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Custom stainless gripper 


matek

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This project started with me wanting an "ultimate choker gripper"; basically a hybrid between Standard adjustables and the CPW/Aaron Corcorran style choker grippers. Although the huge washer solution works really well on the adjustables, the biggest downside is that choking at the spring is suboptimal compared to choking at the end of the handles. 

So I thought, why not design a gripper based on Standards (my favorite gripper line). I learned about torsion springs, including how to measure things and materials, and made the specification. I found a local company that makes springs for machines, old toys, etc., and they could make the spring I wanted. 

The handle was more problematic. Not even because of the tapping but because of the knurling. I wanted the handles to be stainless steel with nice knurling like on Standards or GHPs. Thankfully, @Cannon gave me some really useful pointers (thanks again, Matt), so I made the design and ordered the handle from the company I usually buy steel for bending. 

I wanted at least six levels, ended up with seven including Flush. The levels are laser engraved into the spring. I didn't want to cut the spring, so this seemed like the best solution. Getting the hardware for the choker mechanism wasn't a big deal.

I've MMSd some of the easier Levels, and well, it is one hard gripper that's for sure. Even those easier settings are far from beginner level. 
Btw I don't plan to make this again, it's a nice one-of-a-kind gripper. Only one thing remains: sending the gripper to CPW for rating! 

Some general stats:
Spread: Flush - 70.5mm, Level 6 - 83mm
Spring: 8.0mm diameter (slightly thicker than a Tungsten), oil-tempered steel
Handle: ~19.4mm diameter (same as Standard because of the aggressive knurling), 304 stainless steel
Weight: 521g/1.15lb (for comparison, my CoC #3.5 is 261g/0.58lb)
Choker: M6 stainless 304

Some pictures:
First one is at Flush
Second is Level 1 
Third and fourth are showing the choker at Level 3 
Fifth pic: the whole "kit" 

@EmilBB this is the project I was talking about 😄

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Edited by matek
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That thing is sick

way cool gripper

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Great buld

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That looks so amazing man, such a great idea. I'm curious what CPW is gonna rate those different levels, with that huge spring at 83mm spread it must be up there.

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Thanks everyone, I'm really happy with the final product!

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Wow! That's pretty awesome!

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  • 8 months later...

Update: today I finally shipped the adjustable stainless gripper to CPW for rating. There are many silly reasons why I didn't do it yet, but in the past few months I was waiting for the Nickels. Then after the release, it took me almost two months to score a Nickel with a rating that makes sense for me. Anyways, the gripper will be rated at Flush, Level 1, Level 3, and Level 5. Ratings of other levels will be interpolated/extrapolated.

I'll post the results as I get the gripper back. Probably about a month from now. 

I also made a few changes to the choker mechanism. The main thing is that I swapped the stainless bolt to a hardened Grade 8.8 bolt. Just to be sure that it can take the choking using the wrench. 

 

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It's like a work of art.

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This thing combines all the best features and looks beautiful at the same time. Awesome. Curious to see the rating specs as the spring looks stout.

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On 2/10/2024 at 1:54 AM, John Knowlton said:

It's like a work of art.

 

23 hours ago, HandsMcHanderson said:

This thing combines all the best features and looks beautiful at the same time. Awesome. Curious to see the rating specs as the spring looks stout.

Thanks guys.

Yes I expect it to be close to 200 at flush. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
Posted (edited)

Aand here are the ratings:
Spring bottomed out in the handles = 199 (70.5mm spread)
Level 1 = 181
Level 2 = 168
Level 3 = 156
Level 4 = 145
Level 5 = 135
Level 6 = 126 (83mm spread)

So it covers a really wide range! About 10lb increments (except when the spring is bottomed out).
Huge thanks to @Cannon/CPW for the excellent customer service and for going through the trouble of rating all the levels. I'm grateful.

+

I made some changes to the choker mechanism to make it safer setting to the desired spread with a wrench:
1. Changed the stainless bolt to a Grade 10.9 bolt to make sure the threads are durable enough (earlier I said 8.8, but actually it's a 10.9 bolt). 
2. I put a hardened steel washer before the long nut. Although unlikely, even if the joint fails and the ball pops in, the gripper still can't open suddenly because the outer diameter of the washer is larger than the inner diameter of the joint. 

 

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Edited by matek
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38 minutes ago, matek said:

Aand here are the ratings:

Nice! Will you make Matek Monster Certification? 🤣

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Way cool , you have created something really special 

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3 hours ago, John Knowlton said:

Way cool , you have created something really special 

Thanks John!

I'm very satisfied with the gripper (although I would do a few things differently if I did it again)

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9 hours ago, matek said:

Thanks John!

I'm very satisfied with the gripper (although I would do a few things differently if I did it again)

This is great looking and you have access to a very broad range. What would you do differently?

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1 minute ago, A.J. Valcarcel said:

This is great looking and you have access to a very broad range. What would you do differently?

Thanks!

1. There is some discoloration at the top of the handles from the cutting process. It is possible to cut stainless without discoloration of course, but I didn't ask for this specifically. This is my only true regret.
2. The handles don't really have beveled ends. It's just chamfered a little so it doesn't cut my hand. I really don't like when the handles are beveled a lot because the gripper slides back more easily during the set (+ harder to judge if the handles were truly closed). That being said, something like second-gen Standards would have been more comfortable. But this can be corrected easily.
3. I could have put another level below Level 1, and made the "bottomed-out" level a true flush. But honestly, this is not a big deal. And unfortunately not even relevant to me at this point haha😅

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