Originally Posted by
rootboy
Just an opinion here but, I'd would take that spare lever of yours and have it done to match, and get rid of the bad lever. I wouldn't trust it. I've never really looked that closely at my levers but, aren't those barrels put in there at the time of manufacture? I personally wouldn't want to try to replace one in the hole I see in those pics. Spread the lever sides to get it in there? Not for me.
my first thought was that i might need DD to do another lever to match, but i wanted to save him the trouble if possible. this issue is definitely not a result of his handy work in any way, just worn out parts.
the barrels are put in at the time of manufacture. nothing wrong with the holes in the lever, it's the barrel that is the problem. spreading the lever and inserting the barrel from within doesn't solve the problem. the opening on the inside and outside of the lever are the same, therefor the good side of the barrel will not fit through.
1 vote for DD doing another lever
Originally Posted by
Oldpeddaller
You asked for ideas? Find or make a REALLY thin washer (could be nylon or plastic) that is larger than the hole in the lever arm. Fit this over the end of the barrel that is loose. Then spread the lever sides and insert the barrel with the washer inside the lever - and close it up again. I really don't know if this would work, but I'd imagine it would stop the barrel from tipping sideways when you pull on the cable and would be less visible than fitting a bush inside the lever hole.
Rootboy suggests you have a spare lever - rather than having that drilled and polished, could you swap the barrel from that lever into your drilled one?
That's it, I'm out of ideas - hope this helps, even if it's only to decide "I'm not going to do that!"
not sure i follow. i don't get where the washer will end up at the end of the process. in any case, spreading the lever sides doesn't allow the good side of the barrel through the hole.
2 votes for DD doing another lever
Originally Posted by
miamijim
Your on the right track....wedge a penny or nickle in the slot then wack it good. Something to try is installing the barrel, wedge something in the slot to keep it from closing up and them applying pressure to both sodes of the barrel with a vice.
i tried this method using a hammer and something between the hammer and barrel to absorb the impact, using a large flat head screwdriver in place of a penny/nickel. then i tried it with a cable end inserted in the barrel. both attempts yielded the same result, nothing. the ribbed ring does not appear to be spreading/widening. the wedge just gets pinched in the opening.
Originally Posted by
Drillium Dude
Or simply send me the good lever and I'll duplicate the drilling as suggested by that old Brit
DD
3 votes for DD doing another lever,
done haha
the spare lever i mentioned is not usable unfortunately, it has super deep gouges and half the logo is missing... also, this is the lever i attempted my own drillium on with miserable results.
i have another set of matching levers however one is missing the "O" and the bottom point of the logo and the other is pretty beat up, but i think i can clean it up. there are a few deep scrapes but with a little work i should be able to get it up to par.
thanks for all the tips and ideas everybody! since it's been determined, more or less, that a new lever must be drilled, i will give the vice a go as i've not yet tried that (only a hammer). i will also try to pound out the barrel from that junk lever i mentioned and see what type of damage is done to the lever itself. i doubt that there is any springiness to the aluminum but if the barrel can be freed without expanding the hole in the lever, perhaps pounding it into the drillium lever might work?