Leatherman DIY Repair Advice

[theonew]

One of the Juices (Jeece to some here  ) I recently acquired has the dreaded pliers pivot spin. It doesn't get really loose but enough that stranded wire cutting is no longer crisp. So I'm thinking maybe I'll Dremel a slot in the pivot so I can tighten it with a dime or a screwdriver. Anyone tried this? Any thoughts?

[Zed]

not done it but you could send it back to LM if your not happy with it 

[theonew]

Should have mentioned in my first post that they are both KF4s

[ryan1835]

they wont be screwed together as such so this wont work im afraid not sure what you can do to be honest give leatherman an email i guess

[New_World]

not done it but you could send it back to LM if your not happy with it 

send it back to LM.....they are awesome. =)

[Mercury]

Yep, they are not screwed together, it's more like a really precise rivet that is then ground to remove all traces of riveting.

If I understand your OP right, it sounds like you have a bit of a notch in your wire cutters that is hanging up.  Take the diamond file from your KF4 and lightly file the mating surfaces of your cutters until they pass each other smoothly.  I have done that on about 6 tools, it always works just fine.

[theonew]

Yep, they are not screwed together, it's more like a really precise rivet that is then ground to remove all traces of riveting.

If I understand your OP right, it sounds like you have a bit of a notch in your wire cutters that is hanging up.  Take the diamond file from your KF4 and lightly file the mating surfaces of your cutters until they pass each other smoothly.  I have done that on about 6 tools, it always works just fine.

I wish that was the problem. But what is happening is that the pressure that pushes each side of the jaws together laterally is diminishing. The pliers then open and close with no force required but gravity itself. I can rotate the center pivot by grasping it with another pair of pliers and remove the slack but after 5 or 10 openings and closings the center pivot rotates back and the pliers get loose again.

As recommended I sent them an email and shall wait and see. If they can't repair it I will bust out the Dremel 

[Mercury]

I'm confused as to how you can tighten a plier head by twisting.  They aren't threaded, the pivot is literally a rivet.  In fact, all LM pliers are made this way.  The only way to tighten one would be to peen the rivet, and that would likely not work because there is no room for the rivet to mushroom any further.  And there are literally no screws on the Juice line, they are held together entirely with rivets.  Could you show us pics of what you are talking about?

[Dunc]

I know exactly what theonew means     My first ever PST suffered this problem . The actual rivet in the centre of the pliers can be rotated . Like theonew's mine couldn't be rotated 360 degrees and became "stuck" at a certain point . I would imagine this is because the rivet isn't exactly 100% round . When the rivet became stuck the pliers would once again be tighter with zero play , that is until you used them a few times and the rivet loosened round and the play was back   
  Maybe the idea of a slot for a coin to tighten it would work  I don't know and I think you would still have to keep tightening it up . Its not really a solution and I would certainly contact leatherman but I see your problem with owning a discontinued model as they replace Juices rather then repair them 

[Mercury]

Ahh, I see.  The tool comes with the rivet kinda set into one jaw.  As you use the tool, it wears the rivet a little and you develop looseness.  If you are able to adjust the position of the rivet, you can "tighten" it by rotating it to where a less worn section is pressing against both sides, therefor eliminating your problem for a little while. 

The only permanent fix I can see is having LM replace the plier jaws, because the odds of them wanting to just put another rivet in are not good.

[J-sews]

It seems like peening would be worth a try. You'd need something solid underneath that would only bear against the pivot pin, and a punch of some sort on top that would again, only bear on the pivot pin. (a second person might be required to hold everything in line) Then haul off and give it a good whack with a hammer. Hopefully that would tighten up some of the slop that has developed. 

[Mercury]

It seems like peening would be worth a try. You'd need something solid underneath that would only bear against the pivot pin, and a punch of some sort on top that would again, only bear on the pivot pin. (a second person might be required to hold everything in line) Then haul off and give it a good whack with a hammer. Hopefully that would tighten up some of the slop that has developed.

+1 on a second person.

If I were to try that alone, I would completely miss the rivet and probably chip off one of the plier jaws completely!

[New_World]

It seems like peening would be worth a try. You'd need something solid underneath that would only bear against the pivot pin, and a punch of some sort on top that would again, only bear on the pivot pin. (a second person might be required to hold everything in line) Then haul off and give it a good whack with a hammer. Hopefully that would tighten up some of the slop that has developed.

+1 on a second person.

If I were to try that alone, I would completely miss the rivet and probably chip off one of the plier jaws completely!

don't listen to em....he's waisted.

btw don't listen to my advice either.   

[Mercury]

It seems like peening would be worth a try. You'd need something solid underneath that would only bear against the pivot pin, and a punch of some sort on top that would again, only bear on the pivot pin. (a second person might be required to hold everything in line) Then haul off and give it a good whack with a hammer. Hopefully that would tighten up some of the slop that has developed.

+1 on a second person.

If I were to try that alone, I would completely miss the rivet and probably chip off one of the plier jaws completely!

don't listen to em....he's waisted.

btw don't listen to my advice either.   

Ok, I MAY have had a pint or two by the time I posted this.  Ok, 5 pints or 2...
 

[dbtrethewey]

Loosening of the jaw pivot is a common result of a lot of use of not enough lubrication. Tightening is a snap with ; Anvil or vice strike pad , 3/8" punch and a 4 pound hammer .
 Place the stationary side of the jaw flat on corner of anvil, punch on the rotating pivot and give it a serious klop with the hammer. Test and repeat till the right tension is achieved. I usually oil well with engine oil before tightening. You want to try to keep the punch perpendicular to the surface so the rivet is uniformly reset.  If you end up too tight , flip the tool over , place the rotating rivet over a 1/2 inch socket and tap with punch lightly on the stationary side. ( stretches the rivet slightly reducing your preload.) Ideally , the jaw is slightly tight after repair and it will loosen up over the next couple hundred openings. Keep the oil coming.
If you have dented the cutting edges by not paying attention to the different cutters and loading . . .  the diamond file trick mentioned earlier works well, try to keep parallel as if you slope the edges wrong way , you have a binder. . . now a  bruiser working the hell out of a small diamond file will create enough heat to damage the diamond file , so wet the file and they will last forever. Any really hard steel ( like a file ) is brittle so don't get too carried away flexing the file or you will hear a "ting. . . "