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Glue for Powdered Iron Slugs BFO etc.
12/17/2009 11:42:33 PMScott
New to posting here, but have turned to this site for several years now and finally put up my first post looking for service data on an Airline Global. But I guess I should contribute so here goes......Take what you like and toss the rest....

I restore vintage radios, but I'm also a long-time builder/designer of R/C model aircraft and have worked w/many glues, especially the CAs (Cyanoacrylate) in a variety of formulations and w/accelerators. So when I was faced with a crumbled, powdered iron slug pulled from a BFO osc coil it took some thinking as to how to repair. No way do I try to find a replacement. Glue it together and all will be fine. Remember, all that matters is the mass of the slug, not the conductivity.
I'll spare you the various experiements and state immediately that Gorilla Super Glue does the job best. I was able to piece together no less than 6 chips and bond them to the tuning shaft. BFO works perfectly and the slugs position within the coil was the same as from the factory. Just don't use an accelerator! You don't want brittle. I buy various CAs in bulk, but also swear by Surehold Plastic Surgery for all things plastic (it really works), including the notorious B&H worm gears (16mm projectors), but for powdered iron, Gorilla works! I tried the others on old slugs I had sitting around, but the results were not as good. If you're restoring and selling, don't count on your buyer not overriding the knob stop looking for zero beat if & when the IF changes due to wandering screwdrivers or silver mica migration.
You could probably use an Epoxy glue, but most just don't get into the pores and the mess left on the smooth exterior is a pain to clean.
Hoping this helps someone? I did a Google before attempting to repair my crumbled slug and never found any sort of specific info on glue (unlike what one would find for model building/repairing) so thought it might help.
Happy Holidays

Scott

12/18/2009 12:17:32 AMMarv Nuce
Hey Scott,
Good info, and thanks. I don't buy in bulk, but do some unique repairs/projects. Merry Christmas!!

marv

:New to posting here, but have turned to this site for several years now and finally put up my first post looking for service data on an Airline Global. But I guess I should contribute so here goes......Take what you like and toss the rest....
:
:I restore vintage radios, but I'm also a long-time builder/designer of R/C model aircraft and have worked w/many glues, especially the CAs (Cyanoacrylate) in a variety of formulations and w/accelerators. So when I was faced with a crumbled, powdered iron slug pulled from a BFO osc coil it took some thinking as to how to repair. No way do I try to find a replacement. Glue it together and all will be fine. Remember, all that matters is the mass of the slug, not the conductivity.
:I'll spare you the various experiements and state immediately that Gorilla Super Glue does the job best. I was able to piece together no less than 6 chips and bond them to the tuning shaft. BFO works perfectly and the slugs position within the coil was the same as from the factory. Just don't use an accelerator! You don't want brittle. I buy various CAs in bulk, but also swear by Surehold Plastic Surgery for all things plastic (it really works), including the notorious B&H worm gears (16mm projectors), but for powdered iron, Gorilla works! I tried the others on old slugs I had sitting around, but the results were not as good. If you're restoring and selling, don't count on your buyer not overriding the knob stop looking for zero beat if & when the IF changes due to wandering screwdrivers or silver mica migration.
:You could probably use an Epoxy glue, but most just don't get into the pores and the mess left on the smooth exterior is a pain to clean.
:Hoping this helps someone? I did a Google before attempting to repair my crumbled slug and never found any sort of specific info on glue (unlike what one would find for model building/repairing) so thought it might help.
:Happy Holidays
:
:Scott
:

12/18/2009 1:49:48 AMScott
Marv:

You sound like my kind of repair guy......Got to be a solution rather than searching for an expensive replacement....Right?

Google Bell & Howell 2500 worm gear and see what you find. (I also restore old projectors.)The 500 & 1500 models also suffer the cracked worm gear problem.

There's a combination of J-B Stick Weld & Surehold Plastic Surgery that repairs the gear w/o having to yank it, setting up factory jigs, special tools, etc. I can't explain the full process as I've been considering selling my accidental discovery in one way or another(outside advice & my little fishing line jig), but the combo offers a variety of repair possibilites with radios. Early Nylon dial string guides come to mind and who knows what else? Like working w/Bondo, one of the keys is shaping w/a file close to 50% of the cure process and then using a variety of grits until you're down to 1500 at the final set.

And by the way.....Got any info on the 35WG-1573B? :)

Scott

12/18/2009 2:04:01 AMThomas Dermody
I've had good luck with super glue--it's strong, gets into pores, and cures fast. ...But maybe gorilla glue is better? I'd worry about it expanding and pushing everything apart, but otherwise it seems like a strong glue.

T.

12/18/2009 2:33:24 AMScott
Not the great Gorilla glue we all love to use for woodworking......This is the Gorilla "Super Glue," a CA that I speak of. It does not expand.

I don't usually like to buy overpriced CAs and hate the "Super Glue" label (but that's just me), but Gorilla must have done their research to put another great product on the market. The seal on the tip really works and for extra insurance, keep it stored in the fridge.

Scott

12/18/2009 10:30:25 AMSage
I had wonder about the Gorilla CA... saw some @ Walmart recently. I must say that I have been less-than-impressed with the Gorilla urethane glues... they are messy to work with (don't get it on your fingers!!!)and have that nasty foaming expansion - but, I'll give their CA a try.....
12/18/2009 1:05:34 PMMarv Nuce
Scott,
No info on your radio, but then I don't go in search. Just do what comes to me readily. Neighbors donate all their old electronics, and amazing what I find to use for other stuff. Yesterday I used one of the powerful magnets from a hard drive to rejuvenate several Christmas tree bulbs, and they are full of neat little screws and sealed bearings, in addition to the electronics. Printers also have a plethora of gears, bearings, motors, SS shafts etc. Especially the carriage drive motor. Not a stepper, but unique DC motor. If you've ever watched an ink jet carriage start, stop, change directions, you'd understand. I used one to drive the wire shuttle on a small coil winder built recently. Right now its Christmas stuff for children/grand children. I came by a 117 year old pump (reed) organ delivered (free) on my birthday in July, so thats still waiting in the wings. Its about 1/2 dismantled, and more complex than any radios I've ever done, but mostly wood, hide glue, screws and felt, except for the reeds(brass).

:Marv:
:
:You sound like my kind of repair guy......Got to be a solution rather than searching for an expensive replacement....Right?
:
:Google Bell & Howell 2500 worm gear and see what you find. (I also restore old projectors.)The 500 & 1500 models also suffer the cracked worm gear problem.
:
:There's a combination of J-B Stick Weld & Surehold Plastic Surgery that repairs the gear w/o having to yank it, setting up factory jigs, special tools, etc. I can't explain the full process as I've been considering selling my accidental discovery in one way or another(outside advice & my little fishing line jig), but the combo offers a variety of repair possibilites with radios. Early Nylon dial string guides come to mind and who knows what else? Like working w/Bondo, one of the keys is shaping w/a file close to 50% of the cure process and then using a variety of grits until you're down to 1500 at the final set.
:
:And by the way.....Got any info on the 35WG-1573B? :)
:
:Scott
:

12/18/2009 6:40:08 PMScott
Marv....

I've attempted a few printer repairs, but for me...forget about it.

Beyond radios, I do enjoy working on reel-to-reel decks, esp Sony tube units. I do assemble custom PCs for myself & others, but I'm lost when it comes to most of the peripherals, that is, fixing them. Probably more a matter of not wanting to know :)

I did have one adventure stripping an old Zerox, pulling parts, servos, bearings, chains, etc. but after I destroyed our new vac sucking up toner, well...it just wasn't worth it and the wife, ah...I'll leave it at that......

12/18/2009 7:22:01 PMMarv Nuce
Yep, the rest is probably best left unsaid.

marv

:Marv....
:
:I've attempted a few printer repairs, but for me...forget about it.
:
:Beyond radios, I do enjoy working on reel-to-reel decks, esp Sony tube units. I do assemble custom PCs for myself & others, but I'm lost when it comes to most of the peripherals, that is, fixing them. Probably more a matter of not wanting to know :)
:
:I did have one adventure stripping an old Zerox, pulling parts, servos, bearings, chains, etc. but after I destroyed our new vac sucking up toner, well...it just wasn't worth it and the wife, ah...I'll leave it at that......
:

12/18/2009 7:24:22 PMRichard
:I did have one adventure stripping an old Zerox, pulling parts, servos, bearings, chains, etc. but after I destroyed our new vac sucking up toner, well...it just wasn't worth it and the wife, ah...I'll leave it at that......

Scott, you can get rolls of plastic drop cloths for painting really cheap! It reduces the mess, I won't go in to how, or how many times I dismantled and cleaned up before I figured that out. Suffice it to say Colleen is much happier with me since I figured it out.

12/18/2009 7:28:58 PMRichard
Scott, Colleen wants to know: "Doesn't he have a shop-vac of his own he could ruin?"
12/18/2009 8:40:20 PMScott
Why would I subject my dust collection system to toner? Forget about carpet, I've got a bandsaw, router & drill press to keep clean :)
12/18/2009 7:49:25 PMMarv Nuce
Richard,
You're a gas!!!

marv

::I did have one adventure stripping an old Zerox, pulling parts, servos, bearings, chains, etc. but after I destroyed our new vac sucking up toner, well...it just wasn't worth it and the wife, ah...I'll leave it at that......
:
:Scott, you can get rolls of plastic drop cloths for painting really cheap! It reduces the mess, I won't go in to how, or how many times I dismantled and cleaned up before I figured that out. Suffice it to say Colleen is much happier with me since I figured it out.
:

12/18/2009 8:37:42 PMScott
Oh, ah....I was young & stupid and just jammed the nozzle straight into everything. In other words, I sucked the toner straight out of the cartridge. Honestly, I didn't know. I hid the vac for over a week trying to figure out an explanation.

And I forgot to mention, I picked up the copier in my wife's car. Yup....toner leaked all over the seats. And the worst part was that she wanted me to try to vac it out, but that was before I revealed that the vac was ruined. Those were interesting times.....

12/18/2009 11:30:04 PMRichard
Lets see, I've been at this since the early 70's so I have had time to perfect my imperfection...

ball bearings + vacuum cleaner = Dead Vacuum

CRT + Floor = Glass everywhere, including the newly laid carpet

Overheated Transformer = Wax/Tar goo all over dining room table

Lacquer + spray gun in attached garage = whole house oderized

Shorted Transformer in Crosley = Whole House lamp dimmer & room heater

Shipping Peanuts + Radio = Weeks of fun

CRT not discharged + stray fingers = Weird Al look alike

And that's the ones that just popped up... if I thought about it I am sure the list is quite longer....

Richard

:Oh, ah....I was young & stupid and just jammed the nozzle straight into everything. In other words, I sucked the toner straight out of the cartridge. Honestly, I didn't know. I hid the vac for over a week trying to figure out an explanation.
:
:And I forgot to mention, I picked up the copier in my wife's car. Yup....toner leaked all over the seats. And the worst part was that she wanted me to try to vac it out, but that was before I revealed that the vac was ruined. Those were interesting times.....

12/19/2009 12:52:58 PMScott
LOL!

I can relate.....But probably not the BBs in the vac thing...that's just plain stupid! :)

I remember setting up a tent in our sunroom for spraying polyurethane paint on a recently completed sailplane fuselage. I still don't remember why I didn't do it in my detatched-garge workshop? Cold? Dunno.....

The floor was glazed brick and I sort of forgot about covering that. And the tent......amazing just how much paint can find a way out, even to the living room. And it probably took nearly a week before my Kleenex-blows stopped showing blue.

And then there was the 100 gallon salt tank in the sunroom (where I also kept my ham station) and the Northridge earthquake. The conductivity of saltwater, instability of a beam strapped to a brick chimney, etc.........

Someone should start a site for these sort of brain-fade/dead moments that "every" electronics fool feels determined to create. Not much wonder the hobby is mostly dead, the shops closed, and no schematics provided w/product. No user serviceable parts inside (just A51 alien technology)!



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