We are the World
Wow, I am a bit gobsmacked at the amount of good will and good ideas.
Really delighted. Thank you all. Even the ideas which stall work to encourage my venture.
I am in Cork, Ireland, so the genius idea of two nuts has it's complications. We do have a great engineering supply firm, I hope open. Does anyone know the spec of these American nuts I need to look for? The red stuff goes all the way up the shaft, but it is exposed where nuts would go, so this is a real gamechanger if I can source the nuts.
Again the geography matters, we had a real war on the Island, and with Brexit.... So chemicals are very very restricted. And those available are often dilute. I got some 99 IPA from an industrial source recently. I am going there now to see if I can get full strength Acetone. Or even Methylene.
Elsewhere I have read that Methylene is the one if this is a Cyanacrolate and that Acetone, particulary with the Locker inside between treads, may not be enought. But I note the suggestions that this may not be Loctite, so fingers crossed for Acetone.
Again the geo...... Many US suppliers will simply not ship here. With good reason. At the US end the red tape is Biblical. That plus ¢400 bucks..... A US tech friend Eddie Cilletti is on board, and quite encouraging about the possibility of repair.
Heartfelt Thanks, DD
Wow, I am a bit gobsmacked at the amount of good will and good ideas.
Really delighted. Thank you all. Even the ideas which stall work to encourage my venture.
I am in Cork, Ireland, so the genius idea of two nuts has it's complications. We do have a great engineering supply firm, I hope open. Does anyone know the spec of these American nuts I need to look for? The red stuff goes all the way up the shaft, but it is exposed where nuts would go, so this is a real gamechanger if I can source the nuts.
Again the geography matters, we had a real war on the Island, and with Brexit.... So chemicals are very very restricted. And those available are often dilute. I got some 99 IPA from an industrial source recently. I am going there now to see if I can get full strength Acetone. Or even Methylene.
Elsewhere I have read that Methylene is the one if this is a Cyanacrolate and that Acetone, particulary with the Locker inside between treads, may not be enought. But I note the suggestions that this may not be Loctite, so fingers crossed for Acetone.
Again the geo...... Many US suppliers will simply not ship here. With good reason. At the US end the red tape is Biblical. That plus ¢400 bucks..... A US tech friend Eddie Cilletti is on board, and quite encouraging about the possibility of repair.
Heartfelt Thanks, DD
Last edited:
If you are brave You can borrow the nut from the device next to the problem screw in your image. the top nut does not seem to have the red stuff on it and should come off easy while the nut under neath will not move because of the red stuff. If it fits then borrow the other back nut from the bottom of the device and you have your nuts.
Or borrow a nut from the left to match to at the local hardware store. Difficult to judge size and pitch from a photo, but it shouldn't be something too rare / odd. Whatever the red stuff is, it shouldn't be a heavy weight / super strength sort of thing, as it isn't required in this application, and stronger stuff is usually more expensive also. In the stands, cheering you on brother!
Personaly I would be very wary of using strong solvents this close to the plastic of the vu meter ,sometimes even the fumes are enough tocause crazing or even melt the plastic .
If this were mine I would try needlenosed visegrips or needlenosed pliers and 'brute" force to break the bond .
Good luck and regards F.
If this were mine I would try needlenosed visegrips or needlenosed pliers and 'brute" force to break the bond .
Good luck and regards F.
Loctite is an anaerobic and won't typically be found outside the joint. What you have looks like Glyptol. Not sure what, if anything, will dissolve it. It would take a crazy amount of heat to soften it. OTOH, it's not that strong, so the nuts and mechanical methods make the most sense. You want to keep solvents far away from the plastic parts, but Berryman B-12 is said to cut it.
Emerald Isle
I do have on small tin from way back when I was building and such. Thing is American threads are often different even to Imprerial ones.
We in Ireland, the only EU English speaking country ( well Malta) are of course proud users of the SI system. Oddly on the island, a partitioned off bit at the top, we have Unionists. The similarities with US Republicans is uncanny.
I found some Acetone full strenght. Had to buy 2.5L but heck..... The Q tips are tinging red so definitely dissolving. I will tip away at it for a day or two. Brilliant idea to borrow the nut next to it. DOH!
I am dubious about fixing the meter, although I might take it to a watch repairer? But even if I buy a refurb from studio electronics US I would have to get deal with this mounting issue in any case. It seems the bezel and other bits are very delicate and irreplaceable also.....
Again, warm thanks, DD
I do have on small tin from way back when I was building and such. Thing is American threads are often different even to Imprerial ones.
We in Ireland, the only EU English speaking country ( well Malta) are of course proud users of the SI system. Oddly on the island, a partitioned off bit at the top, we have Unionists. The similarities with US Republicans is uncanny.
I found some Acetone full strenght. Had to buy 2.5L but heck..... The Q tips are tinging red so definitely dissolving. I will tip away at it for a day or two. Brilliant idea to borrow the nut next to it. DOH!
I am dubious about fixing the meter, although I might take it to a watch repairer? But even if I buy a refurb from studio electronics US I would have to get deal with this mounting issue in any case. It seems the bezel and other bits are very delicate and irreplaceable also.....
Again, warm thanks, DD
Last edited:
Great thoughts. We don't have gunsmiths here! But I will look into some new high class screwdrivers. Unbelievably the other bolts/nuts are a different diameter! I will just go with the Acetone for a few days before trying a twist. I will find that old tin of nuts and such in the attic also. There might be some old imperial stuff in there.
Last edited:
From the picture and having seen much electronic gear the standard screw size is 6-32. Extremely common in the US, hard to find elsewhere. I would try an automotive parts shop. That size would have been used in some US cars.
My betting is the meter has a fail solder joint that you can carefully fix yourself. Of course if there was a problem with the circuit feeding the meter serious damage could have happened. I assume you will check for DC voltage across the meter before opening things up. Might also be a good idea to check the DC resistance. Use a 1,000 ohm resistor in series with an ohmmeter to test continuity.
My betting is the meter has a fail solder joint that you can carefully fix yourself. Of course if there was a problem with the circuit feeding the meter serious damage could have happened. I assume you will check for DC voltage across the meter before opening things up. Might also be a good idea to check the DC resistance. Use a 1,000 ohm resistor in series with an ohmmeter to test continuity.
Sizes
I am not familiar with the various sizes. Ours are very simple. The switch mounting ones are definitely thinner than the meter ones though. The Acetone is doing well. I just got some cocktail sticks to poke into the grooves. I took off the bottom cover to get at the other side of the screws. Bingo, the Glyptol? was not applied there. I am gaining confidence that this will come good.
The meter seems to be sticking. I guess there could be DC latching or some combination, but tapping it gently with a mallet..... finger! causes it to settle.
I am not familiar with the various sizes. Ours are very simple. The switch mounting ones are definitely thinner than the meter ones though. The Acetone is doing well. I just got some cocktail sticks to poke into the grooves. I took off the bottom cover to get at the other side of the screws. Bingo, the Glyptol? was not applied there. I am gaining confidence that this will come good.
The meter seems to be sticking. I guess there could be DC latching or some combination, but tapping it gently with a mallet..... finger! causes it to settle.
Last edited:
Procrastinatrix
There is another word for my snail pace...... Well I got some full strength Acetone. It works, but I need to spend some time poking it into the threads with cocktail sticks..... Outdoors! So Rain stalls play for the moment. I also found USA 6-32 Hex nuts! But they are slightly too small. They look right for the slightly slimmer bolts holding the switches in place. So I will go back there on monday. Eagle eyes out there, HELP. What will I try 7-32 8-32?
I have the Cava in the fridge for when this gets done. But.... could be months if I have to buy a refurb meter from the USA..... So exciting though isn't it!
There is another word for my snail pace...... Well I got some full strength Acetone. It works, but I need to spend some time poking it into the threads with cocktail sticks..... Outdoors! So Rain stalls play for the moment. I also found USA 6-32 Hex nuts! But they are slightly too small. They look right for the slightly slimmer bolts holding the switches in place. So I will go back there on monday. Eagle eyes out there, HELP. What will I try 7-32 8-32?
I have the Cava in the fridge for when this gets done. But.... could be months if I have to buy a refurb meter from the USA..... So exciting though isn't it!
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.