My latest acquisition is something I have been wanting for some time now. It's a PL 53 and it's a beauty. It was packaged well but when I went to reassemble the handles they are sloppy. No matter how I swap them around, the two lower parts of the handle set-up will not screw in to be in the correct alignment to accept the upper 'looped' handle when fully tightened. Without forcing anything to find out, the lower knurled collar seems to be fused to the shaft. Is it all one piece or should I use penetrating oil to free the collar, rotate the shaft to align it first, then tighten the collar? Any experienced advice appreciated.
Well, on another, similar setup (the Kayen) the knurled nut and the wire hanger are not fused. I expect its the same here. Give it some oils and gently tap the bottom of the nut. Tony
... Or did you mean fused to the tank? If so, it is not meant to be fused to the tank, so penetrating oil and leather and pliers on the nut. I recognise that photo set up... The person you bought it off seems a good chap. Cheers Tony
Hi Tony, Yes I think I talked to you about this one. You are correct in all respects about the source. Very nice fella indeed. It is not fused to the tank so I will attempt to free the 'nut' from the handle shaft now. Just wanted to make sure before putting any strain on that nut/shaft area. Cheers, Ian
I've had this and if I recall correctly, it was something to do with the domed bottom of the handle and the top of the threaded tank stud wearing over the years. This meant that the clamp nut ran out of thread before it was holding the handle down firmly onto the stud. I seem to recall a temporary remedy was reached by adding a thin metal shim of some sort between the two which, effectively, compensated for the wear and put the situation to rights. I wonder if a permanent cure can be reached by filing off a few thou' from bottom of the clamp nut on the handle ends. Just thinking aloud with that one...
Are you talking about the collar/sleeve that join the handle attachment to the tank? Well, that part is just one solid piece where the lower half is knurled and the upper is smooth (and smaller in diameter). You just got a fixed stud at the tank, one threaded sleeve and the handle attachment, so there isn't any possibilities to adjust things here once it has gotten weared. The best way is as David suggest to use something as a shim if you must have the bits fixed and sturdy. You can screw the sleeve onto the tank stud, and then drop a correct length of a suitable metal into it to stop the handle attachment at the correct place as you finally screw it in place.
Christer, Thanks for the information and the photo. Last night I soaked them both in penetrating oil and this morning discovered they came apart as you show in the photo. It is all back together now and perfectly aligned. Thank you for the help. Cheers,
