I accidentally punched a hole in my motorcycle’s magnesium crankcase or ignition housing cover. A lot of the guys I work with also ride motorcycles, and in talking with them, I found out that it is not uncommon to punch a hole in the crankcase. I work here at Gougeon Brothers, Inc. as Operations Supervisor in the Epoxy Department where we do production mixing, assembly, packaging, and quality control of WEST SYSTEM® Epoxy.
A local sailor stopped by our shop with an old plastic hatch that was slightly warped and badly cracked. He hadn’t been able to find a similar hatch to replace it. He wondered if we had an epoxy that could be used to repair the hatch. I said G/flex would likely work but to know for sure we needed to do a bit of adhesion testing. Continue reading
And to many others who love guitars, especially classic old electric guitars, Curt Wilson is a hero. Curt combines his knowledge of epoxy and guitar anatomy with acute attention to detail and the skills of a surgeon to bring back to life guitars that should have played their last note. Continue reading
I will start by saying that, in my opinion, most carbon fiber bicycle frames that have sustained damage from an impact should not be repaired—there are too many damaged fibers that are typically unseen. The two repaired frames featured in this article had damage caused by operator error, not impact. The last two bicycle frames are prime examples of parts that should not be repaired for safety reasons. Continue reading
Above: A graphite composite fly rod with all of the guides attached with G/flex to maximize the rod’s flexibility.
Fly fishing, particularly for Atlantic Salmon, has been my lifelong hobby. The fly rod itself has an ancient past but its technical prowess as an instrument to launch line and fly to a designated spot on the river was epitomized by the arrival of handcrafted split bamboo rods in the late nineteenth century. Continue reading
My wife’s 2000 Audi TT has a very sleek shape, and these smooth lines are carried under the hood with molded plastic engine covers that provide a very clean-looking engine. Unfortunately, when I was servicing a burned-out bulb, I attempted to remove the engine covers in the wrong sequence which caused a tab to snap off. Continue reading
Above: The repaired camper panel is back in place on the camper. A coat of Krylon Fusion® textured, plastic-compatible paint completed the camper repair.
Todd Lynch, one of our valued employees, brought in a damaged plastic panel from the back end of an 11-year-old pop-up camper and asked if it was worth fixing. It came from his hunting camper which had been rear-ended. He just wanted it to be functional. The impact had made cracks at nearly every screw hole for holding the panel in place, making it doubtful it would last another trip down the highway. Continue reading
Above: G/5 Five-Minute Adhesive is applied neatly to a furniture joint.
Let’s look at some ways G/5 Five-Minute-Adhesive can be used around the house for everything from furniture repair to building model railroads.
Above: The repaired and refinished walnut gunstock.
This is how I repaired an obviously serious break in the gunstock of a 1956 Winchester Model 88 rifle using a WEST SYSTEM® 101 Handy Repair Pack. Continue reading
I hesitated to write this article about repairing my old lawn mower because my friends accuse me of being a cheapskate. The text and photos to follow will only strengthen their argument. That being said, I can’t be the only person who would prefer to fix something rather than buy new. Besides, I can’t resist the opportunity to experiment with WEST SYSTEM® epoxy. Continue reading