Steven,
Yes it was your post. I see the washers mounted on either side of the pin through the bottom of the rod to take up slop. This is similar to what was done with the modified rods that I got from Clay. The piece I was talking about ... from what I can see in the pic looks like a fiber washer that the rod itself goes through. The thing that is below the zip tie on the rod just above the flat part of the rod. It is brown in color and looks like you just slid it down over the rod and then put a zip tie above it to hold the straw.

Not sure why I am having difficulty describing it, but maybe you understand from this..

Phil

Hey Phil,

Ah! The rubber washer. I put it there so when I fumble the stone it drops onto the washer and does not damage the stone. I guess it does shield the joint a little as well. I got them at Sears.

I know this is a vastly inferior product but I thought the nylon bushing or the way it is held maybe you can use a similar method to hold the end rod bearing. Check out 2 min 30 secs. for how the bushing is held

I have a question for the group, though I swear it has been posted somewhere on the forums before, I can't find it.
What is the proper size replacent screw for the base of the rod assembly where it slide on the square part with degree markings.

I took the original over to Home depot and could not get it to thread into any of their gauges. 10X32 and the M5 .8 were the closest. I brought both home and the metric one seems to fit the best. That doesn't seem right. The 10X32 also fit, but seem pretty loose.

Anyway ... does anyone kno what I *should* be using??

Tanks,
Phil

10-32s work well for me. Don't seem loose to me and hold quite securely with very little force.

Thanks.
Both sets of screws that I bought work. Both when screwed in partialy have a bunch of slop axially in any direction until they are snug. But, they work OK with minimal pressure. They just don't thread in properly.

I figured out a work around. I have two sets of arms. One stock and one that the nice folks at WEPS modded for me. I took one set of the knurled screws and just filed the ends flat. I ran them into a 10 X 32 die to make the starting threads good. That is it. Original screws that work for fine adjustments.
I can tighten them by hand, and the adjustment is not going anywhere. Much better than using the pointed screws on the back side of the square adjustment bar... and, I don't have to reach over the device to tightens them. For some reason, still would like to know why, they thread in much better, with less slop, than either of the hardware store replacements.

Clay, when you have time, can you confirm the actual size and thread of the original screws??

I have the hex cap screws if I need them later.

Again,
Thanks for the reply !!!

Phil

I have a milling machine so I made new arms out of 1/4" drill rod. Fits much more snugly into the stones which are about .255 ID. The arms that came with the machine are .235 or so. I machined the width of the bottom tongue to fit very snugly into the u-joint and eliminated just about all the movement. Took me about an hour using a collet block to get the faces parallel.

--Jerry

PS I reused the pins. No need for machine screws. --Jerry

Just thought I would bump this thread as cbwx34 thinks this was never an issue and I am only one of a few with this problem.

Interesting to see the straws and the ball joint ideas were conceived in this thread also.
wickededgeusa.com/index.php?option=com_k...0&Itemid=63#2350

Hey Chris...

I didn't say that at all, and don't appreciate being taken out of context.