I've lost count of the number of times I've had to deal with this, but, there is a permanent solution (at least, as permanent as anything I've found). Time Computer clearly had the same problem, and ultimately went with spot welding on the stainless steel casesbacks, and with integral rivets on the goldfilled ones. Riveting worked well, but the spot welds create pits on the outside of the part (from the pressure of the electrode), which are unsightly and time-consuming to remove. I have seen improvised repairs that span the spectrum from a badly botched attempt at soldering, to airplane glue (on metal?!). The Pulsar Jewelers Manual recommends the use of some type of cyanoacrylate adhesive, but such fixes tend to be temporary, since the metal connector has substantial flexibility, and the cured glue has essentially none, and the bond ultimately breaks (so, here is a situation where the manufacturers' advice can, and should be, ignored).
The best repair I've come up with is some amazing stuff called J B Weld. It's a mix of high-strength epoxy, and powdered steel. I use the 5-minute version called J B Quick. The key to making this work right is to get the metal surfaces absolutely grease and oil-free. I'm not sure how alcohol got to be the preferred solvent for cleaning metal (aside from the fact that it's cheap and readily available), but acetone is at least ten times better at de-greasing metal, so it's worth the extra effort to get it. Not much adhesive is needed; about a third the volume of a paper match-head is enough. Spread it over the central two-thirds of the center of the connector circle, and once you've got the location right, press down hard enough to get a bit of the glue oozing up through the two holes (this will also spread the adhesive evenly over the entire circular surface). Give it a couple minutes to start hardening, then hit it with a hot-air gun (at 350-400 degrees F) for 10-15 seconds (with the airflow straight down). This will accelerate and ensure a full cure, and also briefly lowers the viscosity, allowing the two extruded blobs on top of the connector to flow and spread out a bit, effectively forming rivets! Done right, the result is as "factory"-looking as you could hope for, and it's a durable repair (I've done dozens, and have yet to see a failure). Any good hardware store should have the J B products, but if not available in your area, there is always eBay...
BTW, on page 10 of the Pulsar Jeweler's Technical Manual, this little metal part is referred to as the "bow-tie" connector, so we should probably go with that, just to keep the terminology consistent.
15 Jun 2014, 21:27
