Originally Posted by fiery

'My diesel head doesn't have anything to cushion against the compression screw ...'

I use a 1/16" snippet of lawn trimmer cord of a suitable diameter for a 'plug' in my Irvine diesels. I prefer the smooth surface variety, some trimmer cord is 'ribbed'. It works very well. The most difficult thing is cutting it - it is tough.

My understanding is that Davis Diesel Heads are supplied with 'buffer' between the grub screw and compression screw to maintain tension and prevent compression screw 'thread chewing'. Perhaps yours was missing.