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Thread: Superglue

  1. #1
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    Superglue

    I was working on one of my Webley Ospreys recently, trying to get the loading tap perfectly aligned. It was too far over to the left, so the pellets were clipping as they entered the barrel, giving poor accuracy. I tried various shimming but none worked very well. So since I had nothing to lose, I thought I'd try superglue. I bought some new (it goes off, probably from atmospheric moisture), then coated the inside of the flange with it - being liquid, it forms into a meniscus in the flange. I then left it overnight to set.

    Next morning I checked, and the glue had set hard - but how hard, I didn't realize till I tried to sand it! I put the tap in the pillar drill and began cutting the glued flange back with a needle file, which was a slow process, but perfect as it made it very controllable. The glue never tried to break up and come away, it stayed resolutely stuck as if it was now part of the metal, and after a few hours (!) of filing and testing, I got the port aligned and the gun now shoots beautifully.

    I've heard of people mixing talc or baking soda with superglue to fill bigger gaps, or even moulding with it, but I was surprised and impressed at how strong it was.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by bill57 View Post
    I was working on one of my Webley Ospreys recently, trying to get the loading tap perfectly aligned. It was too far over to the left, so the pellets were clipping as they entered the barrel, giving poor accuracy. I tried various shimming but none worked very well. So since I had nothing to lose, I thought I'd try superglue. I bought some new (it goes off, probably from atmospheric moisture), then coated the inside of the flange with it - being liquid, it forms into a meniscus in the flange. I then left it overnight to set.

    Next morning I checked, and the glue had set hard - but how hard, I didn't realize till I tried to sand it! I put the tap in the pillar drill and began cutting the glued flange back with a needle file, which was a slow process, but perfect as it made it very controllable. The glue never tried to break up and come away, it stayed resolutely stuck as if it was now part of the metal, and after a few hours (!) of filing and testing, I got the port aligned and the gun now shoots beautifully.

    I've heard of people mixing talc or baking soda with superglue to fill bigger gaps, or even moulding with it, but I was surprised and impressed at how strong it was.
    Seriously Bill,, meniscus?
    I had to google that!

    Glad it worked out,
    ATB Scott

  3. #3
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    Sorry Rob, too many years in science.

  4. #4
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    Used it to repair guitar top nuts when they have worn too low lasts ok had none wear out and makes a good job.

  5. #5
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    Jelly sets, Adhesives cure

    If you think normal superglue is strong, try the the black variant which has ground rubber as an additive.
    Seriously tough stuff!

    Bb

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by bucketboy View Post
    Jelly sets, Adhesives cure
    Pedant.

    I will look out for the black stuff, that could be very useful around guns.

  7. #7
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    Was it proper superglue rather than poundshop knock off stuff? I am assuming so as the knock of stuff seems to crystallize rather than cure?
    WANTED: Next weeks winning lottery numbers :-)

  8. #8
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    It was Loctite superglue, bought new. I know what you mean about pound shop adhesives, I've tried their cyanoacrylate and epoxy adhesives, and they've all been rubbish.

    You get what you pay for I guess.

  9. #9
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    The pound shop superglue is good for cheap work where cosmetics/ultimate strength are not a priority. It also sets slow so less chance of sticking myself to something

    The pound shop epoxy in the conjoined syringes is ok for using on rod whipping for cheap rods. I use the proper stuff for my nicer kit.
    WANTED: Next weeks winning lottery numbers :-)

  10. #10
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    I did try superglue some years ago to build up a leaky Airsporter tap. I did not use any of the premier products mentioned here which is most likely why it was not a great success and the effects were quite shortlived. I tried cleaning the tap and applying a thin film of superglue all over the tap body. Once properly set I tried to 'lap' the coated tap into the cylinder. The superglue coat certainly added girth to the tap and, as above, there was an improvement but not long lasting. I guess the constant rotation of the tap in the cylinder slowly wore the glue coating away. Still .. nice idea.
    I even tried JB Weld with similar results.
    I also came to the conclusion that the tap and/or cylinder had not worn evenly.
    A replacement, supposedly oversized tap, did not work.
    Cheers, Phil

  11. #11
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    Phil,

    I've heard of this repair for a leaky tap; mine was not so drastic as I was not coating the tap body, but merely building up the flange at the end. How well it will last I don't know.
    I'm not convinced that a slightly leaky tap is such an issue - I have a Hammerli, whose tap won't hold back any air, yet shoots fine. Could be that under the sudden compression, either very little air gets out,
    or the air leaking through the tap effectively blocks it?

    Any fluid dynamicists out there?

  12. #12
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    You may be right about a slight leak but this one was bad. In the end I ended up making a new tap from the shank of a bolt. I had no lathe in those days just a small pillar drill but after several hours I got it really quite reasonable although drilling the associated holes for the tap handle and ball and spring were heart in mouth moments. I also tried putting a seal on the tap body: drilled the bore out and put a ptfe plug in, slightly proud of the diameter, then drilled out the bore and loading area. This worked very well but I did not know how long it would last so returned to my all steel solution.
    Cheers, Phil

  13. #13
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    My Hw 99 has a slack breech with certain pellets and I have painted superglue using an artists brush into the breech with excellent results. Which leaves me to wonder would it be possible to paint a choke into a barrel using superglue and a fine brush, food for thought.

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