Facom Palm Control ratchet "loose set screw" fix - howto

[Olafur]

Here you can see common problem with Facom 161 ratchet - the set screw is loose. Tightening the screw then locks up the ratchet rendering it useless. Common fix for this is to clean the screw and hole and apply Loctite and adjust set the screw until there is minimal play for the internals.. and hope for the best!
-> http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=89329



Here are the internals:


Here is a pic showing how the small pin grabs the heart shaped spring:


Now, instead of applying Loctide grab your roll of solder and cut small bits and put them into the screwhole:




Whith the internals assembled tighten the set screw:


What happens is you jam the solder down to the bottom of the hole making it shallower. If the ratchet locks up you have to add more solder and repeat!

I had to add solder several times before I got decent torque on the set screw, but finally I got the screw real tight with just enough play for the internals for the ratchet to work normally. It takes way more torque to remove the screw it than Loctite can offer. Bulletproof solution.

You can get the screw as tight as you like and if you add to much solder, just stick a drill bit in the hole and remove some of it.

Here you can see the solder at the bottom of the screw hole after I was done.


This is a 1/2" drive 161 ratchet, I think this trick could be used on 3/8 and 1/4" drive as well.

 

[Kirbot]

Old thread, but it was worth a bump.

I'm going to try this on mine. I never much liked the loctite solution.

 

[sk farmer]

why screw around with that? give the screw a couple taps with a punch or chisel 2 or 3 threads up from the end turning it into a "lock bolt". end of problem.

 

[Olafur]

why screw around with that? give the screw a couple taps with a punch or chisel 2 or 3 threads up from the end turning it into a "lock bolt". end of problem.

All this screwing around with solder takes about 10 min. And after that the set screw problem is permanently solved. Forever. I am not sure if your solution can offer that.

 

[Strouty]

I like the idea, may use it for other things as well.

 

[sk farmer]

All this screwing around with solder takes about 10 min. And after that the set screw problem is permanently solved. Forever. I am not sure if your solution can offer that.

i didn't say it didn't work or was a bad idea.

the distorted threads idea came from the guy at my local sk dealer. he has been doing it for a long time with no issues that i know of. i know he has done it to many of them right out of the box. it also allows for quick and easy future adjustment and it does not introduce foreign material into the ratchet head. slightly distorting the thread takes 30 seconds and may very well last forever as well. if not you are out another 30 seconds which is still less than 10 minutes

sorry if i don't think jamming the threads with solder that you may have to drill out in the future or even the first time as you said is a better idea.

there is almost always more than one way to solve a problem. i just offered another way to do it.

 

[Kirbot]

why screw around with that? give the screw a couple taps with a punch or chisel 2 or 3 threads up from the end turning it into a "lock bolt". end of problem.

You could just as easily say "why screw around with chiseling on the threads"....


I did the solder thing last night on two of them, and it worked great.

You don't have to drill the solder out the first time, or any time. All you're doing is making the screw bottom out where it should have from the factory.

 

[Indexmill]

It seems to me that the "solder thing" is more reversible the the "distorting threads thing" if that matters to anybody.

It's also "re-doable" when and if necessary. To me, deliberately destroying threads just seems too severe and irreversible.

Heck, the old "Loctite thing" is also a time proven method that is reversible.

Indexmill.

 

[Harrison2]

what if you work so hard and fast it generates enough heat to melt the solder...

 

[sk farmer]

i think quite a few people are missing my point. distorted or tight threads to lock a fastener is a quite common and well accepted method of locking a fastener. here are three types used on nuts the first is a common nylok that creates an "undersize" thread via the nylon ring. the next two nuts that have a distortion made to the thread to lock the female portion to the male portion of the fastener. there are several other types but these are what i had laying around.


i made an example of distorting the male portion of a fastener. one light tap with a pin punch. it obviously is not the same fastener as used on the ratchet but the theory is the same. the male fastener is not ruined in this method as some have implied that it might be. if you go crazy and bash the threads with a 3 pound sledge you may have a problem but i think most of us are smarter than that.

like i said if you wish to use solder, go ahead. i am just offering another solution that does not involve plugging a blind hole in a ratchet with foreign substance never intended to be there.

 

[Olafur]

what if you work so hard and fast it generates enough heat to melt the solder...

Hold on, I am designing water cooling kit for such scenarios.

 

[Fedwrench]

what if you work so hard and fast it generates enough heat to melt the solder...

then you don't have to worry about the screw coming loose.

there's always more than one way to do something. If it works, that's all that really matters. I've never had an issue with the sweet spot and Loctite. I would clean all of that grease out, and use something thinner like breakfreeCLP but, that's just me.

 

[Olafur]

then you don't have to worry about the screw coming loose.

there's always more than one way to do something. If it works, that's all that really matters. I've never had an issue with the sweet spot and Loctite. I would clean all of that grease out, and use something thinner like breakfreeCLP but, that's just me.

Loctite (or whatever brand was at hand at the time) didn't last on the ratchet pictured in the first post. This was tried several times. When new and during first months (possibly years) this was not a problem.

I assume as the head wears out a little bit - the set screw gets more load, so to speak.

I have relatively new facom 161 in 3/8 drive and its just fine - still!