Obsolete?????

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 8:19 pm

mbcabinetmaker wrote:http://www.mcmaster.com/#hairpin-clips/=fwotbw

No match there!

robinson46176 · Post by **robinson46176** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 6:59 am

The old saying is that "there is more than one way to skin a cat". While I have never tried to skin a cat I do always try to keep that approach in my thinking right along with the "KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle.
One thing I would maybe consider would be finding a similar but thicker clip to fit the same diameter and chuck up the cylinders and turn the grooves out wider to fit them. Whether it was done with a cutter bit in a metal lathe or using a file in a simpler turning set-up the most important part would be making sure that the top of the groove retains its original square shoulder. A rounded off corner there would ruin the holding power of the clip. The spring is always pushing the clip away from the lower shoulder so it is not really critical.

Thought two is a little more iffy but still a simple possibility. I didn't dismantle anything to check carefully but it is possible with a little planning to just drill the cylinder at or barely above the groove and simply put a regular cotter-pin through it to hold the spring down.
The factor to check carefully is if your casters ride against the top of the bore and where that is exactly in relation to the clip groove. I measured a new caster (bought from Shopsmith) stem and measured up from the stem base on one of my 510 casters and it looks like the top of the bore in the cylinder is at or just below the clip groove. My caster stems are 1.75 long and that also appears to be how high up on the cylinders the groove is. I would have to pull one to double check and that may even vary a little from one caster set to another depending on what SS was buying. Thinking about it I am not sure if there would be any problem with the top of the caster stem riding against a cotter running through the cylinder right at the top of the bore?
If you have the new "improved" caster set that rides on ball bearings at the bottom of the cylinder and has a shorter stem then it wouldn't matter if you put a cotter-pin through it at all.

Of course the best answer is to find a source of the original clips but there are other possibilities just in case you end up with a cat that needs skinning.

.

RobertTaylor · Post by **RobertTaylor** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:18 am

maybe an "E" clip would work?

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 9:40 am

JPG40504 wrote:No match there!

What specifications are you looking for that are not offered by McMasters.

robinson46176 · Post by **robinson46176** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 10:12 am

dusty wrote:What specifications are you looking for that are not offered by McMasters.

I suspect the biggest limitation is that the groove is extremely narrow. I have a good number of "C" clips and "E" clips and other misc. retainers but nothing that thin in anything but tiny diameters.

.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 5:29 pm

dusty wrote:What specifications are you looking for that are not offered by McMasters.

See d pix! The black one is ss, the one on the right is jpg issue.

There is nothing in ANY fastener catalog etc. that I have looked at that has that shape. I have tried a couple of what on the surface appear to be alternatives, but they end up interfering with other caster assembly parts.

AS far as dimensions are concerned the wire diameter needs to be close to original(0.072") and must securely grasp a 0.050" deep by 0.105" wide groove in the 3/4" piston. When mounged to the piston, no part of it may extend more than 7/8" from the center of the piston. The ss part extends about 9/16".

sawmill · Post by **sawmill** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 9:22 pm

Can't you just use a snapring. I would drill it and use a cotterpin

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 9:45 pm

sawmill wrote:Can't you just use a snapring. I would drill it and use a cotterpin

I am merely wanting to replace a missing part. My idea of a workaround is to make that part as I have already done. Modifications would be a last resort.

I started this thread as a means of possibly forewarning of things to come!

I also had hoped someone would know of a source.

My mindset does not consider a workaround(substitute for a correct solution) as being a suitable first consideration. They usually involve too many compromises. They are however 'expedient'(for a while).

sawmill · Post by **sawmill** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 10:20 pm

I think that on some of the older snowmobiles they use a clip like that to hold the throttle or chocke cable in place. I took some thing apert a while ago that had these on them but I cannot remember what it was.

trainguytom · Post by **trainguytom** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 1:46 pm

I took out the clip on a set of casters to get a better look & decided to try a Harbor Freight E-clip from one of their assortment boxes, Here's a pic of the result. Seems to work fine, stays in place when I rotate the cam.
I don't see why it wont work as long as it stays in place & it seems to.

Shopsmith Forums

Obsolete?????

Another possible approach or two...

hairpin

HF clip