Tip for stuck/tight threaded items.

[lazjen]

Occasionally I'll get a tube or filter, etc that decides to get stuck. Most times with a significant amount of swearing, I eventually get the items apart.

However I've now found a solution that works well and doesn't mark the objects targeted.

It's an item called a "boa constrictor" that you can get from Bunnings. The pack I bought has two of them in it for different sized objects. You can get them separate if desired. You can see pics of them off their website: http://boa-uk.com/

Just thought I'd pass this tip along as I found these stuck items most aggravating to deal with...

[Exfso]

Thanks Chis, I could definitely do with a couple of these as my hands are now quite badly affected by Arthritis and I find it hard to both tighten and undo things. Could be a real godsend.:thumbsup:

[LewisM]

Went and bought the small one when I was out. $6.48 - that's quite OK in my books!

Thanks for the tip. I have a recalcitrant adapter stuck right now

[mithrandir]

The RA knob on my StarLapse stuck the other night when I was out. I was kicking myself I hadn't put one of my boa constrictors in the toolbox.

[lazjen]

The 2 I got are being stored in my astro box of goodies. If I need them, I know where to find them. :)

I had a LP filter stuck to the OAG, but with this I was able to get it off fine.

[LewisM]

My adapter is not budging. My fault - I had lacquered it after having it made, and it seems the lacquer has "glued" to the focal reducer. Willneed acetone to remove it (I only want to remove it to anodise it).

The boa was trying as hard as it could, and not even seeming like breaking the rubber - I had a LOT of torque on it. Good product!

[MrB]

I could have done with these last night!
I turned up an adjustable spacer for my coma corrector on the lathe yesterday, when the spacer was complete I needed to turn up a thin 2.5mm locknut.
I decided to leave the finished spacer in the lathe chuck and use it as a fixture to hold the locknut for turning.
After the locknut was complete, I removed the spacer from the chuck and tried to spin the locknut off.... no go.
Duh... it is a locknut after all, I was cursing myself for my stupidity :rolleyes:
Into the freezer it went, and after many cycles of freezing and twisting I finally got the locknut off. Sore hands this morning tho!

[raymo]

No chance of running around the lacquer covered joint first with a razor blade or something similar, Lewis?
raymo

[gregbradley]

Yes they are good. I have been using them now for a while and they work well.

I also wipe the threads of adapters etc with Nulon teflon grease which I got from SuperCheap Auto. That tends to prevent a bind in the first place.

Takahashi threads are notoriously bad for this. Their coatings seem to make their finer threads partcularly dry and they tend to stick very easily so I wipe the teflon on them for sure before I use them for the first time.

Greg.

[lazjen]

Teflon grease - that's a good idea, I'll pick some up sometime.

[multiweb]

With stuck threads I usually thread a bigger piece into the one that's jammed and run electrical tape around the two for a bigger grip. Most of the time the thin ones are the ones that are hard to get. As far as lubrication goes I've tried a lot of things over the years and any grease will attract dust and gunk with dew over time. I found the best solution is to keep threads dry and run a HB crayon on it. The graphite seems to stop bidding quite well with a minimum amount of mess.

[gregbradley]

The Teflon grease works well too. I wipe a small amount on and wipe it off so it really only leaves the tiniest of grease. I notice now you can get WD40 cans with dry graphite lubricant. That may be worth checking out as well. I am wary of using any grease as they may outgas and who knows if that could damage CCDs or optics/coatings.

This is obviously a common problem we have all had at some point. At one stage I thought I had to destroy a 2.7 inch Tak reducer because it was so stuck on. Luckily several WD40's eventually freed it up. Tak are definitely the worst. AP is the best, never had an AP adapter stick. Tak uses finer threads plus their coatings are very dry and they coat the threads as well as the main body. Imperial threads seem less prone. They must be coarser.

Greg.

[LewisM]

I have been using rifle/pistol graphite grease on my threads, but NOT on any connected to any optics.

Raymo, tried that, but the junction is too tight. No go. I would freeze it, IF it was not glued to the focal reducer (a scarce old Vixen one that sell aound $250, if/when you can find one).

Might try ethanol first then the boa. Acetone as last resort

[alistairsam]

Thanks for the tip, I've had a few 5mm and 10mm spacers stuck to nosepieces of cameras and it was real hard to get it unstuck.

Cheers
Alistair

[Octane]

The first ring that goes on the back of the camera angle adjuster on my FSQ-106N is stuck on. Will this product help pry it off? H

[LewisM]

I think the N had reeded edges on its afapters, so a boa should do it easily H.

[Octane]

Awesome. Will check out Bunnings when I can!

It's not a show stopper as I need that ring for every other contraption that connects, but, it would just be peace of mind knowing it is removable.

H

[LewisM]

Or we can try with mine when you collect the pier ;)

[gbeal]

I've always seemed to loosen stuck filters, or adaptor rings by pushing them against a piece old inner tube rubber placed flat on a sturdy surface, bench, table etc.
Gary

[The_bluester]

Another thing to try would be to gently war things up with a hair dryer. Not hot to touch, just warm.

[MrB]

My experience is that warming threaded parts makes matters worse.
Aluminium (as do most materials) expand when heated.

[multiweb]

Yep. Especially if you assemble in the cold outside. You never get them out at room temperature.

[ausastronomer]

A cable tie works well in many situations. Wrap it around the piece you need to undo and then pull the end so as to undo the stuck thread. The harder you pull the tighter the cable tie grips. You actually need to reverse the cable tie so it doesnt lock and you can just slip it off when you get the thing undone. I have carried a cable tie in my camera bag for 20 years to loosen stuck front filters.

Cheers
John B

[lazjen]

The cable tie is a good idea - wish I had thought of it.

I used the boa the other night to separate the OAG from the LP filter; and a thin adapter piece from a tube. The latter required using both boas to hold the items and then work against each other. Happy with the results and they're going to stay in the kit always.

[The_bluester]

Depends on where and how you apply the heat. In the case of the unwisely bought SCT threaded diagonal which tended to lock up depressingly often (Which I have now converted to a refractor style setup as it irritated me nightly) applying a little heat tended to make it easier to unstick as the locking ring would expand and loosen, where the body of the scope having a much greater thermal mass did not heat up nor expand as much.
Show a mechanic a locked up fitting and the first thing they will reach for after penetrating oil (Which is obviously not an option in this context) is some heat.

[RAJAH235]

Hi y'awll,
If anyone wants straight powdered graphite..(WD40 graphite? was mentioned earlier),...try your local locksmith.
Comes in a "puffer pack" & is extremely useful in those "tight" situations, as well
as being a very good lubricant.
Plus, it does not attract dust & grime.