UKC

any one replace cam trigger wire diy style? any tips?

In reply to Pj84:

Fishing line works well

In reply to Pj84:

Strimmer nylon or fuse wire

In reply to NIGBEE: how you tie it etc?...
what strenght line u use?

In reply to Pj84:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=459761
http://www.mountainproject.com/v/rigid-friends/107588106#a_107591803

In reply to 3leggeddog: how you tie the strimmer wire off?

In reply to Pj84:
overhand knot, tighten with pliers the trim flush. I will try to put a photo up to help

In reply to Pj84:

OK.

Cam repair summary (and my pension hobby gone as a gift to the world).

Remove old wire - both the flexible bit (that has probably frayed) and the solid bit that goes into the cams.

Cut an 8" length of strimmer cord and fold one end over about 1cm from the end. Pinch it either with pliers or your teeth. Then, and tis is the delicate bit, you need to cook the bend a little. You can do this with a gas hob, a candle, a lighter or, best but not found in every household, one of those butane guns that you use for creme brulee (can't do the accents, sorry (except for posh, obviously)). Thread the cable throuh the trigger and even up. Then put the short, bent end through a lobe and trim so that it stands perhaps 2mm proud. Heat a knife end or other bit of metal until it glows and gently flatten the protruding part. It will forma flat blob that is more than enough to stop the cable pulling through the lobe.

Now thread the other end through the other lobe and adjust so that the trigger allows the cams to rest on stops, but no more. Mark where the bend needs to be with felt-tip and repeat the whole process.

Finally, do the whole monty on the other side.

To be honest, once you've done a couple they are excellent... and last forever.

Why don't Wild Country just fit strimmer cord to start with rather than that ridiculous wire cable with the string core?

In reply to JJL:

"Cut an 8" length of strimmer cord and fold one end over about 1cm from the end.....Heat a knife end or other bit of metal until it glows and gently enough to stop the cable pulling through the lobe."

If you can post some pictures, I'd love to see how that came out. Thanks!

In reply to JJL:


I agree, it is probably a cosmetic thing, like the "teeth" on the cam. Wire somehow makes the unit look more engineered. It is not just WC though they are all at it.

I find it best to knot the strimmer nylon below the trigger, otherwise it can slip through so one end is longer than the other and the cams rest at funny angles. This always happens just when you don't want it to

In reply to 3leggeddog: Yup, this keeps happening with my rewired Friends. The wire keeps slipping around on the smaller cams to the extent where it pulls the cams at completely the wrong angle so they dont retract. Im going to redo it again I think with strimmer wire, plus change the old very short slings for some 5.5mm dyneema cord. Watch this space

In reply to wivanov: Just found this-
http://www.kakibusok.plus.com/Equipment/RewireCams1/Rewire1.htm

In reply to Cheese Monkey:

Thanks!
I think strimmer cord in the States is much thicker than what I see there. Seems like .080" (2.0mm) is common but .065" (1.7mm) or less is hard to find

Don't know if that will fit in the lobe or trigger bar holes. Do you know what diameter you used?

In reply to wivanov:



Pictures up at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/89618712@N05/

In reply to wivanov:

I don't have a micrometer (or rather I can't be arsed to go and rummage in the garage), but a ruler says about 1.5mm

If you pay postage I'll mail you a couple of metres for free.

In reply to JJL:


Thank you. That's very generous. I think I'll look around here a bit to see what I can find locally. There's no immediate need - I was thinking about future field repairs. If I find something, I have an old 3.5 rigid Friend with wobbly lobes that I might experiment on.

Nice job on the pictures, btw.

In reply to Pj84:

Pike trace wire may be a more flexible but tougher option. The crimps for it are quite cheap too.

In reply to Pj84:

I did one recently in the original style and materials (single strand wire swaged to multi-strand wire). I later redid it using just the single strand stainless TIG wire as it was neater and simpler.

jk