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Plug spanner grippy thing for plugs

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WD Forte
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PostPosted: 02:35 - 23 Dec 2013    Post subject: Plug spanner grippy thing for plugs Reply with quote

There are lots of casting resins, potting compounds etc about on the market but
often I just need a wee bit for a particular job and dont want
to pay for more than I'll need

I recently heard about a moldable silcone product out called Sugru
very good stuff and all, but you only get chewing gum sized packets
and its a bit pricey
Then I saw a DIY version dubbed 'oogroo' using cheap silicone sealer and corn flour
so I had a play with that.
( TBH they had me at 'cheap' )

Some chappie on the web was saying mix it in a 4:1 ratio (25%)
This seemed a lot to me and I found a ratio of just 10% or less was fine for my purposes
and gave a good working time.

Wasnt at school the day they did chemistry but apparently the corn starch is hygroscopic
and helps take moisture throughout the silicone to allow it to cure quicker.
so I tried a project I'd tried before only have a lot of messy silicone the next day
as it hadnt cured all the way through.


So, 'Plug spanner grippy thing for plugs' is the snappy title of this project
the Cx plugs are pretty deeply recessed and it needs a long tube or box spanner
and without a grippy plug thing you often drop the plugs in the well
and have to fiddle about to get them out.

https://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n302/reggiecx/psgtfp1_zps922627eb.jpg

what I did:
Cleaned out the tube
mixed up silicone sealer with a wee bit of corn flour
in a paper cup using an old chop stick.
Stuffed it down the tube bit by bit.

https://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n302/reggiecx/psgtfp2_zps40fd7b7a.jpg

10 minutes later, got an old plug, dipped the ceramic part and top of the
flats in the chip pan to give it an oily surface
and gently pressed it down in to the silicone

https://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n302/reggiecx/psgtfp3_zpsba52032a.jpg

An hour or so later checked the stuff left in the paper cup
and saw it was solidifying, so gently pulled the plug out of the jollop

Nice!

https://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n302/reggiecx/psgtfp4_zps1c7b0b7d.jpg



It was still a bit whiffy due to its not being fully cured, but it held its shape
and didnt drag a big snotter of uncured silicone out like it did last time
even after being left all night.

This was cheap white 'all purpose silicone sealer' from Tescos for £2.50 a tube

Not sure of its qualities as yet as regards heat,petrol, oil proofing etc
but a lot of other potential uses come to mind.

Incidentally
that little pink thing by the cup in the third picture is an 8GB USB stick I coated in the stuff on an earlier test.
I found it was an annoyingly tiny thing to grab hold of and made a soft grippy handle for it
I used a dark purple food dye but only used a wee bit and it came out pink.
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lihp
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PostPosted: 13:02 - 23 Dec 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Or pay a few quid for a magnetic one, or one with a rubber bung, or a bit of spare fuel hose that you can push over and use to unscrew and hold the plug.

Nice solution though I guess.
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WD Forte
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PostPosted: 17:26 - 24 Dec 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have plug sockets with internal rubber collars which are fine for most engines but found the outer diameter was too big to go down the well in the CXs head.
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Nemo
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PostPosted: 19:49 - 24 Dec 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Was the USB stick the guinea pig?
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WD Forte
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PostPosted: 20:19 - 24 Dec 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yup ! Laughing

First time I mixed some up I was thinking
"Right, now what can I do with it?"
I also made up a soft mount for a 7" sat nav/media player I use on the dashboard of my van.
Its a crude and ugly ( so's the van) but I can just push it in the soft rubbery 'jaws' when I get in and it stays there.
Its quite soft so
I'm going to try mixing some carbon black ( like they do to rubber for tyres)in it soon to see if it stiffens it up any.
I have few old NLA grommets, tank mounts and things I may try and make molds of.
Its all harmless fun
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fatjames
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PostPosted: 14:35 - 27 Dec 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think making a mould is going to be the key to this. For usb mkII maybe try a match box?
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stinkwheel
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PostPosted: 16:48 - 27 Dec 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just remember that a lot of types of silicone give off acaetic acid when they cure (smell of vinegar) and so don't always play nicely with integrated circuits.

Standard plumbing silicone by itself is heat resistant enough to use on the exhaust header pipe of an air-cooled engine. Perhaps your gunk would be less likely to be blown out of the gaps? I may give it a try next time I have to seal up the temporary exhaust system on the VFR.

Cornflour has particularly odd properties anyway. It can make non-Newtonian fluids among other things.
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Teflon-Mike
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PostPosted: 18:02 - 27 Dec 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

You are talking 'fillers'. Lots of 'cheap' substitutes for high-street daubs and gloops can be made like this.

I have two stock resins in the 'glue-box'; plain phenolic GRP resin, and two-pack epoxy. Most common filler I use is cheap unscented talcum-powder; but used plain cooking flour, saw-dust, soot, or aluminium filings... that in epoxy makes good 'metal-set' substitute BTW.
You can mould or repair amazing amount of metal or plastics with these basic ingredients. Aluminium filled phenolic, can even take a low stress tapped thread; and good for building up cracked casting bosses.

Will have to add silicone and cornflour to the arsenal! Thumbs Up
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WD Forte
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PostPosted: 20:47 - 27 Dec 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

stinkwheel wrote:
J

Standard plumbing silicone by itself is heat resistant enough to use on the exhaust header pipe of an air-cooled engine.[/url] among other things.


Aha!
I had a vague memory of someone using it for that and mentioned it to a mate with a leaking exhaust with the caveat I might have dreamt it so he did it at his own risk.
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TUG
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PostPosted: 21:27 - 27 Dec 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gone to a lot of trouble for this lol, undo plug use magnet on a stick to get plug... job jobbed! Laughing
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Pete.
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PostPosted: 22:04 - 27 Dec 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Neat idea! I have a turned-down socket for getting into those pesky narrow Honda plug wells.
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