lost balls

Pulled the main traveler off to see why it was sticking. Little brown balls all over the garage floor. A few still awol.

Anybody know where I can get replacements? A visit to the Harken and APS sites turned up nothing. Is there a special name for these things?

Delrin balls. McMaster/Carr will have them if you know the size. But instead of browsing the Harken site or going looking for the right balls on McMaster, call Harken directly if it is a Harken traveller car you have. Their customer support is usually very good.
In addition to the balls you also want a piece of track with one end sawn off at an angle (not a right angle but about 60degrees). That is the easiest way to re-fill the car with balls. Dont put in too many balls either, that will make the car stick! They need room to move.

Dont ask how I know all this

Thank you sir! May your winters be mild.

The brown balls are not Delrin but are Torlon balls. The white ones are Delrin but are to soft. You will need the browen ones.

Thank you.

Torlon, right!

Pete if you come across these names don't hesitate to get them if price is right:
PEEK calibrated balls
Vespel calibrated balls.
Depending on industrial grade qualities PEEK grades are often stronger than Torlon.
Available at specialized plastics suppliers.

You can also just shoot shaving cream into the traveler car to hold the balls in place during the ball loading process. Douse the car with water after you get the car screwed back together to remove the shaving cream.

Rigging Only will have the Torlon balls and the plastic loading device(inexpensive) to make it easy to load and reinstall the car. Also allows you to easily remove the car to check annually, and lube it.

Dave

I have tried that and it was a real mess. Dont know if it is a smarter way to do it than what I did, but getting a piece of track made reloading the balls a quick task.