The stabilizer clip trick I picked up from a builder in Portland

I was watching a build stream from this guy in Portland last week and he clipped the tiniest bit off the wire on his screw-in stabilizers to fix ticking. He said 1mm off each end stops the rattle without losing any stability. Has anyone else tried trimming their wires like that or is it just another rabbit hole?

2 comments

2 Comments

juliaa2523d ago

Funny you mention this because I actually tried it the other way around. Instead of clipping the wire, I took a tiny drop of thin super glue and put it right where the wire meets the plastic housing on the end. It stopped the ticking completely and I didn't have to worry about messing up the balance if I cut too much. Your method sounds cleaner though if you get the measurement right. Just be careful not to clip more than that 1mm or you might introduce a whole new wobble on the other side.

olivia47823d ago

Started noticing this same sort of thing with other stuff around the house too. Like that annoying rattle in my car door that went away for months after I stuffed a folded up napkin between the panel and the window seal. And the squeaky floorboard in the hallway that stopped when I put a tiny piece of cardboard under the edge of the baseboard. It's like half the time, the solution isn't about tearing something apart or cutting something off, it's just finding the right spot to add a tiny something that absorbs the movement. Your super glue trick is basically the same idea, you're just filling that tiny gap that lets the wire vibrate. I bet if more people tried the "add before you subtract" approach, they'd break way less stuff.