harleyKmodel

One of my flippers is broken in the stem at one of the spiral cuts for the spring. Anyone got any neat tricks to repair these?

I was trying to think of things that might go inside the stem. The ink tube of a ball point pen is the right size to go inside. I seem to remember that years ago, the ink tubes were metal, not plastic. Do you remember that too, or am I re-inventing history? Of course, none of the pens in my desk have metal tubes. Maybe that was so long ago, that finding a good flipper might be easier than an antique ball-point pen!

I was trying to think of things that might go over the stem. The only idea at present is 5/16 ACR copper tubing (.312 o.d., .248 i.d.) although the i.d. might be a little too large. Of course, it's sold in 50-foot lengths, and I only need about 1/2 inch. I guess I can go pester some local HVAC companies.

Any other ideas?

Dave

I have had success rejoining broken parts like plastic or pot metal by boring holes in both pieces and making a steel rod to join the two like an inside splint. Carefully drill to a standard steel filler welding rod size and cut the rod to length. Assemble with super glue. Also you could use any drill bit as the splint, just cut to length after boring parts. If the pieces are big or strong enough you can do an interference fit using a Numbered bit one size bigger than the hole size. Or bore the hole one Number size smaller than the splint rod for a snug fit. Don't believe the flippers have enough mass for that however. I am working on replacement flippers, will report on that later. Erik

One of mine was broke at the spring slot, a dremal with a small carbide disc to re-slot it. works great. Take your time doing it.