35 buck Chinese Machinist's Level overhaul and cralibation (!)

[Toolmaker51]

re:filling the vial. My choice would be 90% medicinal alcohol. It will take food coloring as a dye, freezing will be non-issue, easily found and handled. Dye somewhat larger quantity than needed with a pinhead to 'spoon' it.
The real trick will be determining what volume is needed for a proper size bubble. Maybe fill it experimentally, hold end shut and horizontal. Once found, up-end and felt-tip mark a graduation on side for later. In regards to filling the tube, my first test would be to submerge it; otherwise a plastic eyedropper.
We have a popular epoxy here called J-B Weld, find an equivalent to seal nib.

Sulfur is low melting point but not getting quick even distribution could crack vial. I guess warming it in hot water is possible. I used plaster of paris for my Starrett level.

[DIYSwede]

Thanks for chiming in, TM51, much appreciated!
Easiest and cheapest for me would undoubtedly be using an ordinary MEK-denaturated ethanol from the gas station,
already having a pink hue (the booze - not the gas station), ready to serve.

I've tried to figure out why ether has been the "go to" liquid for precision levels over the years (beside its freezing point).
Given that machinist's levels with 4 arcsecs/ div take a looong time for the bubble to set, I think the dynamic viscosity might be a clue.
Link for viscosities of different liquids:
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/a...ds-d_1259.html

So, Ethanol - it's viscosity is rated at 1.074 (cP at 300K), whereas ether clocks in at 0.223 (and pentane at 0.219, acetone at 0.316).
Thus the bubble with alcohol should be much slower to set and perhaps also less precise?
This was my hypothesis for trying that motor starter fluid, by just adding some red food dye (thanks for that tip!).

Our equivalent to JB Weld was my initial sealant thought too, after dropping the "droplet of water glass" idea.
Start with everything at room temp, apply epoxy generously - put in fridge for 72 hrs (thus lowering vapor pressure).
I've scratched the nib's surroundings with a diamond file to get a good bite, and the epoxy can stand solvents, ketones etc.

Thanks also for your tips in how to fill up - I guess I'll fill it entirely as stated earlier, turn upside down
then let the warm fingers squeeze out some - turn horizontal while pinching the hole, test for bubble size, and repeat.

My report will come in due time, as well as some more of my shortcomings - after all:
I broke the darned vial, so I might as well figure out how it (cheaply) can be fixed, and learn something new under way.

Cheers and take care!
Corrections and suggestions welcome, as always.

Johan

[DIYer]

Thanks DIYSwede! We've added your Center Drilling Fixture to our Drilling and Drill Presses category,
as well as to your builder page: DIYSwede's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Center Drilling Fixture by DIYSwede

tags: drilling, holder

[Unkle Fuzzy]

To mount the vial in it's tube...Rock Hard Water Putty. Looks exactly like what is in there.

I've used it for years to bond new brass necks onto glass oil lamp bodies.

It's literally, as the name states, hard as a rock, and sets with out any shrinkage.

[DIYSwede]

Thanks for the tip, Uncle Fuzzy - I'll check out whether that or some equivalent is available over here!
Your suggestion is right up my alley.

OTOH...
The Swedish Cheapskate's 1st Commandment:
-Thou shalt not BUY, what you can wing together thyself, by reading the MSDS!



AFAIK: The dextrin (sugar), quartz and iron oxide content is probably for it to keep its powdery property and ease of mixing.
Seems to be of too low percentage as to have any bearing on final hardness - that's what the talcum's for.
Snag is: Plaster's pretty hygroscopic, and could deteriorate in hi humidity environments...

My first thought on fixing with Plaster of Paris was to add talcum and/ or bentonite clay up to, say 25%, add some water.
"pour" and let that set, then finally and forever fix that putty with 50/50 water glass/water mix (for optimal penetration).
Nope- you can't mix plaster (nor any other cement) with water glass directly - it'll become "Insta-set" in the bucket.

(My home-brewed El Cheapo refractory mix was 7% bentonite (ball) clay, 93% (of weight) silica sand, add water glass to taste.
30-40% Perlite could be added to that mix for better insulation. Held up just fine up to app 730 deg C in my old aluminum foundry.)

Cheers
Johan

[jdurand]

Another DIY cement for cracks and gaps in smaller items is to pack the crack with corn starch and then drip liquid Super(ish) Glue on it (any brand). The glue soaks in and hardens the whole mass.

[DIYSwede]

Thanks, jdurand!
Q: -Being into pyrotechnics yourself, you surely must've used bentonite clay for tube ends and nozzles?
If you press it in firmly, it's almost as cast - then seal off/ fixate with a droplet of waterglass.

Cheapest glue there is, also good for fire protection of just about anything fibrous (but it gets stiff and glossy, tho).
I use it by the gallons all the time at work - fireproofed a complete stage set entirely made from cardboard (sic!).
Painted/ waterproofed a concrete base for a textile dyeing machine by adding 2-3 teaspoons of atomized aluminum per litre,
completely filling all the pores, looking great and easy to clean. Ain't no dye stains no more!

Cheers
Johan

[jdurand]

Thanks, jdurand!
Q: -Being into pyrotechnics yourself, you surely must've used bentonite clay for tube ends and nozzles?
If you press it in firmly, it's almost as cast - then seal off/ fixate with a droplet of waterglass.

Cheapest glue there is, also good for fire protection of just about anything fibrous (but it gets stiff and glossy, tho).
I use it by the gallons all the time at work - fireproofed a complete stage set entirely made from cardboard (sic!).
Painted/ waterproofed a concrete base for a textile dyeing machine by adding 2-3 teaspoons of atomized aluminum per litre,
completely filling all the pores, looking great and easy to clean. Ain't no dye stains no more!

Cheers
Johan

Didn't use waterglass, just a mixture of bentonite, grog (ground up pottery that didn't make it), and I a bit of wax. Press hard and you have a nozzle.

[DIYSwede]

-Well, at least I tried...



Starter fluid in test tube - came out way below freezing, so I had to wait for the drive gas to boil off,
then dropped the vial in and let it fill up - a mere walk in the park - no thermo-cycling even needed.

When filled, let some ether mix out by hand warming the vial for a proper-sized bubble,
then thoroughly cleaning the roughened neck (as there was some oily residue from the fluid),
tape off a ridge for the epoxy to sit within, mix it and fill - let cure (-Ahem):



This morning I figured out that only one of infinitely possible outcomes had actually happened:
The ether in fact stopped the epoxy from hardening at all, it was just a gooey mess,
and the previously "perfect bubble" inside hade become bigger, and thus totally useless for its purpose.
Tore the mess off, emptied the vial by warming it, and cleaned it for Round #2 ... Off to work.

Conclusion to y'a all: Epoxy IS resistant to all sorta liquids, but only when properly cured!
My hypothesis: Ether is very volatile with a pretty high vapor pressure at room temperatures,
that prevented the epoxy from hardening.

So: "Rinse and repeat" for yours truly - next time sealing with a droplet of waterglass, instantly set by a shot from a CO2 extinguisher.
Then, with vial properly sealed off - some quick setting "steel epoxy" for ruggedness.

Given the levels of my knowledge and wiseness (humbleness aside) today - I thought I've already done all mistakes possible!

The fun never ends for a cheap walk-in closet machinist.