broken fatboy

[rodd]

I got a cased fatboy a while ago in a lot, turned out to be broken. Has anyone seen this before and found a way to fix it? It is not a particularly pretty razor anyway, but it is a great shaver, seems a shame. When I unscrew the TTO, it comes out the bottom, I have to push the TTO knob towards the head to open the doors.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/roddgrady/SCL-dVz9SrI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/3IDrjUXVDAE/IMG_5705.JPG?imgmax=720

[Reformation Student]

I've not seen that before but is it possible the threading is stripped?

I know a guy selling a couple of nice Fatboys and a Flare-Tip if you want to replace it :D

[rodd]

;) Thanks, I actually just posted another in the acquisitions thread though. :D
The threads do work well, I think there must be a worn retaining ring or something though. If It still screws tight, but when I unscrew it, it is like there is nothing to hold the TTO knob in place so it lifts the doors.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/roddgrady/SCL-dFz9SqI/AAAAAAAAAfI/Pi428_4nGPg/IMG_5704.JPG?imgmax=720

[tjgriffin]

I'm not sure how these were made, but that groove just above the handle of the knob looks like it might be for a retaining ring. What do you see if you remove the knob and look into the bottom of the handle? Is there a corresponding groove on the inside? Is there a ring there? I think it's a missing retaining ring.

PS: This is how the knob on my Personna Percision two peice adjustable is held in place when it opened.

[rodd]

I don't think this is one of the ones that can be disassembled, or at least easily without damaging it. Any advice on doing so? It does have a groove that I would assume is for a retaining ring. I have a 30s aristocrat with the same issue.

[Scorpio]

I have disassembled these before. Can you take a pic of the bottom of the TTO knob. I want to make sure before I give the instructions.

Raf

[sparky5693]

Dang.... go raf. I didn't even know it was possible.

[rodd]

I will post one up after work. Thanks! I know there are two different styles, I thought this style could not be disassembled, but hopefully I am wrong! ;)

[AsylumGuido]

;) Thanks, I actually just posted another in the acquisitions thread though. :D
The threads do work well, I think there must be a worn retaining ring or something though. If It still screws tight, but when I unscrew it, it is like there is nothing to hold the TTO knob in place so it lifts the doors.

I ran across one a few weeks back at an estate sale that I could have had for 50 cents with the exact same problem. I passed on it because it had to much wear, but that turned me off. It did tighten fine, though.

[JayKay]

Thats what happened to my super adjustable. The head, shaft, and bottom all twist in different directions independently of one another. And it completely screwed up the blade gap.

[rodd]

Thats what happened to my super adjustable. The head, shaft, and bottom all twist in different directions independently of one another. And it completely screwed up the blade gap.

Maybe we can combine the parts and create a "super-fat boy"

[Scorpio]

Dang.... go raf. I didn't even know it was possible.

I have taken some of these apart for maintenance. Now, being able to fix this specific problem might be a different issue.

[JayKay]

Maybe we can combine the parts and create a "super-fat boy"

Yes! We can than sell it on ebay for 1000$ and buy a swarofsky crystal handle shaving brush and have joint custody over it!

[fritz]

if you look at this picture (http://www.theshaveden.com/forum/vbpgimage.php?do=full&p=839&d=1193244523), the FB on the left (date code E) can be taken apart easily, and also put back together. The FB on the right (date code G) can be taken apart, but not easily, and can't be put back together.:D:mad:

See the two little notches inside the twist knob? Just use a spanner wrench (or the tips of a small pair of needlenose pliers) and unscrew it... carefully, or parts will spring apart all over. Best to close the silo doors and put rubber bands around them first.

[fritz]

....The FB on the right (date code G) can be taken apart, but not easily, and can't be put back together.
Actually, before someone nit-picks, it's possible, but not with simple tools. The 4 little "bumps" around the central shaft have to be ground off with a Dremel tool. Then, to re-assemble, a new crimp ring has to be fabricated from brass or aluminum tubing.

[JayKay]

Sounds easier to ebay a new FB.

[rodd]

if you look at this picture (http://www.theshaveden.com/forum/vbpgimage.php?do=full&p=839&d=1193244523), the FB on the left (date code E) can be taken apart easily, and also put back together. The FB on the right (date code G) can be taken apart, but not easily, and can't be put back together.:D:mad:

See the two little notches inside the twist knob? Just use a spanner wrench (or the tips of a small pair of needlenose pliers) and unscrew it... carefully, or parts will spring apart all over. Best to close the silo doors and put rubber bands around them first.

Unfortunately I do have the type on the right. It is a F3. It looks identical, so I probably won't be taking pictures of mine. It is not a pretty fatboy anyway, so I won't be trying to put a lot of time in to it, I was just hoping for an easy fix. At least I am more comfortable with it now, since I got a much prettier one yesterday. Thanks everyone for your help!
Seriously Jay, super fattie. ;)

[fritz]

Well, save the case, of course. Try to get an early FB that you can take apart. Also, I'd save the current razor for spare innards for the one you get that you can take apart.... but I'm an old engineer and just can't stop fixing things that break...:D

[JayKay]

Fix my super.... I'm a biologist. I only fix living things. or fix dead things.

[tjgriffin]

Unfortunately I do have the type on the right. It is a F3. It looks identical, so I probably won't be taking pictures of mine. It is not a pretty fatboy anyway, so I won't be trying to put a lot of time in to it, I was just hoping for an easy fix. At least I am more comfortable with it now, since I got a much prettier one yesterday. Thanks everyone for your help!
Seriously Jay, super fattie. ;)

I'd try putting a retaining ring in that groove and see if you can snap it into place. What's to loose?

[rodd]

I'd try putting a retaining ring in that groove and see if you can snap it into place. What's to loose?

so you think I could put on a retaining ring, then just tap the handle back in to place? I think it is worth a try. Any idea what I could use for a ring?

[tjgriffin]

so you think I could put on a retaining ring, then just tap the handle back in to place? I think it is worth a try. Any idea what I could use for a ring?

It might be worth a try. I don't think I'd tap it in, at least not hard. I'd compress the ring and finesse it in as gently as possible. If the ring rolls out of the groove, you could get it pretty tightly wedged or end scoring or maybe ever cracking the handle from the inside. OTOH, as it is now, this is a parts razor and it seems that getting the parts out would be a destructive process anyway.

Things to consider would be if there is a renegade ring in there somewhere. If so it'd be better to get it out first. Also, it's just a guess how the innards really work. That's why I asked (naively) what the inside looked like. I remember seeing an ebay auction for a Gillette TTO (maybe Toggle) cut in half and set in a block of acrylic. Pretty cool! I can't find any cutaway images/drawings on the web, but there must be some out there somewhere.

Looking at your pictures again, it might be that the groove on the outside of the handle at the bottom, just above the knob has a corresponding bump in the inside that fits into the groove on the knob. If that's how it's made, that would mean there is no retaining ring and the bump inside is broken or worn.

My Personna DE has a thin round wire ring that's split and opened to be slightly larger than the diameter of the groove. The ring should be springy so it can flex and return without bending. I'd look for a coil spring that is about the same size and snip off one revolution and shape it into an open ring.

Does that make sense?