how do i unfuck my poor alien?

[ivan]

my sweet, sweet red alien...lived long enough to break a trigger wire...so i replaced it w/ a paperclip...then lived long enough to break the paper clip - fucked up in trying to extract the paperclip from the drill hole in one of the lobes though, and now its cut flush on both sides, the hole still filled w/ 1/10th of a cent of horseshit metal - how do i unfuck this beast? a very tiny drill to bore it out? or is it ready for entry into the smithsonian exhibit they're no doubt planning for me even now?

[billcoe]

Fucking pound or push that fucking wire clip piece out of that fucking hole there with some kind of fucking drift fucking pin and some fucking oil, then go get a fucking wire and a fucking swage and just fucking swage that fucking bad boy up so it is unfucked. I have the fucking swaging tool for it. I'll loan the fucker to you for the job.

 

Alternative 1, I think Russ at Fish products might have an "unfuck for bucks" program, ask him.

 

Alternative 2, sell it to Justin for $10 and he'll fix it.

 

Alternative 3, put it on ebay. Someone will part with $100 for the chance at a rare and precious Alien.

 

Alternative 4, (best choice) Send it back to Black Diamond with a long note explaining how disappointed you are in their gear, how upset you are that they sold out, and tell them you expect it fixed - STAT!

[elaine]

Bill is fucking funny!!!!

[wayne]

Buy a mastercam

[rob]

You should just drill another hole in the lobe. Bill probably has a tool for that.

[John Frieh]

Sell it on ebay... you'd get at least 100 for a broken one

[ivan]

excellent fucking ideas all

 

tried pounding it out already bill, but my primitive cave man intellect and tools were pretty much what created the problem to begin w/ - it's a teeny-tiny hole

[marc_leclerc]

Eat more fiber, or fruit depending on what the issue is.

[Choada_Boy]

Bring it back to REI and demand a full refund. Works every time.

[G-spotter]

get some compressed air and blow it out.

or, like the constipated mathematician, work it out with a pencil

[RaisedByPikas]

If you know someone with a drill press you could put the correct diameter bit in the chuck backwards and try to press it out. If that fails then +1 on drilling another hole.

[rob]

 

If you DO drill another hole, be sure to use another paper clip as the trigger wire.

[ivan]

 

If you DO drill another hole, be sure to use another paper clip as the trigger wire.

thinking i'm going w/ laytons fishing-line system instead

[fenderfour]

A sewing pin works well, or you can get beading pins made out of SS. the flat head of the pin holds it in. Be sure to rough up the area that will hold the swage.

 

It's not hard if you do it right.

 

 

[fgw]

cch totally defunct now? last year they replaced the wires on a bunch of my aliens for $10 a pop, maybe not cheapest optiong but given that they now sell for like what $500 a piece seems like a worthy restoration effort. two were beyond even their ability of "unfucking" & so were replaced for the said price. but for all i know cch is no longer & this is useless.

[Choada_Boy]

The steel in a paper clip will work harden and lose ductility in this application.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

my sweet, sweet red alien...lived long enough to break a trigger wire...so i replaced it w/ a paperclip...then lived long enough to break the paper clip - fucked up in trying to extract the paperclip from the drill hole in one of the lobes though, and now its cut flush on both sides, the hole still filled w/ 1/10th of a cent of horseshit metal - how do i unfuck this beast? a very tiny drill to bore it out? or is it ready for entry into the smithsonian exhibit they're no doubt planning for me even now?

 

OK, we *do* need to pay teachers more

[Nitrox]

Find a local machinist to ream out the hole in the cam lobe.

 

 

[prole]

Scott Baio's not available?

[ivan]

Find a local machinist to ream out the hole in the cam lobe.

 

anyone know a machinist in pdx?

 

this sure seems the only solution - the bit of metal just can't be poked out and my drill doesn't have a bit near small enough - probably doesn't help i lack a vise either...

[Choada_Boy]

What are you, cro-magnon man? Get some tools.

 

 

[tvashtarkatena]

Bring it up to Seattle, beyotch, and I'll have it fixed for ya in 5 minutes.

[tvashtarkatena]

What are you, cro-magnon man? Get some tools.

 

 

You really need to see his homemade stick clip.

[ivan]

Bring it up to Seattle, beyotch, and I'll have it fixed for ya in 5 minutes.

now there's a solution i can roll w/

 

you unfucked yer knee yet? gonna be up yer way next week as the fam flies off wendsday and i have fuckall for planz.

[billcoe]

A thread on the technical data, wire size, sourcing, etc etc etc.

 

http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1201080&msg=1201720#msg1201720

 

of particular note:

 

Jun 24, 2010 - 12:50am PT

I just pulled out my calipers and shims to figure out exactly what size the cables on my cams are. I say exact but really I just mean pretty close...

 

Take note: the difference I make between trigger pins and trigger cables. Look at any of the cams I have listed here and the trigger assembly is made up of 5 parts:

1. actual trigger

2. the wire cable that connects to the trigger

3. the swage that connects the trigger cable to the trigger pin

4. the trigger pin which is a stiff piece of metal wire that connects the trigger assembly to the actual cam

5. the cam

 

Depending on what is broke, you may need different parts and tools...

 

 

 

1/40" or .025" Diameter or ~22 Gauge

Trigger Pin

Aliens - Black, B/B Hybrid, Blue, B/G Hybrid, Green, G/Y Hybrid, Yellow, Gray, Y/R Hybrid, Red, Orange, Purple

 

 

3/64" or .046" Diameter or ~17 Gauge

Trigger Pin

C4 New - .5 Purple, .75 Green

 

Trigger Cable

Aliens - Blue, B/G Hyrbid, Green, G/Y Hybrid, Yellow, Y/R Hybrid, Red, Orange, Purple

C4 New - .5 Purple, .75 Green, 1 Red, 2 Yellow, 3 Blue

Metolius TCU (3 cam) - 3 Orange

 

1/16" or .062" Diameter or ~14 Guage

Trigger Pin

C4 New - 1 Red, 2 Yellow, 3 Blue, 4 Gray

C4 Old - 4.5 Red

 

Trigger Cable

C4 New - 4 Gray

C4 Old - 4.5 Red

 

Random Notes:

Black, B/B Hybrid and Gray Aliens do not use Trigger Cables but rather just Trigger Pins.

 

Aliens and Metolius appear to use Stainless Steel for their Trigger Cables and BD appears to use some sort of plated wire. My preference is for SS since I feel it is softer and less brittle, therefore less likely to fray and stab me. On the other hand, it is slippery-ier and more likely to fail over time.

 

Aliens and Metolius appear to use copper swages whereas BD appears to use zinc plated copper swages. The pros and cons of which I am unaware, other than perhaps corrosion resistance...?

 

Trigger Pins on Aliens are simply pieces of wire, attached to the cam by inserting the cable into the cam, twisting and then cutting. Trigger Pins on Metolius and BD are actual pins with a pinhead that secures the pin to the cam. Metolius Cam heads are chamfered to seat the pinhead, BD cams are drilled flat and the pinhead rests high.