Tip: Easy Fix for Worn Cleco

[Rick6a]

Have you ever had a worn or even a brand new cleco button pull though parts or aluminum skin because it cannot hold on? Some cleco designs are more prone to do that than others. Maybe the skin has a lot of "spring" to it and even your best cleco button cannot grip and hold on without pulling through. There happens to be an easy fix for that I learned on the production floor way too many years ago.​

For example, let us assume you are trying to cleco a #40 dimpled hole like the one in the photo. Cut a tiny scrap of aluminum (.063 works great) into a small square. Drill a #41 hole through the middle of it. No need to be very precise or pretty about it. Insert the cleco into the hole as you normally would and then through the bit of scrap. More often than not, the technique works. Very cheap and very easy.​

 

[mike newall]

I feel that the cleco in the photo may just have pulled it's last.....

 

[Rick6a]

I feel that the cleco in the photo may just have pulled it's last.....

Mike,

What would lead you to conclude the cleco may "have pulled it's last?"

 

[Geico266]

A little wire brush and that prosealed cleco will be good as new.

Great tip Rick.

 

[danielhv]

A little wire brush and that prosealed cleco willo be good as new.

Great tip Rick.

Yes, remember guys, we must save the cleco's...

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=50576&highlight=save+cleco

 

[apkp777]

3/32 and 1/8" washers work very well to help the clamping effectiveness of clecos. Also, very easy to use and the washers come predrilled.

 

[lorne green]

cleco

I feel that the cleco in the photo may just have pulled it's last.....

Na, Rick dipped it in Boelube before using.

 

[Rick6a]

Ya think?

A little wire brush and that prosealed cleco will be good as new...

Na, Rick dipped it in Boelube before using....

I suppose you *could* use a wire brush or boelube to clean or prevent proseal from sticking to a cleco button but why bother? I use nothing, nothing at all. Any proseal residue that clings to the button is mostly a cosmetic issue for the builder. Unless the same cleco button is used with wet proseal over and over again (a highly unlikely scenario for the amateur homebuilder) in that case the cleco will eventually develop several layers of cured proseal and over time it is that build-up that may interfere with normal operation. Even so, for a well-appointed production shop using lots of proseal on a daily basis that is no big deal because the clecos are simply immersed in industrial strength ultrasonic machines to strip and clean them to restore performance. After all, production shops can't be paying people to sit around and clean proseal off cleco buttons, nor is it economical to toss the clecoes out either. Unless mechanically damaged, it is not proseal but the cleco button's spring or shaft that tend to wear out that will render the cleco button unusable.

The simple act of removing the cleco buttons from the holes shown in the photo below will strip most of the proseal from the cleco buttons. If the builder decides to take the time to further clean the clecos, he's got more time to waste than I do.