Bent Drop Weight Bar
 

So the other day I was stringing with my Klippermate when I was pulling a cross string that slipped causing the drop weight bar to slam down on the frame of my stringer stand.

The force of the impact slightly bent my drop weight bar (I would say 3-4 degrees). I was about 3/4 done stringing the racquet so I just finished up with no real problems.

I immediately called Klippermate to order another bar. The gentleman who spoke with me on the phone was kinda shocked that I told him the bar was bent and he said that no one ever called about that before.

He asked me how bad the bend was and if I could still move the drop weight up and down the bar. I told him the bend was 3-4 degrees and the drop weight moved up and down the bar with no resistance. The rep told me that I did not need to order another bar and would be just fine with my bar even though it had a small bend in it.

I asked him if it would change the tension weight and he insisted it would not and I had nothing to worry about. So at the time I took his advice and did not order another bar.

Does anyone have a opinion on this or maybe a similar experience to share with me? Even though my stringer still functions just fine I now have this small distraction in my mind that I need to order another bar.

Cos(deg) is how far you are theoretically off. 3 deg is 99.86% of desired reference tension. 4 deg is 99.76% of desired reference tension. IOW, you ain't that far off.

If you are concerned it is off measure it, then no one has to give you opinions which may or may not be accurate.

I would insist on a replacement since it does have a lifetime warranty.

What makes the drop weight pull at a certain tension is the weight being a certain distance from the pivot. A slight bend, so slight that you can still move the weight freely, should have very little effect on that distance and therefore should still work fine.

However, if you are still worried follow Irvins advice.

here's klipper's warranty policy from the website. it covers defects. unfortunately OP's drop bar bending is not the result of a mfg defect so does not qualify for warranty replacement.

10. What does the lifetime guarantee cover?

Our guarantee protects you for a lifetime from any defect in parts and workmanship on the entire machine. This guarantee also includes the clamps and stringing tools that come with the Klippermate.

Thanks for the input everyone i will just keep using my bent drop bar.

I dont want to try and claim a warranty since i did the damage and know it had nothing to do with the quality of the unit.

I learned the hard way not to try and go to fast.

Can you remove the bar from the machine?

I might try wrapping the bar in a cloth or whatever would protect it, and then putting it in a vice and using a pipe over the bar to bend it back to straight again.

A little bit at a time and you might get it back to where you don't notice a difference at all.

If it bothers you, I'm sure a new bar would be very inexpensive, just purchase a new bar and be done with it.

I was thinking if it were bend on one end, flip it around. Or turn it 90 degrees so it would still be straight at the horizontal position.

lifetime warranty does not imply you dropping and breaking something. it implies an issue from the manufacturer for the lifetime of the product.

yeah, mad dog1 already said that. :confused:

I just thought of something. What about a design flaw? There should have been some type of stop to keep the bar from falling past a certain point. Also if a weld were to break on the tensioner mount and cause the subsequent failure, that would be considered manufacturing defect. If something where to built to last a lifetime, then it should last a lifetime, no matter of wear and tear.

Well i guess you might have a point, LOL.