Now we enter into the ‘grey’ area - that of home
storage and the recommendations are almost as varied and numerous as those pertaining to the lubricant
content in model engine fuels. Two considerations
here and the first is the brand of Ca. you use. Remember what I said about the large drum storage
(208 litres)? I don’t know if there is any restriction on
who can buy a drum...maybe anybody who has an
idea of setting up yet another Ca. product line? What
background that person has in industrial chemistry
with specific knowledge of ethyl and methyl esters
and the additives that can be used is the question,
plus - what company manufactured the raw material.
These factors would be the major influence as to why
some Ca’s are extra good, good, reasonable or not
much good at all. From my very first experience with
the product I have encountered some excellent products and some that were not worth burying (how else
do you dispose of a container that is hard as a railway line?). After a lot of years, use and experimentation I have finalised on the best method of storage
for me, both long or short term is in the freezer. I
have containers in the shelf of the freezer door that
are no less than 8 years old, some probably older
and they are still in perfect condition. The remainder
of the contents of the last of two bottles of engineering grade Ca. is now well on its way to at least 25
years old and both of them were out of date when
they were given to me! It was this Ca. I used for the
carburettor repair, and as testament to the strength
of the ‘old’ Ca., part of the breakage had gone
through the tapped holes in the spigot - the holes into
which the 3.5mm retaining bolts fitted. After the joint
was made, I re-tapped the holes, fitted the carburettor into the manifold and screwed the screws up tight
- really tight, and the joining stayed up to the strain.
A FEW WORDS OF ADVICE
As I said, there are many different types of Ca.
and some have strange characteristics. I had some
a few years back from Japan and the supplied instructions indicated that the medium Ca. could be
set off by the thin one. You applied the medium to a
joint (balsa etc), then added a few drops of the thin
and the lot went off in a puff of smoke. I have found
this works with some other Ca’s and the reasoning
behind it - to my way of thinking - is that the thin liquid seals off the thicker one - no free oxygen - the
thick one goes off and this sets off the thin one.
Now, keep in mind the following observations. If
using an Accelerator - Kicker - Blaster (your choice)
mind whether you can smell it after the spraying application. If you can smell anything it indicates particles of the object producing the smell are in the air.
Your open bottle of Ca. will smell it which is the start
of the end. You’ve added a microscopic amount of
accelerator to the Ca. and this builds up each time
you spray and the life of the Ca. is reduced dramatically each time it gets a ‘sniff’. I use a clear drinking
glass to cover the Ca. container after each use in
case I forget and spray a piece of material prior to
making a Ca. joint - priming, as it is called, for difficult
to glue materials or sections. Ever used a bottle (container) of Ca. until it was empty? Not very often if at
all as your usage and handling generally kills it beforehand. Don’t touch the surface of the material
you’re gluing with the container nozzle as this acts
as a very weak accelerant (contact with organic material) that is cumulative. Same thing with fine wood
dust when sanding a section of your model. Remove
or tightly cap the Ca. container to prevent wood dust
contacting or going into the nozzle. Don’t stick pins
in the nozzle (or applicator) as this will also accelerate degradation. After you have applied the Ca. to
your joint, tap the bottle on the bench or squeeze it
to remove any left in the nozzle or applicator. Ca. left
in the nozzle will go hard (cure) and you then poke a
pin in to open the nozzle plus touching the nozzle
with your fingers and you have done a little more accelerating. When installing Ca. type hinges or making
any other glue joint on or near an already covered
surface (eg. heat shrink film covering) I am sure
many readers will be aware that, more often than not,
over zealous applications of Ca. results in a nice running smear on the covering. Chances are nobody
else will ever see it but you know it happened and it
is an attack on your building pride. Before you carry
out the gluing, give the surrounding covering a wipe
over with a soft cloth or tissue that is soaked with
DELUXE ‘Glue Buster’. If you do get a Ca. run it’s
less inclined to stick but, if it does, it’s much easier
to remove with the Buster when it sets.
If or when you buy cyanoacrylate, you cannot
beat quality so look for name brands that have
been around for a long time. Maybe a little more
expensive than the ‘Sooper Cheep’ bargain prices
advertised but, from long experience, that which
you pay for is that which you get.
The brass spacer on ALL
Super Tigre crankshafts
- don’t be without it.
Remember to keep your pheasant
- err - cyano under glass.
14
Airborne
THE BRASS RING
Must be Super Tigre service time according to the
number of calls I’ve had over the last few weeks for
information about removing liners (and re-fitting
them), ring positions, carbon questions (removing it
after using the dreaded castor) and, again, the brass
ring on the crankshaft. What’s it for? Is it necessary?
What happens if I don’t re-fit it? What is the price of
Bulgarian pretzels? Just threw that in for interest.
The brass ring is a very important spacer, but,
its original importance makes it unnecessary these
days but that it is still used is very important. It was
initially install