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Piston Head Without Nut


siamackz

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I have restored a bunch of vintage MB pistons and they all had a nut that screwed on to the top of the piston head after you replace the cork seal. The nut keeps the cork in place and also allows for tightening and expanding the cork or vice versa.

 

However, I am presently restoring a vintage pen that does not have a nut on the piston head. The old cork was glued on somehow.

 

My question is what should I use to glue the cork on? Super glue or shellac?

 

Heres a pic of the piston head:

post-132845-0-10187300-1528561889_thumb.jpeg

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If you have to use an adhesive, shellac. Superglue will not hold up well with immersion in water. I wouldn't bet on shellac doing much either as the friction of the seal against the barrel wall is likely to pull it off of the piston.

There needs to be something on the end to hold the seal in place. Some of the piston fillers used a plug with a wide end (a T if you will) that was a friction fit in the end of the piston. They are ever so slightly tapered to got tighter as you pressed it in. You give them a slight twist as you press them into place.

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If you have to use an adhesive, shellac. Superglue will not hold up well with immersion in water. I wouldn't bet on shellac doing much either as the friction of the seal against the barrel wall is likely to pull it off of the piston.

 

There needs to be something on the end to hold the seal in place. Some of the piston fillers used a plug with a wide end (a T if you will) that was a friction fit in the end of the piston. They are ever so slightly tapered to got tighter as you pressed it in. You give them a slight twist as you press them into place.

Hi Ron, thanks so much for responding! I don’t see anything at all that holds the seal in place. And I did notice that the cork was stuck on with some kind of adhesive. I guess shellac it is then? Or is there some other way to create a nut/lock for the cork seal?

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Hi Ron, thanks so much for responding! I don’t see anything at all that holds the seal in place. And I did notice that the cork was stuck on with some kind of adhesive. I guess shellac it is then? Or is there some other way to create a nut/lock for the cork seal?

 

I'd be thinking of a way to make a nut or a plug. Unless the cork is a snug fit I wouldn't expect the shellac to hold, but I'm a pessimist when it comes to things like that. I would put the cork on with a healthy application of shellac, and would let it dry for a couple of days. Use a good layer of silicone grease worked into the cork before inserting into the barrel.

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Unless you are concerned about originality, or fragility of your material, you could tap a hole into the end of the piston to add a tightening screw (or add a nut as Ron suggested). Alternatively, lightly thread the piston siimply to aid retention of a well-fitting cork. There is a description around here somewhere of an end screw being added on an Aurora.

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Unless you are concerned about originality, or fragility of your material, you could tap a hole into the end of the piston to add a tightening screw (or add a nut as Ron suggested). Alternatively, lightly thread the piston siimply to aid retention of a well-fitting cork. There is a description around here somewhere of an end screw being added on an Aurora.

Is this the Aurora story https://www.indy-pen-dance.com/aurora-88-piston-repair.html

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I'd be thinking of a way to make a nut or a plug. Unless the cork is a snug fit I wouldn't expect the shellac to hold, but I'm a pessimist when it comes to things like that. I would put the cork on with a healthy application of shellac, and would let it dry for a couple of days. Use a good layer of silicone grease worked into the cork before inserting into the barrel.

Thanks Ron, I might need to go this way for now and test it.

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If you can get it (I think Ashland Oil has an Indian subsidiary), Pliobond general purpose adhesive would probably work very well.

fpn_1375035941__postcard_swap.png * * * "Don't neglect to write me several times from different places when you may."
-- John Purdue (1863)

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If you can get it (I think Ashland Oil has an Indian subsidiary), Pliobond general purpose adhesive would probably work very well.

Thats very resourceful of you! Is this what you are referring to? https://www.amazon.in/Pliobond-P-612-lv-Low-Multi-purpose-Adhesive/dp/B004JOYXR4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528611630&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX118_SY170_QL70&keywords=pliobond&dpPl=1&dpID=51ifYtnC9NL&ref=plSrch

And why do you recommend it over other adhesives

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I suggest it because it's a rubber-and-resin contact adhesive that is tough, resilient, waterproof, and can bond a variety of materials (supposedly it was invented for the U.S. Navy in order to bond identification plates onto ships, where it might well be exposed to temperature extremes, pounding vibration and immersion in salt water). One possible drawback for your use: once it's cured, you won't be able to dissolve it off (speaking of which -- do give it plenty of time to cure). You'd have to chip away the cork and then scrape the Pliobond off of the piston shaft.

 

I should say that I've never glued on a piston cork with Pliobond, although I've used it for plenty of other things (it's great for repairing or rebuilding torn or crumbling woofer surrounds).

 

I'm not sure about the formulations in bottles and cans. I've always used the stuff in squeeze tubes, like my current one (click for full-size images):

 

fpn_1528648781__pliobond_front.png

 

fpn_1528649075__pliobond_back.png

Edited by Tweel

fpn_1375035941__postcard_swap.png * * * "Don't neglect to write me several times from different places when you may."
-- John Purdue (1863)

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I suggest it because it's a rubber-and-resin contact adhesive that is tough, resilient, waterproof, and can bond a variety of materials (supposedly it was invented for the U.S. Navy in order to bond identification plates onto ships, where it might well be exposed to temperature extremes, pounding vibration and immersion in salt water). One possible drawback for your use: once it's cured, you won't be able to dissolve it off (speaking of which -- do give it plenty of time to cure). You'd have to chip away the cork and then scrape the Pliobond off of the piston shaft.

 

I should say that I've never glued on a piston cork with Pliobond, although I've used it for plenty of other things (it's great for repairing or rebuilding torn or crumbling woofer surrounds).

 

I'm not sure about the formulations in bottles and cans. I've always used the stuff in squeeze tubes, like my current one (click for full-size images):

 

fpn_1528648781__pliobond_front.png

 

fpn_1528649075__pliobond_back.png

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing!

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As always, look up the manufacturers application notes to determine whether the adhesive will hold up under constant exposure to water. Note that the card says "resistant to", not "gasoline proof" or "water proof." There is a difference.

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As always, look up the manufacturers application notes to determine whether the adhesive will hold up under constant exposure to water. Note that the card says "resistant to", not "gasoline proof" or "water proof." There is a difference.

Important point! Thanks Ron!

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The label explicitly says Pliobond is fuel-proof, FWIW. More to the point of this application, Ashland says that it can be used to waterproof various materials, so presumably the cement itself is waterproof.

 

BTW, I mentioned letting the stuff cure well before putting it into use -- I'd like to reiterate that, as your pen is presumably celluloid(?) and the solvent in Pliobond is MEK.

fpn_1375035941__postcard_swap.png * * * "Don't neglect to write me several times from different places when you may."
-- John Purdue (1863)

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If it were my pen then I would not be using something which even partially solvent welded a consumable part, albeit a long-life part. I would prefer to have the seal fall off so need to stick it back again, so long as that did not happen often, so I would try tapping for a holding screw or else light threading with loads of shellac to see how that fared. That is only what my approach would be.

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The label explicitly says Pliobond is fuel-proof, FWIW. More to the point of this application, Ashland says that it can be used to waterproof various materials, so presumably the cement itself is waterproof.

 

BTW, I mentioned letting the stuff cure well before putting it into use -- I'd like to reiterate that, as your pen is presumably celluloid(?) and the solvent in Pliobond is MEK.

thanks for bringing this up, I have found something else that I might use instead - it is waterproof and rubber based. Also its about ten times cheaper and has good reviews. Ill report back after trying it

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If it were my pen then I would not be using something which even partially solvent welded a consumable part, albeit a long-life part. I would prefer to have the seal fall off so need to stick it back again, so long as that did not happen often, so I would try tapping for a holding screw or else light threading with loads of shellac to see how that fared. That is only what my approach would be.

die-ing for a screw is surely a good idea for the long run. Let me see about buying some equipment for this Edited by siamackz

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Could you use a slightly wedged shape piece of cork itself inserted into the end and shellacked? I wouldn't have the friction resistance of the side-of-barrel corks. Just thinking out loud...

 

Glenn

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