Screen door closer cylinder stop repair

Yes

Yes

Clean up the inside of the stop plate with a round file to get a non-rounded edge. Rough up the shaft a little with a strip of abrasive cloth, do the roughing radially, not axially.

Or you could try bending the little tab thingy a bit more with a pair of pliers . Grab and squeeze ... Sometimes works , sometimes doesn't .

I love it when you guys get technical and use all those precision machining terms!

I put'em in a vise and gently bend the tab thingy till it holds the shaft well. I estimate less than 10 degrees (more angle from what you have) is what you are looking for. Maybe a little more. :-) Good Luck Lyndell

I would look close at the "stoppy thing". this is basically a washer that has an ear bent over. It is possible that the punch was getting a little worn when they stamped this out and the edge that should be square is rounded over. To fix I would not attempt to take the closer apart, but you could probably get away with working the end of the shaft over a bit where it was flattened to keep the "stoppy thing" from coming off.

Now file the face of the "stoppy thing so the edge is sharp. this should solve the problem. I don't think you need to mess with the shaft, all that I have seen are smooth and if you try and rough it up it might cause mischief.

I would avoid the temptation of elongating the hole to achieve the sharp edge.

Just stick a penny between the bent end of the "stop" and the end of the cyl and it will hold just fine. Cheap Chinese crap. Even the "name brand" American manufacturers don't actually make their stuff any more. It's all offshore junk. With an established name brand - assuming it's not JUST a brand name now (like most GE and Electrahome stuff) you have a fighting chance that there MIGHT have been some quality control (i.e. you have a fighting chance it might have been LOOKED AT,) and might actually work.

On Thu, 10 May 2007 17:46:54 -0400, with neither quill nor qualm, "Tom Gardner" quickly quoth:

A new cylinder or new stoppy thing? (_Great_ technical term, dude.)

Pull the stop off, flip it over, and rebend it the other way. Yes, it's the edges which make it stop, generally with a minor amount of slop. Filing the hole to make sharp edges will defeat your purpose.

Perhaps. If you sand it, do it 90 degrees to the direction of travel with 80-grit paper. Most cylinders I've seen control the air leak from the end, so the shaft is not integral to the chamber and is not o-ring sealed. Better yet, use a file to notch it lightly where it'll be held wide open.

I hear that.

- Metaphors Be With You -

This one's 45 years old, that's why I want to fix it. It's a GOOD one and it's necessary to be able to jam thje door open to be able to manuver my wheelchaired mom.

Tom, I had the same exact problem until 3 minutes ago. With the screen door closed, I pulled the jamb-side pin (mine just lifts out) and then by turning the bent closer tab just right mine slipped right off the end. I took it down to the shop and cleaned up the hole, sharpening the edges with a new round file. Reinstalled, no difference whatever. Back down to the shop and bent it a tad more. This time it caught but just a little. Back down to the shop and bent it to a full 90, then backed it off a little, unbending it in the bench vise pressing against the shank of a 1/2" bolt. Now it works perfect. Entire repair took about 10 minutes, guaranteed to have spectacular results in admiring eyes of spouse.

Grant

On Fri, 11 May 2007 08:40:23 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm, "Tom Gardner" quickly quoth:

You cheap bastid, Tawm. Just have an electric one installed for her.

I like the idea of the groove, you're right, the stop is always in the same place. Why didn't I think of that? Next time it acts up, it gets the notch! ...and yes, I am a cheap bastid! Mom can go screw herself before I'll pay another dime!