The loop on the riser into which the shaft of the spade fits has stretched to the point that it will not close tightly enough around the shaft of the spade. Two ways to fix this:

1. squeeze the looped part tightly in a workbench vise or with heavy duty visegrip pliers. Make sure to wrap a think cloth around the part before applying pressure to it.

2. one or two layers of duct tape around the shaft should widen it sufficienty to allow the loop to grip it tightly.

I have done the #1 fix to several of these items. I have also had to do the reverse to widen the loop. This is very easy to do by putting the loop with open end facing up in a vise. Then, place the tip of the blade of a large screwdriver in the space between the two wings that are compresed with the bolt to grip the shaft of the spade. Tap the top of the screwdriver handle gently a couple of times to widen the gap just a enough to allow the shaft to fit tightly in the loop.

Leedy, thanks for the reply.

The funny thing is that the two ends of the clamp are just about touching NOW. I cant close it much more. Someone told me that the problem *may* be that the Spade that I have is a MIJ copy , which is a smaller diameter, which is why its so loose, and I think that is in fact, the problem.

Shame on me. I should have thought of that. Try the duct tape fix for now until you can get another spade.

I'd try sleeving it with a piece of thin wall steel tubing to bring up the diameter.You could even put a slit in it horizontally to clamp down solid.

Thats a good idea, thanks. I think the problem is I have mismatched pieces, so I'm working on getting parts that match.

Thanks for the replies, guys!