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Alan Dague-Greene
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Things are fading fast, folks. First it was the annoying battery connection issue. At least that was understandable, given the cheap parts. But this one has me totally scratching my head.
Perhaps I'll go into more mechanical details when I have time to post, but my arm just committed suicide. Ok, that's a bit dramatic. I was removing a couple of bolts that hold the bones to the end blocks, and replacing them with a single bolt so that I would have more clearance for adjusting the spring. I noticed that turning out the spring angle adjuster was extremely difficult on the upper arm section.
Got the bolts replaced, no issue there. But as I was dialing the upper spring back into place, that angle adjuster became extremely difficult to turn. I've had a long week at work with lots of mousing, so my hand was already killing me. I thought it was just me becoming weaker. Then, something extraordinary happened. The bolt that runs through the spring adjuster sheered off. I just tore it in two with my inhuman strength, apparently. I checked myself in the mirror, my skin was still the same color, and no ripped T-shirt.
Somehow, the steel piece that ties the spring to this bolt had become completely fused to the threads, or something, and it absolutely will not budge. I've been trying various ridiculous things all night to get that bolt out of there so I can put a new one in. Nothing has worked so far.
I have the 48-hour film competition this weekend, and I've been preparing for months. To have this happen the day before we start is a little unnerving, to say the least.
Several phone calls later (I even considered ordering a G-50 for early Saturday delivery, but the shipping might cost more than the arm), I got in touch with a guy who has a Flyer. I met him once at the premier of a short film I worked on. He's a friend of a friend of a friend. Needless to say, he was extremely cautious, but he agreed to lend me the Flyer for the weekend. I'm leaving him my new Ultra2 vest as collateral.
But now I have to figure out how to fix my arm and get it into shape to be sold. I cannot sell it until I know exactly why this happened and what I can do to prevent it. I hardly ever adjusted that upper spring (closest to the vest), could that be why it was binding? However, it did not bind in the spot where it was sitting, but higher up on the bolt as I was loosening it.
OMG!! Stressful night from hell!
Oh yeah, and it just so happens that he's leaving for California tomorrow morning, gone for the weekend. What luck.
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