Old 06-15-20, 07:25 PM
  #13  
sweeks
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Originally Posted by DrinkSomeWater
Right, I was a bit confused about how this mechanism works.
It's an "over-center" mechanism, which means that once clamped, any "push-back" from the clamped structure has the effect of tightening the clamping force rather than loosening it. Properly adjusted, it's very stable... a good thing for a frame latch. See Over-Center Mechanism for some images.
The hexagonal part ("rod") of the frame latch mechanism has a small threaded hole in one end near the front part of the frame joint, and a larger male threaded end which adjusts the clamping force by changing the effective length of the rod. The small phillips-headed screw serves only to hold the rod in place. It should *not* be tight enough to prevent the rod from turning. Ideally, it bottoms out in the hole and is tight, but is slightly loose on the pivot shaft in the frame, allowing the rod to turn freely. The rod's male end rotates in a pivot shaft in the latch lever. Rotating the rod adjusts the compressive load on the rod, which allows optimization of the clamping force. A little LokTite on the phillips screw helps to keep the screw from coming loose in the rod; LokTite on the male threaded end of the rod keeps the latch adjustment stable.
I hope this makes sense.
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