A Cheap Temporary Fix...
Folks,
I have a Flex 940 that is about 8 years old, and one of my ConeLock clamp bases stripped out and would no longer lock down. In an attempt to fix it, I tried to disassemble the clamp to figure out which part needed to be replaced. As I was doing this, I found that the "channel nut" that fits into the slot on the base was locked/stripped into place and that I could not easily unscrew it. Using two lock grips, I tried to force it, and the entire bolt sheared in half!!! Here's an exploded view of the results:
I e-mailed Maxline/Eagnas to find out how much it would cost to replace the parts, but did not get a reply in a timely manner. Meanwhile, I really needed to string my racquets as I had broken the strings in all my personal frames and wanted to get back out on the court (without having to pay for a tennis store to string the racquets).
After reading through this thread, I made a short trip down to our local Lowe's Home Improvement store and purchased the following items:
- 138188 Metric Wing Nut 8MM-1.25 for $1.09
- 138144 Metric Flat Washers 8MM for $0.80
- 138129 Hex Head Bolt 8MM-1.24X50MM for $0.92
- 138182 Metric Hex Nuts 8MM (5) for $0.76
The total spend was $3.86 with tax.
When I got home, I used some WD40 and lock grips to get the old "channel nut" off of the broken bolt. I then used the new bolt, 2 of the new washers, 2 of the new nuts, the old swivel base, the 4 old top washers, and the new wing nut to reassemle the base. Here is a view of what I put together and how it looks assembled:
The new mechanism now clamps on and off by a simple turn of the wing nut and seems to work fine. I've strung 2 racquets since trying this and the base locks down like it should.
To note, I only string about 25 or 30 frames per year, so I don't heavily use the machine and I don't care about speed when stringing. I do look at this as a temporary solution until I can do a more permanent one that might work better. If I was stringing professionally, perhaps the wing nut would not be fun or efficient to use. However, it sure was cheap, and I thought I share in case someone else runs into a similar jam.