DIY diamond coating of worn-out clamps

M

mountanddo

New User
Since people are asking, I will post here. I just diamond-coated my worn-out clamps myself, it worked out fine.
What you need:
1200 crit diamond powder, 1200 is very fine, should have used a little coarser crit. About $8 for a small bottle.
brush-on super glue
fine brush (tips: look into your wife's make-up box to steal one, those are the finest brushes and perfect for diamond coating)

It is very simple, clean up the clamp surface, brush on a thin layer superglue, then spread on a layer of the diamond powder using the fine brush, wait for 24 hrs, it grips the string like new, mine is still working great after a few stringing jobs, and not sure if it can last a few hundred jobs.
2wlwtqd.jpg
 
Radicalized

Radicalized

Professional
I don't need to do mine, but I've thought about that. The adhesive is the big issue. Various industries use over 1,500 tons of diamond a year. Over 99% is lab grown. Some of that is powder for various purposes.
 
Chotobaka

Chotobaka

Hall of Fame
Great post. I have to believe the original diamond-dusting of the clamps cannot conceptually differ too much from this process. You mention that 1200 might be too fine, what grit would you recommend using?
 
pasky76

pasky76

New User
Radicalized said:
I don't need to do mine, but I've thought about that. The adhesive is the big issue. Various industries use over 1,500 tons of diamond a year. Over 99% is lab grown. Some of that is powder for various purposes.
Click to expand...

Nice post, what type of glue did you use?
 
esgee48

esgee48

G.O.A.T.
[1] Post says Super Glue, though not sure of brand.
[2] Did wife notice missing brush or did you replace it before she noticed? [No need to answer :D]
 
C

chet

New User
mountanddo said:
Since people are asking, I will post here. I just diamond-coated my worn-out clamps myself, it worked out fine.
What you need:
1200 crit diamond powder, 1200 is very fine, should have used a little coarser crit. About $8 for a small bottle.
brush-on super glue
fine brush (tips: look into your wife's make-up box to steal one, those are the finest brushes and perfect for diamond coating)

It is very simple, clean up the clamp surface, brush on a thin layer superglue, then spread on a layer of the diamond powder using the fine brush, wait for 24 hrs, it grips the string like new, mine is still working great after a few stringing jobs, and not sure if it can last a few hundred jobs.
2wlwtqd.jpg
Click to expand...
Can you provide more information on Diamond Powder ... where did you get this from ? i ordered diamond powder from Fleabay and the thing came from china.. and it smelled like pond's baby powder... so I want to know the right term ..or if you can tell me where u ordered it from.

thanks
 
eagle

eagle

Hall of Fame
The jungle store has them. Different grit available from two vendors. Search for Grit Diamond Powder
 
P

ppt3

New User
mountanddo said:
Since people are asking, I will post here. I just diamond-coated my worn-out clamps myself, it worked out fine.
What you need:
1200 crit diamond powder, 1200 is very fine, should have used a little coarser crit. About $8 for a small bottle.
brush-on super glue
fine brush (tips: look into your wife's make-up box to steal one, those are the finest brushes and perfect for diamond coating)

It is very simple, clean up the clamp surface, brush on a thin layer superglue, then spread on a layer of the diamond powder using the fine brush, wait for 24 hrs, it grips the string like new, mine is still working great after a few stringing jobs, and not sure if it can last a few hundred jobs.
Click to expand...

It has been a while, how is the diamond powder hold up? Do you still think 1200 is too fine? I am thinking about get some for mine, will 1000 be better?
Thanks.
 
B

Babble alot

New User
How did the diamond coat work out long term? Does it have to be diamond dust. Wouldn't Aluminum oxide be hard enough and much cheaper? I have the Ektelon 7208-0500 clamps. I am thinking of trying to coat them with AlOx 1200 grit particles with Cyanoacrylate (Harbor Freight super glue) and another trial with epoxy. Any thoughts on those combinations? Can anyone tell me how to disassemble the clamps to make it easier to control the coating?
 
Folsom_Stringer_Musa

Folsom_Stringer_Musa

Professional
Babble alot said:
Wouldn't Aluminum oxide be hard enough and much cheaper?
Click to expand...
This may worn out faster.

Babble alot said:
I am thinking of trying to coat them with AlOx 1200 grit particles with Cyanoacrylate (Harbor Freight super glue) and another trial with epoxy.
Click to expand...
I am interested to see the result.

Babble alot said:
Any thoughts on those combinations?
Click to expand...
These are good combinations. I would try JB Weld Epoxy - 2 part solution.
You can do one for each clamp. Make sure you have backup clamps just in case.

Babble alot said:
Can anyone tell me how to disassemble the clamps to make it easier to control the coating?
Click to expand...
I am not sure what clamps you have. All clamps I have are very easy to disassemble and put it back together except the KMate.
Are there any thumb knob behind the clamp?
 
B

Babble alot

New User
I used some 1000 grit Aluminum oxide from a rock tumbling kit. I saturated the end of a q-tip with Harbor Freight Super Glue and "painted" it between the jaws of my Ektelon clamps. I then put a dry q-tip end into the AlOx and dusted it onto the Super Glue. I let it sit 24 hours to cure before using the clamps. It worked great! I can only say qualitatively that the clamps were not as tight on the strings as I have done in the past (and there was no crushing or ghosting on this 16ga poly string, Tourna Big Hitter Silver strung at 53). I had no slippage and there was no abrasion to the string.

To find the failure point, I moved the tension up to 60# and did a direct pull (clamp to tension head, no racket). The string slipped. I tightened the clamp and it held at 60#, but failed at 65#. There was slight ghosting of the string at 65#. I found this to be very acceptable results since I can't imagine stringing a stiff/slick poly that high. Looking at the jaws after the failure, it appeared some of the AlOx had been removed. This would indicate that the super glue had failed to hold.

My next experiment will probably be to try to add another coating of the super glue and then dusting the AlOx on the clamps as they are. After that maybe take a look at 2-part epoxy as the binder. Also I have some 600 grit Silicon Carbide that I may try. Then maybe a 50/50 volume mixture of the AlOx and SiC just for fun.
 
I

Injured Again

Hall of Fame
Following this thread with interest. My clamps on my Gamma X-ST from about 2005 have a groove worn into the base of the diamond coating area where it clamps the main strings. It still works but I have to use more clamp pressure, or offset the string a bit so I clamp using the surface a bit higher towards the tip.

Would love to find a solution that works for at least a couple of hundred fuss-free string jobs.
 
B

Babble alot

New User
As an update. I re-coated the clamps with another application of Super Glue and 1000 grit AlOx. Holding strings well after 6 string jobs without having to crush the strings.
 
TimePlease

TimePlease

Semi-Pro
I tried the above method using 800-1000 grit diamond powder that I sourced from an Indian supplier on the Bay. It was a slightly green colour.

I then used regular superglue, poured an ample amount of the powder over it and left it to dry for 24 hours. At first the new coating seemed excellent and I was very impressed, but it hasn't lasted long. After about 10 string jobs, now soft strings are beginning to slip at high tension (over 55lbs) and I can see a groove where the strings have presumably pulled the coating loose. It looks like (a) the superglue wasn't strong enough, and/or (b) the diamond particles are too fine (it is such a fine, soft dust almost like white flour and I can't see where the abrasion is coming from).

I have a friend who happens to work in a diamond manufacturing company and from learning from her, I now see that there are many different types of diamond powders for various industrial applications. Different shapes, coatings, temperature resistance, etc. So I'm now wondering if the type that I bought was unsuitable. It seems way too soft and much finer than the rough, gritty diamond coating that was on my clamps in the first place, which felt more like sandpaper.

I'm going to try to get some samples from my friend of larger size particles (less than 800 grit) but I also think the glue was a problem so I might try epoxy as others have mentioned.

It would be good to hear the thoughts of others who are still doing this.
 
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