How to attach cotton head

[highup]

How does a cotton head actually attach to a stretcher? Mine's a Roberts Jr swivel head.
Shop bought one that fits a Roberts Jr and Powerlock. Not having seen it, I wonder if it fits mine. Do they bolt or screw on?

 

[Floorist]

My old one with two heads is a Crain, It screws on.

 

[Floorist]

On Roberts site looks like screws.

 

[DarisMulkin]

I have one for my swivel head. It goes on the same way the swivel head does. Bolts. Only thing is mine don't have the fancy plastic cover the regular head does. The cover on mine broke many years ago. Also I don't really like the swivel head. Every time I move it I have to readjust it and it stripped out the original bolt.

 

[highup]

You mean a single bolt, and the entire head is replaced? If it's the same as mine, you're one piece plastic cover has that hollow finger grip on it? Mine cracked there and I packed the hollow cavity with Kitty Hair. That's an auto and fiberglass repair filler that has chopped fiberglass strands mixed into polyester resin. Still works like a champ 30 years later. Nasty looking filler, it looks like a cat threw up a fiberglass fur ball.

 

[highup]

On Roberts site looks like screws.

I don't see any mounting screws, just the screws that hold the unit together. They have an unclickable manual in pdf form.

 

[DarisMulkin]

You mean a single bolt, and the entire head is replaced? If it's the same as mine, you're one piece plastic cover has that hollow finger grip on it? Mine cracked there

Yup, we got the same one. Mine cracked also. I screw a piece of flat metal on mine. I replaced the bolt also with one I found in the garage.

 

[Floorist]

Rebuilt my Roberts 30 years ago. Had to make parts for it.

 

[Don Monfils]

This is the cotton head for my Roberts swivel head stretcher (which is probably 30 years old )
On mine you just remove the center bolt
The two outside bolts are just a stop for the pivot
#carpetsucks

 

[highup]

I'll need to borrow a stretcher that works with the cotton head the store purchased.
There was a job done recently and there were a few problems, so the shop want's me to go do some fine tuning to make the customer happy.

Daris, this is the job I called you about a few weeks ago. It was 3 bedroom, a hall and stairs with a center landing.
I went down with the store owner to see how bad it looked. Not as bad as what I was expecting. He tried to tuck too much in the gully in some spots. The tackstrip was a bit too far from the wall to, but that ain't gonna get redone. He cut too deep when reliving a corner and a couple loops were damaged. The bottom stair needs a couple small brads to flatten out an exposed edge. This was a rough job because of the thin and flat woven material, but the installer should have gone back the following day to do some fine tuning after his blood pressure was back to normal.
I'll have a few hours there and do what I can to make the customer happy.

 

[highup]

Rebuilt my Roberts 30 years ago. Had to make parts for it.

Wooden head and aluminum handle?

 

[Floorist]

Wooden head and aluminum handle?

shims, it was so worn it was wobbly. plastic head, I bought it used about 1985.

 

[DarisMulkin]

Ya Don that is the same as mine.

 

[Floorist]

I have the old Roberts that I bought at a pawn shop for $100 in 85. I have Crain with both heads that I bought new in 83. The Crain was a POS new. They admitted it had design flaws and would not replace it. It would bind when you raised the handle, They were made with a square shaft. They told me to remove the lock. It did help a little, but did not fix the problem. $400 wasted. I never bought another Crain tool.

 

[highup]

I go lucky I guess. Bought mine in '87 and still working good as new. Pins are still sharp too. I never dug em into concrete.

 

[highup]

Shop had the same one you and Don have, Daris. I used it today to do some fine tuning on that woven job I called you about before Christmas. The guy did an "ok" job. That said, I'm not sure how much better I could have done. He used one row of 3/4" wood strip and the gully probably averaged 1/2 inch . Maybe he just left the original strip down. That big gully might have been why his carpet buckled on the strip when he tucked it in. He packed too much carpet into that wide gully. I'm thinking the carpet pushed back when he tucked it in because of the angle going into the gully. Carpet is stiff and it's only 1/4" thick.
I have almost 5 hours into the 3 rooms and haven't looked at the hallway real close. I probably have another 2 or 3 hours tomorrow. ...an All I'm doing is cleaning up the tucked edges. I feel his pain. I'd have removed the base. This stuff is insane to work with.
2 rows of properly placed tackstrip would have cost him a couple hours to install and another $30 for the additional strip.............. but it would have saved him much more than that to make the job go easier. One row just ain't enough.
My (my brothers) other stretcher is an old Roberts 10-240. Its a heavy commercial stretcher called a Roberts Power Master. Has two awkward locks on the tube part. One engages the lever action to the head to perform the stretch and the second lever locks whatever increment of stretch you want to achieve.
Looks intimidating and it's heavy. PITA flipping those levers back and forth every time you stretch. It heavy so it make a good deadman.

 

[Ernesto]

I have mine mounted to another head so I just pop it on the end of a pole just like a regular head. No fussing with bolts and screws.

 

[Floorist]

I have mine mounted to another head so I just pop it on the end of a pole just like a regular head. No fussing with bolts and screws.

I leave my cotton head on my old Crain and use my Roberts for the rest.

 

[Ernesto]

I leave my cotton head on my old Crain and use my Roberts for the rest.

Yup!

 

[highup]

Well well....... I used a cotton head for the very first time........... so I ain't leaving it on anything.
......besides, it ain't mine.

What's the basic rule on 1/4" thick goods. 1/4" gully or less?