Tower top nut stuck

[Quinch]

Just a quick update as I went back to the tower the other day: the top nut is still going round and round but I also realised the rod is also turning (apologies I said it wasn't to start with but it definitely is). I tried turning it with a spanner loads of times in both directions but nothing happens and this I don't understand.

If the rod is turning it should be doing one of 3 things as I understand it:
1. Unscrewing itself from the base nut = rod comes out and nothing holding segments together properly
2. Tightening itself into the base nut = stops turning and problem over
3. Rod is actually also turning the base nut as it turns (what I suspect) = if this is happening then surely it also will either tighten or unscrew and either the rod (and nut) will detach or it will tighten?

I really expect something to happen either way but nothing does. I realise it's sometimes difficult to explain problems like this in just words without other people actually seeing it. I will check the base of the tower as Vendition suggests but I don't really see how the top rod turning can affect the bottom rod and cause the plastic to crack.

If anyone can see something I'm missing here please let me know

[PabloV8Haggis]

I am sure I said this previously somewhere.
When the rod is fitted into the tower i.e. Pushed through from the base, it slots home inside the plastic segment, this is the weakest link. The metal/welded nut now rests inside a plastic location that is shaped like a nut! Metal against plastic! Metal always wins. On some machines over time, the plastic gives in to the metal nut and fails i.e. The metal nut can just keep turning. It has happened on several of my machines. Only solution is to use a pair of molegrips (get a good pair from Halfords and they will last and come in handy, cheap ones let you down eventually) tight over plastic until it gets a grip of the nut, you need to have octopus hands now as you need to hold molegrips whilst you undo the top nut. Do not be afraid to break away the plastic around the nut if need be, that has only happened twice on my machines otherwise, many times in without breaking the plastic.

Cheers
Paul

[Quinch]

I think you are referring to a different make of tower. The tower is a Clenport M81 circa 2014, all Clenport M81's (unless they have changed it recently) have 2 central threaded rods: a short rod that is inside the body which goes through the centre and ends at a union nut which sits on the top of the body (in the middle of the dimpled ring and central spring) and a long threaded rod which screws into the same union nut from the top and goes the length of the 9 segments and ends inside the upper locking socket which is held on by an M8 nut.

The M8 nut is going round and round and turning the long threaded rod with it. There is no failure of the upper locking socket and that turns round independently of the M8 nut and threaded rod as it always does.

I think part of the problem in describing technical issues is everyone needs to use the same manufacturer's jargon/nomenclature. I'll maybe scan Clenport's official parts list onto a thread and see if Matt will Sticky it.

[PabloV8Haggis]

Hi, thanks for your offer of a parts breakdown, it is not necessary as I own several hundred clenports both old and new! You perhaps need to expand your question by suggesting, the bottom part of the rod i.e. The part that goes through the base is not turning around as it is the nut that holds the two half nuts together the m8 nut that is doing the rotating.

This means that the thread has failed and only solution as previously suggested, do a machine swap and take care and f problem at home. Me I would break a segment or two as I have hundreds spare and remove offending rod one way or the other. And suitably repair machine job done, as I also plenty of spare rods.

[Quinch]

Hi, thanks for your offer of a parts breakdown, it is not necessary as I own several hundred clenports both old and new! You perhaps need to expand your question by suggesting, the bottom part of the rod i.e. The part that goes through the base is not turning around as it is the nut that holds the two half nuts together the m8 nut that is doing the rotating.

You don't need to take offence I was just suggesting the forum would maybe benefit from a list of the correct names for tower parts so everybody could use the same terms, I wasn't suggesting you need one in particular. I'm sorry but I don't know what you mean by "the nut that holds the two half nuts together".

I think I've explained the problem in sufficient detail but I don't think I'm going to get to the bottom of the issue until I remove the machine and get it back home which I was hoping to avoid

[PabloV8Haggis]

No offence taken, I am thick skinned.

We have a policy, anything wrong with a machine, machine change. If we had a business that let someone have one of their towers in, last thing we would want is them fiddling about with it, very unprofessional and might interfere with customers. Nah, would not allow it.

And the nut I am on about is the nut that you had described that was turning around, this post has gone on for months and could be resolved so quickly, if you removed the machine and worked on it at home. You would be happy, your site would be delighted and we would be pleased that you resolved the issue.

[Quinch]

I do almost all maintenance on machines while they are on-site, I find M81's are pretty reliable and almost anything that goes wrong can be fixed without removing the machine. If the machine is close to customers I simply move the machine to a quiet area, it never causes any hassle and no-one has ever complained about it. Almost all problems can be resolved fairly quickly with a few small spanners and a screwdriver, it's not as if you have to start using power tools or belting something with a hammer.
I normally tailor stock in sites to what sells well and feedback from staff so if I swap a tower with one in the van the stock often won't match the removed tower. It's a lot simpler to just fix most issues on-site than unbolting towers, carrying them back to and from the van, bolting on the new one then when you get home moving towers out of and into the van all the time.

I started this thread because I have not come across this issue before and was hoping for a simple solution in case I come across it again and to avoid breaking the top segment but as I said in my last post I think I will have to remove it.