Re: [Elecraft] #6107 - First Snag
IMO, the bail is the most difficult piece of the assembly. I used longer screws while assembling the thing and then changed them out, carefully!, one at a time to screws of the correct length. There were some great discussions on the forum a few years ago about the tilt bail. Lots of different ideas about how to get the blasted thing installed. A check of the archives might give you some ideas ... certainly it will give you a few laughs, and you won't feel like the only cave-man in the forum. Mark AD5SS K/2 5340 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] #6107 - First Snag
Oh, yes, I remember. That blasted bail! We can buy pre-wound toroids - someone needs to sell a pre-mounted bail! I think I put my bail in a vise and tried to squeeze it down a bit. I also used some of the longer screws to get things started then swapped them out once it was together. - Keith N1AS - - K2 5411.ssb.100 - -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mark Bayern IMO, the bail is the most difficult piece of the assembly. I used longer screws while assembling the thing and then changed them out, carefully!, one at a time to screws of the correct length. There were some great discussions on the forum a few years ago about the tilt bail. Lots of different ideas about how to get the blasted thing installed. A check of the archives might give you some ideas ... certainly it will give you a few laughs, and you won't feel like the only cave-man in the forum. Mark AD5SS K/2 5340 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] #6107 - First Snag
Jim: The way I've successfully done it, and with NO(!) effort, is to install the feet/bail using much longer (say 1") screws... TIGHTEN things down and then, one at a time, replace the long screws with the proper ones. Using the longer screws makes it very easy to get everything in place BEFORE you have to torque things down. Of course, you'll have to supply your own (4) long screws, but it's certainly worth the effort. 73, Tom Hammond N0SS At 10:25 PM 5/24/2007, you wrote: Hello All, Progress temporarily halted by (who would ever guess) a tilt bail. Somehow I've gone from great design and instructions to something that reminds me of putting toys together at Xmas Eve. Is this for real? Can anyone tell me the secret. How many people does it take to pull on the bail while dropping in the screws? Not sure a cave man can do it. Jim Be a better Globetrotter. Get better travel answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396545469 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] #6107 - First Snag
Jim, Install the first foot and tighten it, and then either: 1) Install the second foot using 'builder provided' long screws - after things are lined up and tightened with the long screws, remove the long ones one at a time and replace them with the proper screws. 2) Use a clamp to compress the bail - compress only enough to permit the screws to be installed, the bail must remain 'springy' or it will be loose and rattle. I use both methods - the clamp head takes a bit of 'figuring' so you can tighten the screws with the clamp attached, but you can combine both methods and make things easier. 73, Don W3FPR Jim Murray wrote: Hello All, Progress temporarily halted by (who would ever guess) a tilt bail. Somehow I've gone from great design and instructions to something that reminds me of putting toys together at Xmas Eve. Is this for real? Can anyone tell me the secret. How many people does it take to pull on the bail while dropping in the screws? Not sure a cave man can do it. Jim ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] #6107 - First Snag
VISE - that is the trick. Just force some (SOME) of the spring width out of the metal item. It works fine, if you just squeeze it down a small amount - do it in stages, as it would be hard to make it wider again in a Vise. Fred, N3CSY Get the Yahoo! toolbar and be alerted to new email wherever you're surfing. http://new.toolbar.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/mail/index.php ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] #6107 - First Snag
Fred, I believe you are advocating bending a permanent reduction in the bail width with the vise (if not, I have misunderstood you). I do NOT recommend doing that since it results in a loose fitting bail which will be 'floppy'. Using a vise or a clamp to squeeze the bail temporarily while installing the screws is OK, but permanently distorting the bail is not OK IMHO. 73, Don W3FPR Fred (FL) wrote: VISE - that is the trick. Just force some (SOME) of the spring width out of the metal item. It works fine, if you just squeeze it down a small amount - do it in stages, as it would be hard to make it wider again in a Vise. Fred, N3CSY Get the Yahoo! toolbar and be alerted to new email wherever you're surfing. http://new.toolbar.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/mail/index.php ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] #6107 - First Snag
One of the most clever recommendations that I remember from those discussions a few years ago was to wrap a few turns of wire from one bail end to another and insert a short rod of some type and twist it "tourniquet style" to slowly draw the ends inward until they are drawn together enough to allow it to be attached. Or -- you could dispense with the bail altogether (as I did) and cobble together some taller 'feet' for the front of the radio so that the front sits up about an inch or a little more above the surface upon which it is resting. May not be too good for portable use, but for home use on a desktop it works very well. 73, Dale WA8SRA K2 #3039 Mark Bayern wrote: IMO, the bail is the most difficult piece of the assembly. I used longer screws while assembling the thing and then changed them out, carefully!, one at a time to screws of the correct length. There were some great discussions on the forum a few years ago about the tilt bail. Lots of different ideas about how to get the blasted thing installed. A check of the archives might give you some ideas ... certainly it will give you a few laughs, and you won't feel like the only cave-man in the forum. Mark AD5SS K/2 5340 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] #6107 - First Snag
Hi Jim, I just put mine together last weekend. There is quite a bit of tension with the bail. In fact, my aluminum plate is bowed slightly from trying to get the other end of the bail fastened. It flattened when I attached it to the K2. Gary, N7HTS On Thu, 24 May 2007 20:25:58 -0700 (PDT) Jim Murray <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Hello All, Progress temporarily halted by (who would ever guess) a tilt bail. Somehow I've gone from great design and instructions to something that reminds me of putting toys together at Xmas Eve. Is this for real? Can anyone tell me the secret. How many people does it take to pull on the bail while dropping in the screws? Not sure a cave man can do it. Jim Be a better Globetrotter. Get better travel answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396545469 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] #6107 - First Snag
To take a lead from my former ME associates back at Kodak's CAD group - I think the Elecraft K2 bail, as designed, has too much K and is a tad too long. Decreasing length, ever so little in a vise - makes the whole job and final installation work nicely. I think the idea of temporarily decreasing width with a c-clamp and using LONG screws, is wrong IMHO, as it places a permanent spring force on the lower cabinet cover meterial - which could cause whoknowswhat. I can't imagine operating the bail, in that compression configuration. Bench vise adjustment - takes some mechanical skill, but it works better after process is done. BAIL still operates perfectly. Not rocket science .I suspect I decreased bail's width, at ears, by like 1/4" (recall from memory) Fred, N3CSY K2 54xx Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places on Yahoo! Travel. http://travel.yahoo.com/ ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] #6107 - First Snag
-- Original message -- From: Dale Boresz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > One of the most clever recommendations that I remember from those > discussions a few years ago was to wrap a few turns of wire from one > bail end to another and insert a short rod of some type and twist it > "tourniquet style" to slowly draw the ends inward until they are drawn > together enough to allow it to be attached. > I found this technique to work beautifully, no pain no strain. Doug, W6JD ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
