triton superjaws no longer clamping

[darren.edgerton]

Hi Guys,

been searching the net for help with my triton superjaws and saw this site with lots of info about tritons in general so thought i'd sign up and see if
someone here would be kind enough to help.

well, i have a superjaws SJA001 and the sliding jaw no longer "grabs".
i have had it for 10+ years and over the last year or so I have noticed that the sliding jaw doesn't always grab and requires me to move it slightly by hand so that the next time i press the foot lever it grabs and clamps. Well the other day it stopped working :-(

looking at the parts diagram and looking at my unit, i have come to the conclusion that the drive pawl is no longer engaging the bottom of the sliding jaw.
Does this sound right?
Is this a common problem and do you have any suggestions for fixing or diagnosing the problem further?
Is the drive pawl just worn and needs replacing?

any help appreciated.

cheers,
Darren

[Optimark]

Have you cleaned everything? I have found on mine that it does start to sort of stick a bit and not pop up properly if there is a fair amount of crud in the system.

The spring may be worn and not pushing or allowing the drive pawl thingy to move properly. Also the pawls themselves could be worn flattish if they have not been engaging properly.

Funnily enough today, my local plumber called in for something and we talked about the Triton video clip as he walked in and saw me using my own superjaws. He told me George (the fella who invented the Triton) shot that video himself. The plumber, Ian, is in this clip at about the 3.00 mark, he looks the same, just about 20 years older and greyer :D

I would say your assessment is probably right, but check the spring out.

The video clip I'm talking about is here TRITON SJA001: The Original Super Jaws - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF2M9GCwRr8)

Mick.

[malb]

Interesting to see Mr Plumber oxy brazing about 6-8 inches from his shorts clad knees.

I worked with the guy that was the voice over guy 25-30 years ago, he was teaching film criticism, not a practical cell in his body when it came to manual skills, but he has done VO work for a huge number of tools over the last 30 years.