Replacement pivot shoe

Home Owner from Maryland

Jul 2, 2021 2:04 pm

I am replacing some spiral balances in my single hung tilt windows. I already bought some series 900 3/8" spiral balances from Swisco, and now I realize that I need to replace some of my pivot shoes as well. However, I cannot find an exact match. My existing pivot shoes are 1 and 15/16" tall, 3/8" thick, and 31/32" wide when I take them out of the channel. Can you help me find an exact match among your products? My existing shoes look like your product 15-045, but that product is just slightly wider, at 1".

11 Replies

Tom from SWISCO

Jul 8, 2021 9:29 am

I'm afraid we don't have anything that matches those specifications. Our 15-212 is probably the closest match in our inventory but that's only 15/16" wide. Do you think you could still use it?

Home Owner from Maryland

Jul 8, 2021 10:37 am

Maybe... how wide is the 15-212 when the window is tilted out? 15/16" when the window is vertical will be fine, but I do need the pivot shoe to jam/lock inside the channel when the window is tilted out.

If the 15-212 does not work, can I get the 15-045 and gently sand down one side to reduce width to 31/32"?

Also, is there a quality/longevity difference between the 15-045 and the 15-212? I'm trying to understand why the 15-212 is 60% more expensive than the 15-045.

Tom from SWISCO

Jul 8, 2021 12:01 pm

I'm afraid that I don't know the exact width of the 15-212 when the cam is rotated. Generally we just go by the width, once that matches then everything should work fine. Considering the discrepancy between your width and ours then it's safe to assume you'd have a discrepancy with the lock width, as well. These shoes don't really vary in that sense.

As for sanding the shoe down, that's definitely a possibility but keep in mind that altering such parts means you cannot return them for a refund if they don't work. At this stage, you may want to send me a photo of your old shoe so that I can have a better idea of what you have. I may recognize it by design alone. Working with dimensions alone as we are, all I can do is guess.

Finally, concerning the price difference between the two shoes, I think it's just a matter of who made them. Some manufacturers charge more for their products than others. We source our parts from companies all over America and our pricing is based off of the costs they set. Such a price difference for two similar parts isn't all that uncommon.

Home Owner from Maryland

Jul 8, 2021 2:00 pm

Yes, certainly. Here are some pictures.

5 user uploaded images

Home Owner from Maryland

Jul 8, 2021 2:00 pm

And here are some more pictures with a ruler to show the width

4 user uploaded images

Home Owner from Maryland

Jul 8, 2021 2:02 pm

And one each of the thickness and height, for completeness.

2 user uploaded images

Tom from SWISCO

Jul 9, 2021 9:42 am

Thank you! These photos are a huge help. This honestly looks like a dead ringer for the 15-045. I feel pretty confident that's what you want. Considering the difference in width, we're only talking 1/32". Odds are we can attribute that to wear. I don't think the manufacturer would make this exact shoe with only such a small difference.

Home Owner from Maryland

Jul 9, 2021 11:20 am

Okay, I'll try the 15-045. I'm not the original owner of the house, and none of the paperwork I inherited mention who made the windows, which may have helped.

Home Owner from Maryland

Jul 22, 2021 11:47 am

Just wanted to follow up here that 15-045 was exactly what I needed, they fit perfectly into the existing grooves. Thanks for the advice!

Tom from SWISCO

Jul 22, 2021 12:53 pm

Fantastic, I'm glad to hear it! If you ever needed anything else, you know where to find me.