In praise of split cotters

[metric_taper]

I just made 2 conventional clamps for my wife's long arm quilting machine. The existing laser pointer had failed to where its brightness required the room to be darkened. As an OEM replacement was over $70, I ordered a replacement bare diode from an eBay seller (received 10 of them). I made a holder for the bare diode from 1 inch Delrin round stock (served as an electrical insulator). The machine has a 1/4 inch (actually .242") mounting rod (which explains why there are 2 holes on that clamp, note to self; don't guess, measure it first).




I used a roll pin to pin the main bolt (1/4x20 2.5 inch long) in the small clamp. I cheated and used a COTS (commercial off the shelf) wing nut vs making a knurled disk like the original.