J.B Weld

Mike Kennedy · Dec 10, 2007

I ruined the small retaining screw that holds the film advance leaver on my Pentax MX.Used a smidgin of JB weld on the male + female parts,let it sit overnight and voila. Worked perfectly!!

TheFlyingCamera · Dec 10, 2007

just bear in mind, you'll never get it off if you need to, now. JB Weld is really potent stuff

Mike Kennedy · Dec 10, 2007

I weighed my options before I used the product.
Better to have a meterless camera that still works than a shelf sitter.But you're right.Make sure you understand the properties of the stuff prior to using it.

noseoil · Dec 10, 2007

Most epoxies have a yield point with respect to heat. With a soldering iron (fine point and low heat, not a monster one with a huge tip) and a heat sink, you can usually hit the point at which the stuff lets go. Please note that I said most, not all. Some of the more exotic formulations in aircraft work and a few other applications have a heat resistence which is amazing.

A lot can be done with a little JB weld, some paste wax and threaded items. You can make decent threads in worn areas with the ability to remove screws like they are set in metal, as long as there isn't too much force exerted on the parts. Don't forget the release coating, a fine layer of wax in the threads is usually good enough to work. tim

srs5694 · Dec 10, 2007

I've also used JB Weld for a couple of photographic repairs:

A strap lug had worked loose in a camera (a Zenit C, IIRC) and was causing a light leak. A little JB Weld and the strap lug is solidly in place and there's no trace of the light leak.
Over the past year, two of the plastic knobs on my Philips PCS150 enlarger controller have broken. The breaks have been inside the knobs, where they grip the cut-out cylinders that actually control the unit's electronics. (This is hard to describe, but it's a common setup on radio dials and whatnot, particularly from a couple of decades ago.) A dab of JB Weld to fill in the area from which the small piece broke off has produced useable results. On one of the dials I overdid it a bit, though, and the dial doesn't fit all the way into the slot. This makes using it a bit awkward, but it is still useable.

dmr · Dec 11, 2007

noseoil said:
Most epoxies have a yield point with respect to heat. With a soldering iron (fine point and low heat, not a monster one with a huge tip) and a heat sink, you can usually hit the point at which the stuff lets go.

Have you ever smelled burning epoxy?

It is the absolute worst thing I can ever remember smelling!

mgb74 · Dec 11, 2007

noseoil said:
A lot can be done with a little JB weld, some paste wax and threaded items. You can make decent threads in worn areas with the ability to remove screws like they are set in metal, as long as there isn't too much force exerted on the parts. Don't forget the release coating, a fine layer of wax in the threads is usually good enough to work. tim

This sounds very useful. I assume it involves putting JB Weld into the screw hole then, before it sets, inserting the wax coated screw. Is this correct? Could you elaborate on the process? Candle wax? How to coat? etc.

DarkroomExperimente · Dec 11, 2007

how about acetone?

I thought that dissolved/weakened epoxy...or is that only before it's cured?

noseoil · Dec 11, 2007

Basically, you "pot" the hole with epoxy and then use a screw as the fastener. I use carnuba wax for a mold release agent, but any paste wax will do, floor wax, automotive etc. Put the wax on the fastener, allow to dry a bit and wipe off so it isn't fouling the threads. It won't work for repeated use of the fastener, but it does a good job if there are no other options. Make sure to wax any other parts you don't want to fasten which may contact the bond. tim

juan · Dec 11, 2007

dmr said:
It is the absolute worst thing I can ever remember smelling!

Clearly you've never been trapped on a two-lane, winding, North Georgia highway behind a slow-moving tractor trailer rig filled with circus elephants.
juan

MattKing · Dec 11, 2007

juan said:
Clearly you've never been trapped on a two-lane, winding, North Georgia highway behind a slow-moving tractor trailer rig filled with circus elephants.
juan

Or on the car deck of a BC Ferry, with a truck delivering live turkeys.

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