Need Stem Wizard
- Thread starter mcitinner1
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kf4bsb wrote:
Quick question on this. I also use the Stewart MacDonald tinted CA. Since you have been using it you know first hand how much this stuff shrinks during the curing process. Since you have experience with both, how does the IC-2000 compare to the stewmac glue in regards to shrinkage and would doing a 50/50 mix of these two products alleviate it to any appreciable degree? I recently "de-ventilated" a carey magic inch stem and it must have taken at least seven applications to totally eradicate the slots on their stems using the stewmac product. It isn't a really big issue on smaller, shallow indentions but can be a little annoying on deeper depressions and through-holes. I'm just wondering if the rubberized stuff has less solvents and therefore would have a lower shrinkage factor during cure.
Ok guys I've used both the CA glues talked about above. I used the regular black once only because is runs like crazy if your stem isn't positioned just right. I need to learn to mix it with a hardener. I haven't looked for that yet. The IC-2000 rubberized glue I tried this week took more than 1 day to set. I guess it needs to be mixed with a hardener too. Any suggestions you stem wizards?
I personally don't use any type of accelerator, so don't have any input on that one. One trick I do use is to keep a bowl of uncooked rice handy. You can use this to position your stem exactly how you need it so that you don't get "over run". I then set it under a goose-neck desk lamp which will help to cure it faster as the heat will accelerate the dissipation of the solvents in the adhesive. Hope that helps.
I tried the IC-2000 rubberized CA and wasn't impressed with the results. It didn't seem to get hard enough for me, and filing and sanding didn't work as well either. I did get the black CA from Stewmac and as far as I'm concerned, it works the best. I also got some glue accelerator which makes all the difference in the world when working on a stem, as you can have a hardened glue in minutes. This allows you to see if you need to add more glue due to shrinkage right away.
I agree that the color of the black CA may be slightly off from some vulcanite, but you have to look hard to see it. Some stems you can't see the fills at all when polished up good.
kf4bsb: I will have to try the fret dams, as they sound way better than what I've been trying to use.
I agree that the color of the black CA may be slightly off from some vulcanite, but you have to look hard to see it. Some stems you can't see the fills at all when polished up good.
kf4bsb: I will have to try the fret dams, as they sound way better than what I've been trying to use.
I am wondering about this as well. A have some stems with holes/heavy impressions, and this thread has inspired me to try fixing them myself.
great tips guys. I use the Stew-Mac with accelerator (Hobby Lobby). I haven't found a neat way to apply the accelerator.
OP: If sending that stem to me in MD is convenient, I'd be happy to make the repair.
OP: If sending that stem to me in MD is convenient, I'd be happy to make the repair.
This has been my experience as well, most of the time you have to hold it at the right angle in good lighting and really look to see the ghosting from the repair.
There has been one exception to this and I'll "fess up" to my mistake in the interest of providing a PSA. I was restoring a stem with a very small blemish that needed a fill. Without thinking too much about it, I did the fill before I "really got going" on the resto, meaning before I started going to town with the magic eraser to get all the oxidation off. The "issue" didn't really show up until the stem really started to shine up well and then it was highly noticeable. I started to dig it out and redo it but decided to leave it as a reminder to myself to put a little more thought into my work. You can see it in the photo below.
So the moral of this story is, make sure you clean off the oxidation thoroughly before doing a tinted CA (super glue) repair. Otherwise the oxidation can leach into the CA during curing and the discoloration doesn't polish out. Hopefully sharing my embarrassing little mis-step will help others not make the same mistake.
Thanks Al for the offer but I want to get the hang of this myself.
On getting all the oxidation off prior to filling, I figured that roughing the surface of a dimple a little would help the fill material to 'hold' better. I did this with a very small Dremel etching bit which took the oxidation out.
On getting all the oxidation off prior to filling, I figured that roughing the surface of a dimple a little would help the fill material to 'hold' better. I did this with a very small Dremel etching bit which took the oxidation out.
Al, is your accelerator in a spray pump bottle? I just hold my stem over a large towel or rag to catch the over spray, and after I apply the black CA, I quickly spray the accelerator over the glue. If I hold it still for about 20-30 sec. it sets up and wont run.
torque: Confession is good for the soul they say, so I'm sure you'll sleep better now after that post.... :lol:
The truth is, that little spot didn't leap out at me, and if you hadn't mentioned it, I may not have noticed at all. Still your point about prep work is well taken, as I too have jumped the gun on some repairs and ended up with less than "spotless" results. But I'm doing it for myself as a pipe I'll be smoking so I didn't figure it was worth the redo either.
edit: I wanted to say that the black super glue I got from Stewmac is about 3 months old, non refrigerated, and is still in good shape. Maybe some of the caps are not made as tight?
torque: Confession is good for the soul they say, so I'm sure you'll sleep better now after that post.... :lol:
The truth is, that little spot didn't leap out at me, and if you hadn't mentioned it, I may not have noticed at all. Still your point about prep work is well taken, as I too have jumped the gun on some repairs and ended up with less than "spotless" results. But I'm doing it for myself as a pipe I'll be smoking so I didn't figure it was worth the redo either.
edit: I wanted to say that the black super glue I got from Stewmac is about 3 months old, non refrigerated, and is still in good shape. Maybe some of the caps are not made as tight?
So, are we talking about the CA or the epoxy? I see Stew-Mac tinted epoxies, but not Stew-Mac tinted CA. A link to the product used would be much appreciated.
Orley thanks for talking about the way you do the accelerator. I just went into town and found the same bottle at the local mom and pop hobby shop. I always try to support small businesses. I'm picturing laying a piece of paper with a hole cut in it over the area being filled.
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