Good day All,
I purchased an Abbey England clam and have almost finished dressing it up. I used it last night to get some practice in but found it extremely stiff and this with the two tensioning bolts wound out to the point where they are almost falling off.
I was thinking that perhaps the wood selected doesn't have much flex and adding a spacer at the bottom to release some tension.
I've got quite large hands and even using my fist to twist it open is proving difficult. Should it be that stiff? Is there a wedge that someone has come up with to twist below the opening to release the clam?
Many thanks,
P
I ordered the brass hardware, Amazon, and hope to have this fitted. Even with the tension bolts out, it's still as a board. I searched/ordered 'brass threaded rod' and gone for the 8mm which Philp calls out. Then just 'brass dome nuts' and 'brass wingnut'. I used brass washers as well vs. the leather ones mentioned as I don't yet have the punch tools to make it. I'll post a pic of my take on dressing the clam once it's fully complete.
I will experiment in putting a thicker piece of leather at the bottom between the two parts which should in theory relive the tension. I noticed it all tightening up when I reinstalled the bottom bolt. I hope this makes sense!
And yes, for what they cost, one would expect it to just work.