FERM ffz-400n

[Valiant]

Hey all,

I was recently gifted a FERM ffz-400n from a friend, it belong to her grandad. I'm finally getting around to it, switched it on and it seems to be in working order and very well behaved. However the blade is dull. I then discovered the knob for the tensioning rod is missing. I tried a pair of mole grips but it wasn't budging. I can't seem to find spares online for a new tensioning rod setup. Is there another machine that uses the same part or similar, or is there another way to make th machine usable?

Is it a decent enough machine that it's worth the time and effort to get working?

 

[sunnybob]

Theres a users manual with exploded parts diagrams.
http://doc.ferm.com/Servotool/documents/SSM4001 Manual 0210-25 .pdf
Then contact ferm sales dept
https://ferm-diy.com/en/customer-service

 

[Valiant]

Thankyou, when I spoke to Solent tools they said Ferm didn't do spares. Odd.

 

[sunnybob]

Ferm is a big company, they obviously sell spares. But nowadays many companies that size dont actually deal with customers. They use a third party to handle parts. This is often a poor decision for the customer (just try ordering record spares) but is financially advantageous to the company.
Its a sad state of affairs, but I have personal experience of a tool supplier telling me it was unobtainable purely because they didnt have it and couldnt be arsed to get it.
Persevere,

 

[Valiant]

Thanks for the heads up

 

[whatknot]

Most tensioning rod assemblies are very similar, two basic differences, those with a quick release and those like yours without, if you look at a bicycle rear axle assembly (skewers) they are very similar, I made one for a 2nd hand Hegner to add a quick release to it, the original had been bent, it worked very well

Measure the one on the machine and get the nearest to it

I did not want to cut the old one to get the V blocks so made a couple out of a square door handle bar

All in cost less than £3 and some time

The only difference with yours is it has the knob underneath where the Hegner and others have it on the top, but it still should work

It just depends on the length of the original