How would you fix this cam ?

title + pic say it all !

I'm lazy and don't have good luck gluing plastics like that.  I'd probably tape a stick to it to splint it together and leave it at that.

First thought:

2 small mending plates (flat metal pieces with two holes in them- think of those tiny L brackets you can get at the hardware store near where you’d find hinges. Mending plates don’t have the L)

2 long thin bolts threaded the entire length

4 nuts to fit those bolts. Maybe nylon locknuts.

Put a nut on each bolt and thread it up most of the way

Put each bolt into the holes of one mending plate from the same side

Put second nut on each bolt and tighten up to pinch the mending plate tight.

Put third nut on each bolt, but leave space between 3rd and 2nd bolt a bit wider than cam stem)

Put cam stem between bolts

Put 2nd mending plate on bolts

Put 4th nut on each bolt to pinch the 2nd mending plate tight. Now you trapped the cam stem.

You’ll have to thread the cam trigger wires onto the bolts as you build. Maybe add some nuts to pinch that on?

The gap between the plates would have to be small enough to keep the “bolt trigger” from sliding up towards the lobes (like a regular trigger stops itself from doing so)

That MIGHT work????

Sean Peter wrote:

First thought:

2 small mending plates (flat metal pieces with two holes in them- think of those tiny L brackets you can get at the hardware store near where you’d find hinges. Mending plates don’t have the L)

2 long thin bolts threaded the entire length

4 nuts to fit those bolts. Maybe nylon locknuts.

Put a nut on each bolt and thread it up most of the way

Put each bolt into the holes of one mending plate from the same side

Put second nut on each bolt and tighten up to pinch the mending plate tight.

Put third nut on each bolt, but leave space between 3rd and 2nd bolt a bit wider than cam stem)

Put cam stem between bolts

Put 2nd mending plate on bolts

Put 4th nut on each bolt to pinch the 2nd mending plate tight. Now you trapped the cam stem.

You’ll have to thread the cam trigger wires onto the bolts as you build. Maybe add some nuts to pinch that on?

The gap between the plates would have to be small enough to keep the “bolt trigger” from sliding up towards the lobes (like a regular trigger stops itself from doing so)

That MIGHT work????

Definitely get more metal involved. A few more nuts and bolts MIGHT get it done 

Gob some glue and splint both sides with some small strips of metal. A good stiff paper clip might do it and having it one piece, kinda wound around might help overall too 

https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en/climbing/spare-parts

Buy parts and DIY or send in for the Camalot Re-trigger Service $15

If $15 is too spendy, then cut off the plastic. Tie a small loop of 1/8" nylon cord, connecting the two wire rope loops. Who say it needs a trigger bar? 

www.sugru.com

Thanks all for taking the time to reply!

Looks like there are three main strategies : 

1) glue back together (personally I do think a splint is needed for reinforcement -- there is not much plastic left on the sides of the trigger bar, from too many IDIOTS trying to clean the cam)

2) remove trigger bar, replace with thin cord. I would modify your suggestion ClimbBaja, just slightly -- I think one loop would be needed on each side of the stem, so I can still manipulate each set of lobes autonomously. However, getting my fingers through two different loops on a rattly fingers sounds dicey!

3) Sean's idea, which may require the best and brightest of NASA's engineering teams and which has also caused my head to hurt. haha .... in all honesty thanks Sean. I can visualize most of it I think, and getting some metal involved does sound more robust than gluing the plastic only!

PS. I'm seeing trigger wires on the BD spare parts catalog, but no trigger bar.

I like the paperclip-as-splint idea.  I would put one above and one below the trigger bar, then superglue them onto the existing trigger bar with some narrow strips of gorilla tape wrapped around.

Call BD and ask them if they can fix it for you. If you are nice on the phone they might send you a new cam.

Mikey Seaman wrote:

Gob some blue and aplijt both sides with some small strips of metal. A good stiff paper clip might do it and having it one piece, kinda wound around might help overall too 

For the metal strip(s), street cleaner brush bristles work great, and you can just pick them up off the street. And plenty hot glue; not elegant or high tech, but easier to remove if you don't like the result. And while you're dabbling in the hot glue, drop a small bead on the trigger pull wires where they end in the cable crimp; maybe this provides stress relief that will keep the cable from fraying.

Sell for $20. 

Work/save $30. 

Buy new #0.5

Paperclip or finish nail splint coated in JB weld would be my go to.

I think it's fixed now. like independent suspension. 

Mikey Seaman wrote:

Gob some glue and splint both sides with some small strips of metal. A good stiff paper clip might do it and having it one piece, kinda wound around might help overall too 

this is exactly what i have done (big paper clip and shoe goo). 

Drill tiny holes and use a mini zip tie. Fastest, cheapest option.

Some of you have me cracking up ...... independent suspension, haha ..... ah that's good Mark. Full disclosure, Dan .... I myself was the IDIOT that pulled too hard and broke the trigger bar in the first place whilst cleaning the cam. In my defense it was way far in there.

Promise you won't laugh at me. Below is a pictorial spread of a revolutionary new trigger design. I call it "pipe dream" 

break it out when you're pumped out of your gourd on those pesky rattly finger cracks. The trigger edges have ridged grips and the clamps can be tightened to the desired counterpressure to accommodate the tastes of today's modern crack climber.

above is the maximum cam angle before the pipe hits the thumb loop. so the pipe prevents you from accidentally fully camming the device. (this was basically blind luck)

I think you could also hook a nut tool into the gap between each half of the pipe nipple.

it actually feels pretty solid in the hand!

If this design proves too clunky in a field test, I'll try out the splint+glue option which has risen to the forefront of all your suggestions.

I was skeptical that a paper clip or thin metal splint would have the bending resistance necessary near the cam stem. When I pulled down on each side of the trigger bar (when it was broken in half), I was surprised how much force was really needed to retract the lobes.

Of course bending stress is inversely proportional to the moment of inertia about the bending axis of the trigger bar. I think this is why BD made the plastic trigger bar wide about the bending axis, but too thin on the weak/non-loaded axis leading to the bar breaking from gumby nut tool work. Long story short I felt like the splint was eventually going to bend near the stem, if not, it would certainly be a less cumbersome design than what I've come up with!

jt newgard wrote:

Some of you have me cracking up ...... independent suspension, haha ..... ah that's good Mark. Full disclosure, Dan .... I myself was the IDIOT that pulled too hard and broke the trigger bar in the first place whilst cleaning the cam. In my defense it was way far in there.

Promise you won't laugh at me. Below is a pictorial spread of a revolutionary new trigger design. I call it "pipe dream" 

break it out when you're pumped out of your gourd on those pesky rattly finger cracks. The trigger edges have ridged grips and the clamps can be tightened to the desired counterpressure to accommodate the tastes of today's modern crack climber.

above is the maximum cam angle before the pipe hits the thumb loop. so the pipe prevents you from accidentally fully camming the device. (this was basically blind luck)

That limit on cam retraction is going to be a problem when the cam is set at 95% retraction and you need to compress it to the max to get it out.  That was the problem with the early BD X4 cams where the trigger cords (not wires in the larger sizes) were glued in to the lobes at an angle - you couldn't fully retract the lobes. I saw two essentially brand new X4s stuck in cracks because of this. There was room for the lobes to contract farther (and thus enable removal), but the cords just wouldn't pull them around that far. AFAIK this problem was fixed on later production X4s.

For a 0.4 C4

Step1: throw it in the trash

Step 2: buy a totem

Kevin Mokracek wrote:

www.sugru.com

I haven't used sugru myself, but I think that it might be perfect for this. It's kind of a claylike epoxy, and it seems like you would be able to basically coat the broken trigger inside and out, let it cure and be done with it. It would behave like glue and a splint all at once. Good call Kevin!