2" longer. No big deal. One member requested them 2" longer.
I have recieved some private messages and made sets for other members. If you are interested, drop me a note.
–Jerry[/quote]
Thanks Jerry, I wonder if going a touch thicker than 1/4" for the rod is possible?
I guess it would not be a shelf item.
As for the larger diameter rods, I did a quick search for metric and decimal sizes in the .255" range and found nothing. The .250 seems to work pretty well. If you can find the stock I can make arms out of it.
Taking 5/16 and turning it down to .255 would be a lot of work and difficult because the rod isn’t that stiff over the full length.
As for the larger diameter rods, I did a quick search for metric and decimal sizes in the .255" range and found nothing. The .250 seems to work pretty well. If you can find the stock I can make arms out of it.
Taking 5/16 and turning it down to .255 would be a lot of work and difficult because the rod isn’t that stiff over the full length.
–Jerry[/quote]
The 1/4" (.250) rods do work well, it’s just when the stones slide higher and the amount of rod left inside the paddle is minimal, things get wobbly.
That’s why I want to try longer arms, is there any reason why they are the current length?
Taking 5/16 and turning it down to .255 would be a lot of work and difficult because the rod isn’t that stiff over the full length.
–Jerry[/quote]
About the only way I can think of to do it without bending would entail drawing it through a die, not very cost effective as a solution…or if you have a 2 chuck metal lathe where you could work just a small portion of the rod, but that throws a bunch of other issues into the mix…
I don’t see anything simple or anything nearly as elegant as Chris’s ball mod is.
I know there’s options on a metal lathe I don’t have on a wood lathe so I will leave it to the experts and stop playing armchair machinist. lol
I guess my point was only to reiterate effort versus reward and diminishing return. I can understand if you’re stacking tolerances but with the new arms that five thousandths is really the only slack and that is mitigated by the rod length so until you are almost completely off the rod, it’s maybe half that or less? So, in reality, what are we talking degree-wise?
That’s a real question, I’m trying to see where it becomes completely cost prohibitive for that last .1 degree…
