Re: Fixing Spud bakelite

[E R Swanson <ers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A few closing thoughts... from a repair standpoint, I doubt there's any
significant difference between New Jersey bakelite and Ukranian
bakelite...

When dealing with a crack, flow a little low viscoscity cyanoacrylate into
the crack and set it first.

You want to use care when bonding two pieces of broken bakelite back
together with low viscoscity glue. It bonds instantly-- zero working time,
so you'd better be right in terms of fit. Also, low viscoscity is hotter
re accelerators, so you're more likely to get bubbling as it literally
boils-- this can cause ugly white areas that have to be removed by
grinding or polishing.

Medium is slower and less volatile, and thick is slower yet. When you hit
it with an accelerator, the high viscoscity glues generally harden just
like you've added a chunk of clear plastic. They all have their specific
purpose. 

When fixing bakelite, feel free to make a big mess over the repair area,
and just figure that you'll use your dremel and 4-way nailfiles to bring
the surface back to smooth, followed by plastic polish (I use standard
plastic polishing compound with a rag wheel on the dremel) and finally
Mother's Mag polish on a rag, by hand, for the final finish.

Warning-- accelerating superglue can make it spatter, and you don't want
it in your eyes-- wear goggles. As always, do any of these techniques at
your own risk-- good luck!

Elliott