Topic: Instrument Reassembly

[bwaller]

I'm finally reassembling my 400F gauges and I'm looking for the "miracle material" to hold the chrome ring together. I've tried Lepages #12 five minute epoxy glue and when that failed then tried JB Weld and it too let go.

I used a hose clamp to tighten the ring and applied the glue around & over both ends of the ring but neither held, the ring popped apart. Maybe I could try not cinching the ring as tight.

Has anyone had success with anything else?

[sandcastcb750]

I have tried glue; too much pressure and won't hold.

If you are patient, they best way is to pry the ring from the back so the covers will separate. This is really time consuming.

I am assuming you have sawed the ring already. In this case, you have two options.

Option one:Drill two holes in the back side where the cut is. Then use a thin wire and tie the two ends tight.

Option two:Buy a junk gage from ebay to get the ring. Best way to have original look. Make sure the gage operates well before re-assembling because it's a pain in the arse!

[bwaller]

It's easier to pry the ring off 550/750 gauges but the 400's ring being a smaller diametre is definitely tougher to work with so after reading about some guys cutting them I decided to try it on these gauges.

I have read here that people do get them to hold but not with the materials I've tried.

[Red750K1]

Throw a tiny bead of weld on it? tig?  or try sodder

[Swede]

I had a horrible time trying to get my 550 gauges back together.  What I finally did was use some 5 min epoxy and I made sure to lay a small amount under the ring before I tightened it up with the hose clamp that way it would bond to the gauges themselves.  I then applied a small amount on the top and bottom of the cut.  The hardest part was getting the hose clamp off without pulling the ring off too, I found that if you twist back and forth it will weaken the glue on the clamp and come free. 

Good luck,

Aaron

[jtb]

I used 3M Scotch-Weld.  It was specified in the instructions that came with my face decals.  Left it overnight with a hose clamp and never looked back.  (DP125 is the number)

[bwaller]

jtb this sounds good. I've looked at different adhesives in different outlets and never saw that one. I'll keep an eye out for it.
Thanks

[bistromath]

DP-460 is a much higher-strength epoxy from the same family as DP-125. if it doesn't hold, God help you. 

Personally, I tack-welded mine with a miniature arc-welder. Held okay -- had to use a small piece of brass to get it to bridge well, though. if i had to do it again i'd use 460.

[pae]

Are you talking about re-assembling the ring that clamps together the flanges on the top and bottom half of the gauge bodies? I'm re-furbishing mine at the moment, and as you can se in the pic the ring has been prised apart by the PO. This means I've got it off in one piece, but have absolutely no idea how I'll refit it. Do people normally split this ring to remove it? If so, is there a split clamp I can buy to rejoin the bodies?

regards, Phil

[bwaller]

Phil,  In my case the guages are 400F and I found the smaller diametre ring a little tougher to pry on so I cut it with a dremel cut off wheel. I ran out of patience trying to find the 3M products so made a small stainless bridge and soldered it in place to hold both ends of the ring, then some JB Weld to finish the job.

In your case though get a short piece of 2x6 and with a hole saw or whatever drill a hole just slightly larger than the bezel but smaller than the ring itself. Line the hole with felt or something soft and tip the newly painted guage upside done into the hole so that the ring rests on the outer edge of your hole. Then gingerly reclamp the ring. Don't use pliers to squeeze it though as you'll mark the top side of the ring.

Your guage looks a little rough, maybe you should test it before investing a lot of time.

[mb3000gt]

bwaller, where did you find replacement faces for your 400f?

[bwaller]

Actually I used these 400F instruments on my 550 project, that's why the redline is lower. I had a friend who's in the biz do the decals. Through a contact of this same gal I had new face plates made of clear lexan on some sort of cnc router as well. 

I'ts mostly black behind the flyscreen so I opted for black numbers on a white background and I'm happy with the results.

I have some of these extra 400F faceplates if anyone is interested

[pae]

.............Your guage looks a little rough, maybe you should test it before investing a lot of time.

You're right there, so I may play with some ideas without fear of doing much damage  . Thanks for the idea, will see what I can come up with.

regards, Phil

[mikeb4]

I had really great luck on two sets with dremel cuts on the bottom of the ring, and then using "Goop" as a bead inside of the entire ring then clamping them in a vise with the cut centered on one bar of the clamp.  Never had any issues, plus if you check the job within 4-5 hours you can peel any off that sqeezed out.  Goop is great for holding and sealing with flexibility.