Did I break my Bug? Issue seems to be resolved

Two possibilities:

The more painless:  If you cranked down on the thing, you may have actually backed out the threaded stud from the base-plate.   Disassemble the tool and examine the threaded stud.   If the stud appears to have been backed out(vertical grooves appear),  tap it lightly with a hammer to reseat it.   Perhaps add a touch of thread-lock or superglue before you do tap it down.  Resolve to never tighten the tool that much again.

The more painful:  You have warped the head.  Disassemble the tool and place the head on a flat surface.  Are the teeth flat on the surface?  Is it the same all around?  Can you tighten the tool to clamp PE using  the opposite side?.   If the head is warped, contact the manufacturer.  Claim stupidity, but be truthful in telling them what happened.  Ask about a replacement head.  Resolve to not overtighten the tool again.

My guess if anything stripped would be the brass insert in the knob. As that will be your weakspot.  

On mine the stud is threaded in the base not pressed - overtightening it would just draw it deeper into the base.

Thanks for the advice, gang.  When I get a chance tomorrow, I'll disassemble the parts and put them on a flat surface and check for warpage.

Gee, thanks Gerald .  I must admit, though - it's better than most of the nicknames I grew up with .

-Fred

Summit's diagnosis is good too.  I was at work and thinking about the construction of my H&F tools.   I didn't have one in front of me to verify the construction.

Following Summit's diagnosis, check the brass insert in the knob.   If it is stripped or slipped,  you can get a replacement knob locally at the local hardware store.   My local Lowes & Ace stores have bins of parts in the nut & bolt aisle, including threaded knobs.  Take the Bug with you to check the fit of the knob on the stud.

I had a neighbor when I was stationed at Grissom AFB who was an AGE mechanic. His nickname was Torquehead. He was constantly breaking off bolt heads by over tighting them. They finally took him out of the shop and made him a line driver, it was costing serious manhours extracting the broken bolts from the equipment. He hated being a Flightline Farmer driving those AGE Tractors around towing lightalls and power carts. Eventually he was allowed to use tools again to fix things.

AGE=Aerospace Ground Equipment

Check with TSS, they might have a simple solution for you.

Yeah, after I make sure nothing else is out of whack, I'll drop them a line.  They actually sent me a PM asking me to email them - now that's good customer service.

-Fred

Gigatron wrote:

Yeah, after I make sure nothing else is out of whack, I'll drop them a line.  They actually sent me a PM asking me to email them - now that's good customer service. -Fred

Yes, I had a lady named Julie send me a private message when I said in another thread that the Bug was on sale, but out of stock. She let me know they were available again and still on sale. I wonder if she is the one who wrote the "Thank You" and put a cute little smiley face on my invoice? I also received an e-mail confirming the delivery of my order.

It's good to see a company offer this kind of customer service in a world where so many other companies are indifferent to their customers. Hats off to Kalama Precision Machine and The Small Shop!!!!!

Hey Jim, Julie is the person I have been dealing with, as well.

So, speaking to the revision of the thread title.  I decided to take the unit apart as I was going to check for warpage in either the top half, the bolt or the base.  I figure with a micrometer and a level, I should be able to find any discrepency in the tolerances.  So, I take off the top and bring my desk light in close so I can read the numbers off the micrometer.  As I do, I catch a strange glint off the underside of the piece.  Looking really closely I see something that's not part of the unit.  Using my fingernail, it's definitely a raised bump on the underside.  It doesn't brush off, so I break out the micro chisel.  It looks to be either a drop of dried CA or watch crystal cement.  How it can be either, under there, is beyond me.  Best I can figure, watch crystal cement gets to be like a hard rubber consitency when it dries.  Somehow, some of this cement made it's way under there.  Now, at under a 1/2mm square, I would never have seen it under normal conditions, but it was enough to throw off the tolerances.  As soon as I scraped it off, I check everything to make sure it was squared up and made a few PE test peices.  Works like new, again.

Now, in the meantime, my internet was down and I couldn't contact Julie at The Small Shop to let her know.  When I was finally able to get back on, I saw she had sent me an email.  She was going to ship a new unit on Friday morning and just asked that I send my unit back to them, for inspection.  I quickly sent an email explaining the situation.  I hope she get's it before she ships out the new unit.  All I can say is, that I am a customer for life.  That's how customer support should always work.

For those of you that think you may have an issue with the unit, itself, really give it a once over.  The machining tolerances are so tight, that an itty, bitty dab of dried glue was able to throw it out of whack.  I wish all of my tools had tolerances that tight.  I really wish our models had tolerances that tight - putty manufacturers would be out of business in a week .

So, a big thank you goes out to Julie and The Small Shop and to you guys for offereing suggestions for possible solutions.

-Fred

I'll bet your bug is well on it's way, if it's not there already. I'm sure Julie will appreciate your honesty and work something out. Just for curiosities sake, update us on what happens.

Amazing how this thread has become the Admiration Society for The Small Shop! Maybe other dealers will take note and see how customer service really works! 

Thankfully, she got the email before a replacement was sent, so all is right with the world (or at least, that very particular piece of it).

-Fred

Gigatron wrote:

Thankfully, she got the email before a replacement was sent, so all is right with the world (or at least, that very particular piece of it). -Fred

jimbot58 wrote:

I wonder if she is the one who wrote the "Thank You" and put a cute little smiley face on my invoice?

You had that on your invoice, too??!!  Man, I'll tell you what, this Small Shop really does know customer service - just little things to add a human touch that make you feel like 'part of the family'.  I'm hooked - I'll definately preferentially buy things from them in the future.

Good on ya, Small Shop!!

That is why I always try to buy hobby extras from the little cottage industries that pop up on these boards.

I have only had bad service from one, and that person turned out to be well known for his poor service, so it was my own fault.

Other than that one fellow, I have had multiple great experiences.  I have even benefited from advice and tips from fellows I have not even bought from 

Yet!