Saturday, May 28, 2022

So I have this big-ish Samsonite suitcase which many years ago suffered a partial failure of the telescopic handle, specifically the inner telescopic tube on one side would no longer slide out of the outer tube, so the whole assembly would only partially extend, like this:

It has been languishing ever since, but I will soon be in need of its services and was on the verge of finally sending it off for repair (which would probably cost as much as or more than buying a cheap replacement, but in my opinion repairing something is much better value in the long term, and less damaging to the environment etcera) but decided to take another look myself on the basis that a failed repair attempt would not cost any more to get fixed.

After some consideration I came to the conclusion that the tubes were not slightly bent or deformed, as I originally suspected, but something was "sticking", preventing the inner handle tube from extending. Some careful application of lubrication from a spray can and some very gentle application of force finally persuaded the tube to extend, and lo-and-behold the screw which appears to attach the inner telescopic tube to the handle had worked loose. Picture below shows the location of the screw in question; there is one in the same posisiton on both tubes.

Tightening it up solved the issue and the telescopic handle now works perfectly (or as well as these things do). The screw on the other tube was also looser than it presumably should be, so I tightened that one up as well before it causes the same problem.

Note these are "Torx" ("star") screws, best tightened with a compatible driver head to avoid damage.

Be aware of course that there are many possible causes of suitcase telescopic handle failure; this solution applies only to this particular issue.

Posted at 5:14 PM |Comments (0)