The Kromski Sonata is a great wheel, but let me tell you the screw nut that is in place on this stud that holds the Mother of All has been a Royal Pain. That piece of metal that you see in that post below comes loose. Why don't they glue it from the factory and that way we don't have to freak out that we broke the wheel. It is not a cheap wheel, I just don't understand the reasoning behind not gluing it. I can now understand the allure of the fixed height wheels. Needless to say I am not a very Happy Camper, but I will survive, I have written emails in the middle of the weekend and expect a responses later during the week. Kromski has a Five year Craftsmanship warranty, this is a craftsmanship problem if I ever saw one. I found some solutions through a yahoo group, in which other people are or were having the same problem. I believe is a craftsmanship flaw that needs to be corrected, maybe an oversight, maybe it never happened before, but it is happening now. Why do I have to repair this? Probably because Kromski or The Dealer in the U.S.A. does not want to deal with the issue. This is a practically brand new wheel and I expect it to last at least 5 years and one day. I was going to buy a Kromski Loom, but not with this experience, if they don't stand behind their warranty and tell me to fix it, I don't think so. This may need to be updated later, we shall see.
I had the problem like some of you with the Screw Nut from my Sonata that holds the Mother of all. This is a shortcoming of their thinking and thus their craftsmanship suffers. I would glue this sucker in place. The first time it came loose I freaked out, lol, but I fixed it back into place. My wheel is less than 1.5 years old, maybe two at max. I use it with care and I treat it with lots of care and respect. It has given me a lot of pleasure and entertainment. Without being able to hold the Mother of All in place, you , I CAN NOT SPIN. The wheel becomes an expensive piece of wood.
I started thinking with my partner of things that I would do after reading on the net. What we did is, we used some 100 % bamboo dk yarn and wrap it around the outside of the screw nut to give it some girth, yet not make it impossible to screw it back in the hole that it came out of. I then used Gorilla Glue, you heard it right, Gorilla glue on the outside of the nut and after wetting the inside of the wood with a Q-tip, I spread a thin layer of the glue on the outside of the Screw nut, including the bamboo yarn, with a Q-tip as well. I screwed it in place and allowed it to dry for an hour. The glue expands and is my belief , because is bamboo yarn, a kind of wood material, that it will hold there for ever.. I am going to give it a test drive and if I don't report back anything, is because it has worked. The glue expands a bit, and I am hoping that the yarn will make a good conduit and embrace the glue through it's fibers, making it impossible for this screw nut to ever come out again.
There are more options like getting a bigger screw nut and making a new Knob no 2. There is also a drilling a new hole on the other side of the post idea and filling the old hole with a peg. I can now see the lure of the fixed height orifice wheels, I bet they have no problems there . I encourage Kromski to fix this problem, because I can tell you right now if I ever replace this wheel is not going to be with a wheel that I have to adjust the height of the Mother of All, it may not even be a Kromski for that matter. Another solution is to get a bigger Screw Nut and have to get a New Knob no.2 re made to fit the new size. Another solution is to fill the hole with a wooden peg glued in place, re drill and re screw the screw nut. Dear Kromski is like having a Car with a door that does not close, you can not drive with an open door, is against the law, you can not spin without the Mother of all being secured in place, lol.Here it is in place, and let's see how long it holds, I hope for ever.
I am hoping to have some feedback from the distributor. I don't think that we as spinners have to worry about something like this happening. It is something that needs to be corrected. I am posting this on my blog so that others that have this problem find solutions. I tell you this much, I am not getting a Kromski again. Thanks for stopping by!
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