Casement Window - Replace a Gear or Operator Mechanism - Any Solution?

[allanc]

We just bought a house and several windows have casement hardware issues.

In the master bedroom, the small round 'gear' that the crank handle is supposed to attach to is missing. We have tried to remove the entire operator mechanism without success. Part of the mechanism is rivited to the bottom of the window and one screw seems to be located in a location with next to no clearance.

I have two questions:

1. I am willing to 'sacrifice' opening one of the two windows in the kitchen if I can use its gear. Is it just a matter of unscrewing the gear with visegrips? I do not want to break the gear in the kitchen and be stuck with 2 sets of operators that I cannot replace.
2. What is the trick to detaching the rivited operator?

I must admit that I am not very handy and could be using the wrong teminology.

Thank you in advance for all suggestions.

[Don Young]

Check with your local hardware, building supply, and window companies for new operators. It has been quite a few years but I bought quite a few of them. It is generally not a good idea to try to remove old parts and replace them in different operators. Swap the whole operator if desired. Of course there are right hand and left hand operators which do not interchange. If needed, rivets can be drilled out. Some of the actuator arms slide out the end of the window track to detach them from the window but you may have to scrape, clean and oil the track to do it.

Be careful not to break anything. Maybe you have a friend or neighbor who has experience in this and could help and/or advise.

Don Young

[Worn Out Retread]

Replacement parts can be obtained if you know the manufacturer.

[allanc]

[Nate Nagel]

Check the glass; some mfgrs. faintly etch their name in the glass.

BTW if they are Andersen just call the number on their web site and mail order your parts; they are actually helpful and friendly and the parts are not that expensive. My local Andersen dealer was a waste of my time.

nate

allanc wrote:

[allanc]

The 'end' of the arm is where the screw with no clearance is as well as the rivets. There is no clearance for drilling or removing the screw.

Did you mean to drill a rivet out somewhere before the end so that the mechanism splits into 2 parts?

[aemeijers]

Take one set off, and carry it into the local specialty window dealer. (The one that is only open m-f 7-4, over on the cheap side of town.) They will either recognize it, or have a book to look it up in. I had to do the same thing on my grandmother's old house a few years back before we sold it. They were Andersons, but of an obsolete style, so I couldn't get an exact match. I had to move a few around to put all the new ones in one room, so it wouldn't look funny.

-- aem sends...

[hallerb]

..

there are companies like the window man who come to your home to fix stuff like this, pricey but easy. try calling some local glass companies, they know who fixes windows

[Don Young]

Did you mean to drill a rivet out somewhere before the end so that the mechanism splits into 2 parts?

The ones I worked on had a roller attached to the end of the arm and the roller slid in a track on the bottom of the window. The roller was rivited to the arm and the track was welded to the bottom of the window. You could slide the roller out of the end of the track by removing two screws which held the operator to the frame. You had to open the window and then maneuver the arm and the window a little and the arm would slide out of the end of the track next to the hinges. Then you just pulled the arm and roller thru the slot. If the operator is jammed in the closed position you may have to break the housing to allow the window to open. Hope this helps.

Don Young