Broken Cam

Wondering what I could do to fix, it doesn't look like it would affect the strength of the cam just needs to be strong enough to retract the lobes. Thoughts? 

Superglue would probably work.

or just buy a cam from this century.

PS that generation of Chouinard cams is prone to two issues: fraying on the cable where it meets the body (slide the plastic cover back to check), and cracking on the housing in the center of the axle.

I believe they did testing that shows the cracked axle actually isn’t a big problem, but it definitely spooks some people. I would check your cam carefully for both issues. 

Thanks for letting me know, and I'm definitely gonna look for some newer cams soon

Daniel Kaywrote:

Superglue would probably work.

or just buy a cam from this century.

Isn't that a the "mythical" 3.5 size tho? Could be nice to have around

Easy fix , fabricate a new “clam shell” trigger bar, attaching the two halves with small machine screws , rivets , or epoxy holding the new “halves” together, or just glue the trigger bar back together. 7075 t7 aluminum is a fine material choice , easier to work with than 6061 t6 .

You could get creative too , off the top of my head , Wood dowels, popsicle sticks, chopsticks.Limited only by your imagination on this one

I repaired one of those old, crap BD cams once with some heat shrink tubing. Try that. Also, retire it after you fix it.

Daniel Kaywrote:

PS that generation of Chouinard cams is prone to two issues: fraying on the cable where it meets the body (slide the plastic cover back to check), and cracking on the housing in the center of the axle.

I believe they did testing that shows the cracked axle actually isn’t a big problem, but it definitely spooks some people. I would check your cam carefully for both issues. 

Ah, the old Darth Vader piece: Ugly and black with lots of holes in the head piece!

To illustrate the structural problems:

In response to Sawyer, no it’s not the #3.5 – those were later by BD, not Chouinard, and are single-stem units with a gray color.

That one’s too big, but I still keep an old #1, held together with plenty of glue and electrical tape,  to add “color“ and contrast to all my newer pieces.  I have no issues about whipping on it. it’s been trusty over the years.  Like an old pair of ripped jeans that you just can’t throw out  

It is a #4. Another issue they had was caused by the very hard alloy and very narrow lobes, which could cause the cam to track out in soft stone.