I recently got skinnier with my gear and my new extension has a split ring that sits in a groove and a cup that sits on the ring. I'm using my thumbs/thumbnails to move the split ring up and down. This is a bit of a pain compared to the RDM extension adjustments and is leaving me with chunks out of my thumbnails.

Am I missing some easy trick or tool to make adjustments easy or do I just need a cup of cement?

Hello, Paddy,

You might try a small, flat-bladed screwdriver to lever off one end of the split ring. Once out of the grrove, the end will hold itself on the body of the extension and you can use your fingers to work around the ring to the other side.

I usually buy cheap screwdrivers at Bunnings and spray the blade with silicone, to reduce rusting.

You might also consider drilling the plastic of the screwdriver and threading some brightly-coloured line through it. This makes the screwdriver easier to spot in the back of a car or if you put it on the ground.

Hope this helps.

Hello, Alimac,

Re rust/degrading: No.

Extensions are made of aluminium or carbon, not steel, so they cannot rust.

Use the blade to lift up the end of the split ring onto the body of the extension, then use your finger (or blade) to work the rest of the split ring onto the body.

You could always remove the split ring and, using a vice, open it up a bit. This takes a fine hand: too much and the split ring won't hold in the groove, too little and you're back to using a screwdriver.

Like gybes, keep on practising

curac said...

isn't a skinny and a RDM the same thing??

you got me I meant SDM