Why Are Orb Gaskets So Hard To Find?

[chimera]

I don't mean to buy, I know Linegear has them and you can find OEM around. I mean when you drop them, especially in carpet! I was missing a gasket for a long time, and when I sent my frames off to The X-MAN he included one for me in the package back. Just went to put my newly refinished/tighted Juliets back together with my old lenses (new ones havent arrived yet) and promptly dropped one of the gaskets again. Arrrggggghhhhhh. I ordered a few more from Linegear along with a full set of violet rubber for my XS but until that arrives I'm a gasket short again.

Also how much pressure should you need to apply to an orb screw to get it to "bite"? Without gaskets mine grab just fine, but with a gasket I just cannot get it to bite - it's almost like the screw is slightly too short (since it works without gaskets). Any tips?

 

[OakleyGuru379]

The threads were built with the gasket in mind, so when you remove the gasket, it's not that the screw is too short, just that your angle has become different without it.

 

[chimera]

Well I'm thankful that today is a snow day so rather than being at work I was able to spend another hour crawling around on the carpet, and found my missing gasket! I understand what you're saying about the angle changing when not using a gasket, but is there a solution to making it grab WITH the gasket in? I don't like the juliets without them, they look like fakes without that little bit of black in the orbs.

edit: so I think it was a bad screw - I was using a couple of Walleva screws I got from ebay, switched to the one OEM screw I have left and that side is grabbing fine now. The other Walleva screw is grabbing fine. I'll see if they'll send me a replacement since they're not exactly cheap for a screw

 

[Typhoon]

If your lens isn't fitting right ( custom lens or early Juliet frame)' it can sometimes be hard to get the screw to bite with the lens in place.

 

[chimera]

I couldn't even get it to bite without lenses, but I did try with some old emerald VL lenses and my trashed OEM Ice Iridiums just to see how they looked in the new X-Metal frame. I love the X-Metal finish, looks and feels so different to plasma which I'd become bored with.

 

[THE X-MAN]

just enough till the gasket "compresses" a bit,too much and the rubber "oozes" from the frame.if the lenses still wiggle a little use the electrical tape shim method I described a couple months ago.i did that again last night on a pair of ruby x-metals I bought this week that had a left loose orbital.

 

[CarGuy]

I don't rely on the screws to bite, I squeeze the orbital together then tighten the screw.
I'd hate to strip the frame trying to get the screw to do the work of drawing the frame together.
To prevent losing the small bits I work over a lime green microfiber (car) towel or a white hand towel to catch an errant part and provide a contrast to locate it.

 

[i am rich]

Like car guy said, I place a white towel on the table and on the carpeted area I work on.

 

[chimera]

Yep, I definitely learned from that mistake and did my work today on a yellow microfiber towel.

 

[dragonvoi]

Stumbled on this thread remembered something i saw on facebook: