Any idea on how to fix a broken drop weight tensioner lever?

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danwang

New User
Yes, my friends. Sorry for the unintentional suspense after all the phenomenal support that poured in!
I was hoping to put it all together before reporting back and possibly show off my first strung racket. But my schedule didn't work out fast enough :))

So, my friend and I drilled through the remnant but still couldn't get it out. This was before the last couple of days of good suggestions. We ended up grinding it out with a pneumatic die grinder and digging the rest out with a seal pick. Not the best of method and we turned the round hole into a bit of an egg shape :)) But my friend wasn't patient enough to try other methods. As we were stressing over how we are going to grind down the rod end smoothly to fit it into the hole, I remembered another friend who used to be a machinist. It turned out this friend does have an old lathe. Problem solved!

Here is the tension rod . I still couldn't insert the picture directly from the laptop. Maybe I should try my smartphone.
 
esgee48

esgee48

Legend
The Caveman Brute Force method works, tho not elegant. I would probably just use a little Loctite , the version that can be removed, to hold the rod in place. All you have to do now is correct the markings on the rod to their ref tension by remarking or repositioning the label. Have fun with your new toy. :whistle:
 
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danwang

New User
esgee48 said:
The Caveman Brute Force method works, tho not elegant. I would probably just use a little Loctite , the version that can be removed, to hold the rod in place. All you have to do now is correct the markings on the rod to their ref tension by remarking or repositioning the label. Have fun with your new toy. :whistle:
Click to expand...
Yes, yes. I plan on using some blue Loctite. Now I hope it's going to be smooth sail from this point on, i.e., everything else is in working shape, though I may need to take care of some tiny cracks on the nylon outer frame adapters soon. I think JB Weld should work on nylon but it will look ugly on it.
 
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danwang

New User
dahcovixx said:
There should be a slot, move the bar from its resting spot til you see the screw. You need a new bar or your tension could be off. I have one here but gonna keep after seeing this :)

Plus if the bar breaks, the big weight will crack your floor or break your toe!!

Here is a pic of the slot

Click to expand...
Your machine must be a newer and improved model. Mine does not have the cut out groove to access the set screw to remove the tensioner rod. I had to take things apart to access the hex screw. My base is also not purple. Most importantly, my bar doesn't have the **** shown on yours -- it's a one solid piece. So I think I am safe here. I just need to buy a tension gauge or scale to recalibrate the tension scale. They don't have any parts any more, though someone said I could order a similar bar from a different manufacturer. But I think this will work. Will definitely be careful with that weight! Thank you!
 
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Humbi_HTX

Humbi_HTX

Rookie
@danwang when using the machine make sure to have something where the weight/rod would hit and stop in the event the string breaks. Usually drop weight machines will have a "stopper" screw/bolt near the pivot of the rod, to stop the rod from dropping when the string breaks but then you can break such stopper with an impact and is a pain to fix.

I use stool with a phone book or coffee can on top, if the string breaks the weight will drop and stop in the stool before the rod hits the stopper bolt.
 
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