[Elecraft] MP-1 Quality?

[John]

I just returned from a trip to the beach.  We had a great time swimming,
laying in the sun, and drinking beer but my attempts at Ham Radio were not
very successful.  I had brought along my K2 and an MP-1 that I had purchased
earlier this summer from Elecraft.  As usual the K2 worked great but I can't
say the same for the MP-1.  This is my second one.  The first one was
replaced by Elecraft because I had stripped the threads on top of the coil
trying to get the whip screwed in.  Whoever built it had done a terrible
job.  It was covered with filings and oil and had many sharp edges where it
had been machined.  I was very surprised because, all in all, the quality of
the antenna looked very good except for the final machining and threading.
Anyhow, Elecraft replaced it.  When the replacement arrived, I took it out
of the box and very carefully assembled it.  It had the same problems as the
first one so I spent some time cleaning the threads using a bolt that I got
from the local ACE.  Once they were clean, I had no problem screwing
everything together.  I put it back in the box and set it aside until I our
vacation.

After enjoying the beach for a couple of days, I set up the station and got
ready to work some holiday QSO's but, alas, this didn't happen.  The new
antenna had a loose connection.  It turned out that the hole that the
horizontal screw that secures the bottom of the coil was stripped making an
intermittent connection. Now I don't know what to do.  Do I try to fix it
myself, send it back to Elecraft for another replacement, or send it to
MP-1?  I don't recall how long I have had it other than it was purchased
earlier this summer.

Has anyone else had similar problems with a new MP-1?

John   K7SVV