Was going to post about “service call” methods for 360 and 360Q fixtures. After two pages alone on the lamp cap assembly for what to look at or do... figured nobody would read it and the rest of the how to.
This was based off my current service call to some samples from all generations and my figuring out how to easily extract the shutters both from the fixture for re-surfacing and cleaning, and in preserving the fiber washer handles for future use by way of extraction. (Anyone interested in this full service call method I use should respond to that part in request for interest in something that would be long in detail.) Did a bit of study for instance into how to best remove the fiber washers from the shutters, this with about a 90% saving ratio once figured out. That as with shutters, spreader plates etc in service call.
In this post instead I’ll do something more short and interesting - immediate to the industry - at least them stuck with clutch break type clamps to the fixtures. Believe they are now discontinued but not sure on that. During an off-line discussion with Les, I noted his resistance to clutch break fixtures.... yea, especially if replacement parts are not available, they would be problematic. This much less if in use, if you don’t use them properly they will break. My initial thoughts was that it wasn’t possible to make a clutch break fixture into a clutch cam fixture... but got to thinking about it today and tried a 6x12 assembly in making it into one. Wasn’t perfect in doing so, but I did learn how to do it from that concept, and what I did in mounting a clutch cam to a clutch break fixture will at least free up a few clutch breaks I was short on for other fixtures or future needs or resale needs. Once I refined in how to... Len perhaps won’t need to resale or give away his old clutch Cam fixtures.
First, the 6x22 barrel mount fixture if clutch break, cannot be best modified for clutch cam. Different assembly and not enough metal. On the pineapple mount fixtures though.. It is possible to mount a clutch cam to the casting without a huge amount of work or even disassembly of the fixture.
First step, remove the yoke and install the clutch break onto the clutch cam mount. It will need a spacer so as to tension this plate onto the fixture. This is for marking of holes purposes. Problem in what I did was that it’s a 3/8" hole for the clutch break and a 5/16-18 threaded hole at the center. I tried but couldn’t fully center this clutch cam on the hole. Short of center means your fixture won’t work right- been there, done that before in variation of where it will align.
Gotta be able to both center that 3/8" hole on the 5/16-18 tapped hole, and have sufficient pressure on this break plate so as to mark for it’s additional holes. Gotta have at least a 5/16" spring lock washer so as to tension under the plate, but also need a 5/16" bolt and standoff with 3/8" O.D. so as to center the plate. This was the mistake I made. Of that standoff and bolt, washers will than be needed so as to tension the 5/16" lock washer, around that 3/8" standoff for tension.
Once now properly tensioned, you can scribe your holes and mark for drilling the center. I use a center punch for such things, than a 1/16" drill bit so as to thru drill with oil once the center punch hole is expanded to 1/16". Next step is to remove the mounting and thru drill out my holes for a #29 drill bit, than tap the hole out for a 8-32 tapped hole.
Given the holes are now centered but not counter sunk for the clutch cam, a 60 degree x ½" countersink bit is next employed to it’s full width (cutting oil needed as with all for good cuts and tapping.)
I like stainless steel for high temperature use and find that for a #8 screw only a truss head type screw would work with such a fitting... Didn’t have any in stock so instead put in some pan-head screws and ground them flat to the plate of the clutch cam. High temperature threadlocker was also applied. This especially in the case of non-stainless screws and in general will both lock the screw to the aluminum casting and prevent dissimilar materials damage.
My problems in this concept was that I didn’t properly center the hole of the clutch break on the hole. Other than that, it is a feasible and don’t take long to do process. Get that hole centered better than I did by eyeballing it... you have in mechanical means a clutch cam assembly that will work. This all assuming yokes that will work with the clutch cam.
Easy project to do, only challenges are in making that clutch break centered - it needs to be so more so than by eyeballing it, and in getting proper tension so the plate don’t move, than scribing the holes and making them on center.
Can be done once geared up for it and fairly easy to do - this without even taking apart the fixture as long as you blow it out later. Easy fix.
This was based off my current service call to some samples from all generations and my figuring out how to easily extract the shutters both from the fixture for re-surfacing and cleaning, and in preserving the fiber washer handles for future use by way of extraction. (Anyone interested in this full service call method I use should respond to that part in request for interest in something that would be long in detail.) Did a bit of study for instance into how to best remove the fiber washers from the shutters, this with about a 90% saving ratio once figured out. That as with shutters, spreader plates etc in service call.
In this post instead I’ll do something more short and interesting - immediate to the industry - at least them stuck with clutch break type clamps to the fixtures. Believe they are now discontinued but not sure on that. During an off-line discussion with Les, I noted his resistance to clutch break fixtures.... yea, especially if replacement parts are not available, they would be problematic. This much less if in use, if you don’t use them properly they will break. My initial thoughts was that it wasn’t possible to make a clutch break fixture into a clutch cam fixture... but got to thinking about it today and tried a 6x12 assembly in making it into one. Wasn’t perfect in doing so, but I did learn how to do it from that concept, and what I did in mounting a clutch cam to a clutch break fixture will at least free up a few clutch breaks I was short on for other fixtures or future needs or resale needs. Once I refined in how to... Len perhaps won’t need to resale or give away his old clutch Cam fixtures.
First, the 6x22 barrel mount fixture if clutch break, cannot be best modified for clutch cam. Different assembly and not enough metal. On the pineapple mount fixtures though.. It is possible to mount a clutch cam to the casting without a huge amount of work or even disassembly of the fixture.
First step, remove the yoke and install the clutch break onto the clutch cam mount. It will need a spacer so as to tension this plate onto the fixture. This is for marking of holes purposes. Problem in what I did was that it’s a 3/8" hole for the clutch break and a 5/16-18 threaded hole at the center. I tried but couldn’t fully center this clutch cam on the hole. Short of center means your fixture won’t work right- been there, done that before in variation of where it will align.
Gotta be able to both center that 3/8" hole on the 5/16-18 tapped hole, and have sufficient pressure on this break plate so as to mark for it’s additional holes. Gotta have at least a 5/16" spring lock washer so as to tension under the plate, but also need a 5/16" bolt and standoff with 3/8" O.D. so as to center the plate. This was the mistake I made. Of that standoff and bolt, washers will than be needed so as to tension the 5/16" lock washer, around that 3/8" standoff for tension.
Once now properly tensioned, you can scribe your holes and mark for drilling the center. I use a center punch for such things, than a 1/16" drill bit so as to thru drill with oil once the center punch hole is expanded to 1/16". Next step is to remove the mounting and thru drill out my holes for a #29 drill bit, than tap the hole out for a 8-32 tapped hole.
Given the holes are now centered but not counter sunk for the clutch cam, a 60 degree x ½" countersink bit is next employed to it’s full width (cutting oil needed as with all for good cuts and tapping.)
I like stainless steel for high temperature use and find that for a #8 screw only a truss head type screw would work with such a fitting... Didn’t have any in stock so instead put in some pan-head screws and ground them flat to the plate of the clutch cam. High temperature threadlocker was also applied. This especially in the case of non-stainless screws and in general will both lock the screw to the aluminum casting and prevent dissimilar materials damage.
My problems in this concept was that I didn’t properly center the hole of the clutch break on the hole. Other than that, it is a feasible and don’t take long to do process. Get that hole centered better than I did by eyeballing it... you have in mechanical means a clutch cam assembly that will work. This all assuming yokes that will work with the clutch cam.
Easy project to do, only challenges are in making that clutch break centered - it needs to be so more so than by eyeballing it, and in getting proper tension so the plate don’t move, than scribing the holes and making them on center.
Can be done once geared up for it and fairly easy to do - this without even taking apart the fixture as long as you blow it out later. Easy fix.
