Progress Issues (Pictures)

[BROWNS]

I purchased my Progress from another member a little over a month ago. I have had mixed results with it so far, and have been having some 'mechanical' issues that I've noticed the more I try to tweak my settings.

Before anyone makes the suggestion, I can assure you I have the head and razor lined up correctly.

First of all, my setting alignment (or whatever you'd call it) is off. When I got the razor, the alignment dot sat just to the left of the 1 with a blade. Now, the dot rests all the way left above the 5 with the head fully tightened. I've tried the process in Mantic's video here, but the razor shaft will not budge even a little. If anyone has any other ideas I'd love to hear them!

My second, and more serious problem, is the loose head. Unless the head of my Progress is completely tightened, the head of the razor loosens and rattles. Obviously this makes me a little uncomfortable to shave with, and its a shame to have an adjustable razor that I can't adjust. I managed to figure out how to take the razor apart:

It seems as though unless the head is screwed completely into the base, it causes the head to wobble. I was thinking about putting Teflon tape on the end of the head to keep the threads tighter inside the base, but obviously that'd only be a temporary fix. This may be a totally dumb idea, so if any of you experts out there have any advice I'd love to hear it.

 

[Pike]

I have never seen a progress in person, so I have no point of reference, but the threads look damaged in the middle....maybe just some soap or something on the threads...but they don't look right to me based on the pic.

 

[ShaveAddict]

What i think is that once a Progress haves been badly assembly, even if it's only 1 time, the razor loose is proper alignment.
So if you bought the razor in a used condition, maybe the guy who had it before you assembly his razor the wrong way, without aligning the mark on the head and the triangle on the handle, at least one time.
Same thing happened to me and i decided to assembly the razor again but without aligning the mark and the triangle and right after assembly it again but aligning both mark like it's suppose to be, and magic my razor got back like he used to since then, properly align.
I hope you understand what i said, english is not that good.

 

[cooncatbob]

Sounds like the head assembly is loose in the barrel.
You could try pulling the head assembly from the barrel then reattaching it with epoxy, be careful not to loose the spring.
This is how I reattach the head to my custom barrels.

Since your having other issue with your razor I suggest your contact "Mer/Eric" of Mergress fame, he's come up with a method of correcting the flaws with the Progress.
Bob.

 

[Loner16]

I've never had much success in using various 2 part epoxies on metals, but maybe the assemblies were a bit more demanding.
Loctite used to make a product called "stud mount," a permanent locking sealant for purposes such as this. Loctite has changed it's product line a bit in recent years, but here's a link to a new page. Some of these adhesive/sealants can fill quite large gaps for stud mounting and bearing capture applications, and one or more of them should be perfect for this application.
An added benefit is that they're readily available at any good auto supply or industrial supply house.

http://www.useloctite.com/products/product_details_retainingb76c.html

 

[BROWNS]

I hadn't attempted to take the razor apart prior to taking these pictures, so I suppose it's possible that the previous owner had some similar issues or took it apart himself. As for pulling the head off of the razor shaft and epoxying it back on, I'd prefer not to just because I don't really know what I'm doing. I'd hate to pull them apart just for the sake of it then just having a more broken Progress with glue on it.

I'll definitely be sending Mer a PM, the thought hadn't even occurred to me to contact B&B's resident Progress Expert

 

[Mer]

Gotcha covered man.