I mentioned this on the 'broken cat water bowl' thread, but think it might have interest to a wider (frugal, DIY) audience, so I am posting this in a new thread.
With so many things these days having plastic components which can easily break and render that item useless, I was delighted to find an inexpensive and effective means by which to fix broken, cracked, and missing plastic. In fact, YouTube videos show the repaired areas becoming stronger than the original material.
I used this technique very successfully yesterday to repair a vintage sewing machine. The stitch-length is controlled/adjusted by the friction fit of a steel shaft that runs through a plastic tab. Over time, a crack developed in the plastic tab and the stitch length dial would, after the vibration generated by sewing a few stitches, move itself to the longest stitch length.
I had recently heard about this super glue liquid (aka cyanoacrylate) and baking soda method of repairing plastic and thought this might be a perfect application for it. I had nothing to lose, as the sewing machine is so old (1980s) that no parts are available for repairs. The super glue and baking soda repair worked like a dream (I pushed and held the crack together for a minute or two while it was 'setting up" to close the gap and reestablish a friction fit around the shaft.) As this repair was made inside the machine, I really did not care about the appearance, as I simply needed it to be strong.
This repair/reconstruction of missing material can be sanded, molded, etc, as well as painted, for appearance-critical repairs. It can be used on wood, plastics, metals. Apparently, hobbyists and musical instrument people have been using this for a long time.
BTW, dollar stores carry packages of 4 tiny tubes (0.01 oz. each) of superglue which are perfect for small projects, so you don't end up having a large tube/bottle of super glue dry out/harden from having been opened just for a small repair.
My repair cost was about 26 cents ($0.25 for one tiny tube of super glue and $0.01 for the miniscule amount (<1/2 teaspoon) of baking powder used.)
As someone who deplores waste, I'm overjoyed to find something so cheap, quick, and effective to fix useful items that might otherwise be discarded.
omni
Here are some YouTube videos:
With so many things these days having plastic components which can easily break and render that item useless, I was delighted to find an inexpensive and effective means by which to fix broken, cracked, and missing plastic. In fact, YouTube videos show the repaired areas becoming stronger than the original material.
I used this technique very successfully yesterday to repair a vintage sewing machine. The stitch-length is controlled/adjusted by the friction fit of a steel shaft that runs through a plastic tab. Over time, a crack developed in the plastic tab and the stitch length dial would, after the vibration generated by sewing a few stitches, move itself to the longest stitch length.
I had recently heard about this super glue liquid (aka cyanoacrylate) and baking soda method of repairing plastic and thought this might be a perfect application for it. I had nothing to lose, as the sewing machine is so old (1980s) that no parts are available for repairs. The super glue and baking soda repair worked like a dream (I pushed and held the crack together for a minute or two while it was 'setting up" to close the gap and reestablish a friction fit around the shaft.) As this repair was made inside the machine, I really did not care about the appearance, as I simply needed it to be strong.
This repair/reconstruction of missing material can be sanded, molded, etc, as well as painted, for appearance-critical repairs. It can be used on wood, plastics, metals. Apparently, hobbyists and musical instrument people have been using this for a long time.
BTW, dollar stores carry packages of 4 tiny tubes (0.01 oz. each) of superglue which are perfect for small projects, so you don't end up having a large tube/bottle of super glue dry out/harden from having been opened just for a small repair.
My repair cost was about 26 cents ($0.25 for one tiny tube of super glue and $0.01 for the miniscule amount (<1/2 teaspoon) of baking powder used.)
As someone who deplores waste, I'm overjoyed to find something so cheap, quick, and effective to fix useful items that might otherwise be discarded.
omni
Here are some YouTube videos:
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