It Spins!

[Jim Ritter]

Winton the chain is easily adjusted to have the jaw parallel at full clamping tension. Once set there is little need to adjust unless you want to clamp something that is out of parallel to begin with. I have one in use now for about three years and have not touched the tension since the initial setup.
Jim

[Winton Applegate]

Marko,

under 1/4"

Seriously cool.
Sounds like a keeper.

Jim,

I have one in use now for about three years and have not touched the tension since the initial setup.

Very nice work.

[les winter]

Aside from the fact that you do nice work, Marko, what is the secret to getting such smooth operation?

[Marko Milisavljevic]

The secret to making it spin is that the screw has to be on the same axis as the nut as any amount of binding will sap the energy.

Aside from the fact that you do nice work, Marko, what is the secret to getting such smooth operation?

I only ever made one of these, but my feeling is that it shouldn't be hard to repeat. I tried to make it as neatly as possible, but I don't have more than beginner-to-intermediate level skills, so it is not an example of precision craftsmanship. Reduce friction and vibration, and it will spin.

There may be variations in screw/nut mating as shipped by manufacturer that make some just naturally more easy to spin.

[Curt Putnam]

Have you finished the nut & screw? If so, how & with what. Lastly, did you wax it? If so, what kind of wax?

[Marko Milisavljevic]

All I did, out of the box, is apply my own paste wax which is... I don't remember exactly what I put in it, but a pretty basic mix of beeswax, turpentine and a wee bit of paraffin.

The only thing that I'm sure makes a significant difference (aside from handle being reasonably centered, otherwise vibration is too much) is relationship between screw and nut. Small movement of the nut seemed to be the difference between smooth and not - 1/16 off is too much. This is why I suggest mounting the nut last, allowing you to find the sweet spot. In the end, I feel I didn't do anything special except being mindful of friction and vibration as I built it.