E-Nonymouse wrote:
So basically what happens is I use the larger rod that the bracket screws into (I guess it's the 10mm), and put that in place. I use the screw at the top (common sense to use the set screw at the top to hold the 10mm in place and keep it there right?), then I extend the umbrella. The top fastener that normally would be finding a proper foothold courtesy of the 7mm rod, falls out and the umbrella is stuck open with no way to retract it after that. All the rod pieces in the center fall out and are not fixable by me when that top screw goes away, so with the umbrella open there's no way to close it. >.> (There is some sort of additional screw in the center shaft inside the umbrella that it gets stuck on when all the tubes come lose)
So what I think is happening, based on your description, is when the top set screw is "tightened", things fall apart? Specifically, I imagine the umbrella slides down the fixed metal shaft so that the shaft is protruding more out of the top (i.e. 6 or 8 inches vs. 2 inches). Inside the umbrella, the two rib hubs are almost against each other with the inside one still screwed into place?
If so, then the two sliders will need to be pulled apart. The challenge in this is the PLM naturally is resistant to this, as it requires the spreader ribs to bend in ways that are ...... unnatural. It is, however, possible, as that is how the PLM ended up that way :) It will require some brute force and some finesse in that it is helpful to bend the spreader ribs a little as you pull out on the spreaders.
Once the umbrella is collapsed fully, you can reinstall the fixed metal shaft, and hold using the set screw. The set screw does not bottom out (as you have figured out), and should only be threaded enough to keep the fixed metal shaft in place. If you are careful, you can hold the 10mm shaft in place, but not the 7mm rod, which would not be used with the speedring anyway.
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