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Ed333

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I have a polished ebonite Urushi lacquered pen which has had a mishap.  Someone (not me, don't ask) dropped the capped pen onto the floor, breaking the ebonite barrel just above the internal threading for the section.  It is a jagged "clean" break, clean in the sense that the two pieces fit back together perfectly with no missing chips.  My first thought was that I could simply use superglue to reattach the two pieces.  But as I thought more, I would not want any extruded superglue on the interior, or smeared on the exterior of the join, being a constant visual and tactile reminder of the incident .  My skill set might not be up to the task, in the past wiping off excess superglue squeezeout has not always been 100% effective for me.  And how to clamp the two pieces together for maximum tight fit...maybe it is a job for a pro.

 

So this is not the normal type of pen repair.  Does any repair person come to mind above others?  My primary concern is a seamless almost invisible repair job.

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There are two issues here.....

 

I'm assuming that the pen is hard rubber/ebonite.   Adhesives often don't stick well to hard rubber, especially if the break is not fresh.  There are some specialized cyanoacryate adhesives that may work, and an epoxy or two if the break is clean, but I would not want to offer any guarantee on the repair.  The best pen mechanic that I know (no longer in the business) has said that he doesn't know how long a hard rubber repair would hold.   The cyanoacrylate is also very expensive, with a short shelf life after opening, so you are going to buy the bottle because the pen mechanic isn't likely to use it up on other repairs before it expires, if at all. 

 

There's also a lot of stress on the barrel as you write.  A heavy handed person may feel a section shifting under their fingers.  The bond is rated in lbs/square inch.  The actual contact area is pretty small.  The material might be 30 thousandths thick - 0.030" X 1" (generous estimate of circumference) for a contact area of 0.030 square inches.  Multiply that by the published data of the epoxy that I use which has a shear strength of 4500 psi = 135 lbs.  If 3/4", only 101 lbs.   Actual strength of the cured adhesive depends in part on how it is mixed, and the temperature at which it is cured.  Reinforcing inside the barrel may not be an option ( I would assume not)

 

Second is clean up.   No matter what you do, the adhesive will push out of the repair area on both the inside and outside.  The solvent used to clean up cyanoacrylate is acetone, and acetone may  likely would damage the finish on the pen.  I also can't sand if needed to blend the repair area if it hardens  because of the Urushi. 

 

A similar problem with an epoxy.  The stuff I use is expensive, but very good.    There is always a little left after wiping off the material that pushes out, and the solvent used to clean up is alcohol.

 

All in all, it sounds like a risky proposition that I likely would not want to take on.

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Thank you Ron.  Your response makes a lot of sense to me.  I think I will buy a fresh tube of cyanoacrylate Super Glue, and try it myself.  Some advantages to the situation,

  • this is a Platinum Izumo Urushi, and the break is within the support length of, and the inside remaining piece is wrapped around, a brass sleeve which accepts the converter. 
  • The break is jagged, giving shoulders to bear against for countering any rotational pressure, and
  • the two pieces fit snugly and tightly against one another, no missing chips or gaps. 
  • I have a very light hand, and this nib is a Broad Platinum President, 18k, very smooth, very wet, and I do not foresee much pressure being brought to bear. 
  • I will refrain from removing the converter for cleaning/flushing, which is what Richard Binder recommends anyway (just takes a little longer). 
  • If I get some squeezeout, I will just accept that, and not try to 'fix' it. 
  • Because the break left a full circumference ebonite tight around the brass, I am not too worried about interior squeezeout gumming up the works inside. 
  • I do not intend to re-sell the pen, and I really enjoy using it, and any loss of resale value is not a big factor in my mind. 

So I will apply superglue  sparingly with toothpick to the embedded piece, quickly mate with the other piece, and quietly hold for 30 seconds. 

btw, if you think it a mistake to use superglue rather than the epoxy you referred to, I would appreciate knowing what brand/type expoxy you would recommend.

Thanks again!

 

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Look at Loctite adhesives then for their glue to use with hard rubber.

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I went with Loctite Super Glue Ultra Gel Control, based upon the interactive advice on the Loctite product site, checking the boxes for indoor use, occasional water contact, rigid desired bond, snug fit, normal temps, and small/precise application.  I had indicated rubber to rubber on materials; I did not find a 'hard' rubber category.  Found it at the local Walmart (following the Loctite site instructions on Where to Buy), and was surprised at the variety of Loctite products available.  Not that expensive, about $3.  Application went well, wiped some squeezeout off, not bad.  Now to wait for 24 hours, and see how it goes.  The break is concealed when the pen is capped, so I have high hopes.

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1 hour ago, Ed333 said:

I went with Loctite Super Glue Ultra Gel Control, based upon the interactive advice on the Loctite product site, checking the boxes for indoor use, occasional water contact, rigid desired bond, snug fit, normal temps, and small/precise application.  I had indicated rubber to rubber on materials; I did not find a 'hard' rubber category.  Found it at the local Walmart (following the Loctite site instructions on Where to Buy), and was surprised at the variety of Loctite products available.  Not that expensive, about $3.  Application went well, wiped some squeezeout off, not bad.  Now to wait for 24 hours, and see how it goes.  The break is concealed when the pen is capped, so I have high hopes.

Great information, thanks.

 

Just for the learning opportunity, I went to the Loctite site and imagined that I was trying to accomplish the same with a celluloid pen.  The recommended product was a different one.....  So, to Ron's point, one must be very careful about the product they choose and be sure to know the exact nature of the material(s) they are bonding together.

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They had Loctite Super Glue Ultra Liquid Control as well, which included rubber among its approved materials, and I picked up a bottle of that as well.  But when i got home and checked the Loctite site again, I found that to be way down the list of recommended product.  I was thinking that with the snug fit, liquid might be better, but I decided to stick with their recommendation of the gel, and it seemed to go on just fine without a lot of squeezeout.  I will confess that I did not try to flood the join; we shall see.  No threaded areas were involved with the break, although it came close.

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Using the Loctite Super Glue Ultra Gel Control, things went just fine, and I am happily writing with the pen again.  Minor squeezeout after sparing application (not trying to coat all surfaces), and the result is acceptable to me, need a loupe to see any glue smear, cannot feel any, and this pen is for writing, not looking or investment, so I am satisfied.

 

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Thanks, Ron -- 

This brought together thoughts I've had for awhile regarding two-part epoxies, since having a few ebonite repairs fail, even with high shear strength epoxy. I ran the same numbers, wall thickness at .040 and ID .320, of course came out about the same, math being math. 

It's so hard to know, because it starts to set up so fast, whether you have the same amount of each part and mix it thoroughly enough with a really skinny bond like this one, and I have to assume that any nontrivial amount of imperfect mixing diminishes shear strength.  Thanks for closing that loop.

 

Ed -- congrats on the repair! Let us know if it holds...or doesn't?

Tim 

Tim

 timsvintagepens.com and @timsvintagepens

 

 

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2 minutes ago, Ed333 said:

Using the Loctite Super Glue Ultra Gel Control, things went just fine, and I am happily writing with the pen again.  Minor squeezeout after sparing application (not trying to coat all surfaces), and the result is acceptable to me, need a loupe to see any glue smear, cannot feel any, and this pen is for writing, not looking or investment, so I am satisfied.

 

Congrats!

Way to go!!

 

Not sure the product they recommend for celluloid / resin / etc ("Loctite Plastics Bonding System", a two-part cyanoacrylate adhesive) would be able to be applied as precisely as the product you used ("Loctite Super Glue Ultra Gel Control").

 

Anyone with any experience??

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