Kitchen Garden Forum

Has anyone a bright idea on how to get oil into the mechanism in the middle of a roller blind?
The sun blind is 8ft wide, and operated by a winding handle through a gearbox at one end. I've always been able to lubricate this, and the joints where it unfolds, by spraying WD40, but the blind has now developed a bad squeak which appears to come from inside the roller on which the fabric is stored. I've tried unrolling to its full extent and then spraying WD40 into what's left on the roller, but no luck. The blind is over 20 years old but in good nick, so I phoned the manufacturers (BrightonSunblinds) but they metaphorically shrugged their shoulders and said they couldn't help!
Thank you.

Sorry I can't suggest a solution other than to send a copy or a web link your post to the Managing Director of the company and ask him if this is the sort of poor customer service publicity he really wants for his company on a public forum. Sometimes the left hand in a company has no idea what kind of advice the right hand is giving. You only have to look at the advice some banks have given their customers!

Evening John, is there anyway you can take the blind down, stand it on one end and trickle some thin oil down into the roller!!!!

Thanks OH. that was my fallback position, because the blind cassette, at 8ft long, is very heavy and the ends look pretty "sealed up" to me, though you can squirt light oil in. I was hoping to avoid taking it down, but seems that will be the only answer. Thought: I wonder if the squeaking matters very much, as long as its not wearing something important out we can put up with it!