IROC-Z Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 Has anybody ever tried this? I want to do some choker work as described in the article written by Teemu I. I have a BB Elite that I would love to be able to close someday. This is the gripper I would like to put in a choker. I acquired two 3/8" diameter, hardened steel eyelets. My idea was to drill and tap the ends of the handles on my Elite, and screw the eyelets into the handles with the openings in the eyelets facing each other. I would then take a 5" long, hardened steel bolt and insert it through the eyelets and place a nut on the end. The gripper could then be choked down to the desired width by tightening the nut with a wrench. The reason I came up with this idea is because I originally used an automotive hose clamp on my Elite, and the band of the clamp started to tear in the area by the ribbing. It did not break, but I'm sure it would have if I would have left it on for a while longer. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnus Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 If you don't want to use a hose clamp, instead of modifying the gripper, you could just use a 1.5in. exhaust clamp and choke it around the spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbeards618 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Has anybody ever tried this? I want to do some choker work as described in the article written by Teemu I. I have a BB Elite that I would love to be able to close someday. This is the gripper I would like to put in a choker. I acquired two 3/8" diameter, hardened steel eyelets. My idea was to drill and tap the ends of the handles on my Elite, and screw the eyelets into the handles with the openings in the eyelets facing each other. I would then take a 5" long, hardened steel bolt and insert it through the eyelets and place a nut on the end. The gripper could then be choked down to the desired width by tightening the nut with a wrench.The reason I came up with this idea is because I originally used an automotive hose clamp on my Elite, and the band of the clamp started to tear in the area by the ribbing. It did not break, but I'm sure it would have if I would have left it on for a while longer. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I like your idea as long as you have the equipment to drill and tap the gripper handles. I have fairly large hands and there isn't much room for a hose clamp on the gripper. I haven't had much success with the exhaust clamp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IROC-Z Posted May 26, 2008 Author Share Posted May 26, 2008 I like your idea as long as you have the equipment to drill and tap the gripper handles. I have fairly large hands and there isn't much room for a hose clamp on the gripper. I haven't had much success with the exhaust clamp. Yeah, I haven't tried the exhaust clamp yet - but I thought it looked a bit awkward. I'm just trying to find something that works well for my needs, and I'm also looking for something a little bit more secure than a hose clamp. As far as drilling and tapping the handles - a friend of mine has a milling machine that will work perfect for this. I should be able to get the handles drilled and tapped right on-center, and laser straight. I'm probably going to give this a try within the next few weeks. If it works out okay, maybe I will post some pictures. Thanks for the input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ae_yogi Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 I'm probably going to give this a try within the next few weeks. If it works out okay, maybe I will post some pictures. Please do post some pictures and let us know how it works. It sounds like an interesting idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquilonian Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 It would be hard to make it work because the handles open and close in a circle not straight, back and forth. but then again...............maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IROC-Z Posted May 27, 2008 Author Share Posted May 27, 2008 It would be hard to make it work because the handles open and close in a circle not straight, back and forth. but then again...............maybe. I thought about that too. From parallel to closed it would probably work okay, but wider than parallel - this could definitely become an issue. Maybe I'm spending too much time trying to reinvent the wheel! I might just go ahead and try a different brand of hoseclamp, and see if that works any better. I guess I just have this fear of what could happen if the hoseclamp breaks, and I was looking for a safer way. Has anybody ever had a hoseclamp break while it was still on the gripper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnus Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 I guess I just have this fear of what could happen if the hoseclamp breaks, and I was looking for a safer way.Has anybody ever had a hoseclamp break while it was still on the gripper? Just out of curiosity, what size(width) hose clamp were you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IROC-Z Posted May 27, 2008 Author Share Posted May 27, 2008 Just out of curiosity, what size(width) hose clamp were you using? I originally tried a 5/8" hoseclamp, which probably would have been plenty strong - but it seemed to get in the way at times. After that, I switched to a 3/8" clamp to gain some room on the handle - and that was the one that started to show some fatigue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnus Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 (edited) Just out of curiosity, what size(width) hose clamp were you using? I originally tried a 5/8" hoseclamp, which probably would have been plenty strong - but it seemed to get in the way at times. After that, I switched to a 3/8" clamp to gain some room on the handle - and that was the one that started to show some fatigue. Hmmm...maybe you should try a 1/2" one and see how that goes for you. That'd kinda give you the best of both worlds. Edited May 27, 2008 by Magnus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PowerHouse Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 I've put my #4 in a choker and it didn't break, or show any signs of breaking. It was only in there for a short time though. I would much rather have a big washer around the spring on harder grippers like that just to be safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnus Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 I've put my #4 in a choker and it didn't break, or show any signs of breaking. It was only in there for a short time though. I would much rather have a big washer around the spring on harder grippers like that just to be safe. For some reason, there's just something scary about choking a #4 with a hose clamp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IROC-Z Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 Hmmm...maybe you should try a 1/2" one and see how that goes for you. That'd kinda give you the best of both worlds. Yeah....I just used what I had laying around in my garage. I'll have to check out an automotive store this weekend and see what sizes and thicknesses they have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IROC-Z Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 (edited) I've put my #4 in a choker and it didn't break, or show any signs of breaking. It was only in there for a short time though. I would much rather have a big washer around the spring on harder grippers like that just to be safe. That's why I was trying to come up with an idea for a diffferent style of choker. It was for the whole safety factor. I have my home gym set up in a room in our basement, with all of my grippers hanging from small hooks on the joists - and my 4 year old son tends to wander in there fairly often. I'm probably just being paranoid, but I had this major fear of the hoseclamp breaking when he was in there - and who knows what could happen. Edited May 28, 2008 by IROC-Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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