Power Stretcher Care and Common Wear Parts

A power stretcher is a simple lever tool, and most problems come from a handful of wear parts: pins, tail block pads, and the locking mechanism. Replacing those on time keeps the head gripping and the tubes locking.

Routine care

A few habits keep a stretcher working.

• Lubricate all moving parts on the power head and Auto-Lok tube now and then.^[1]
• Wipe carpet fiber and adhesive off the pin plate and tube locks.
• Store tubes straight. A bent tube won't hold a straight line under load.
• Check pin depth for each job. On the Crain head, turning clockwise sets the pins deeper.^[1]

What wears first

Check these parts and keep spares on hand.

Signs of wear

Most symptoms point straight to a part.

• Head slips or chews the backing: worn or bent pins, or pin depth set wrong.
• Tail block slides or marks the wall: worn pads.
• Tubes won't hold: worn lock or spring button.
• Lever feels loose: worn pivot pins or handle hardware.

A safety note

Never use either Crain stretcher with tail spikes.^[1] Brace against a wall or bracing plate with a padded tail block.

Setup and stretching patterns are covered in Setting up a power stretcher.

Parts we carry

These are the common Crain and Roberts replacement parts.

• For Crain stretchers: 1500-S Pin Plate Pins, 1500-24 Tail Block Pads, 1500-23 Folding Tail Block
• For Roberts stretchers: 10-254-13 Pin Plate Assembly, 10-254-18 Locking, 10-254-50 Power Unit
• All Crain 499/500 parts and all Roberts 10-254 parts
• Crain parts and Roberts parts pages

References

1. Crain No. 499/500/520 manual
2. Roberts 10-254 owner's manual
3. Roberts 10-254 parts list

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