You know the GE stuff in a small tube or a caulking gun.
I'm referring to the small tube. Most uses are for gluing thing together as opposed to caulking a tub or a sink that will need a large tube and use almost all of it. Once it's opened it has very short shelf life. I'm looking for a way to preserve an opened tube for perhaps weeks or even months. The nozzle is the section that cures within a day. I've tried the nail, the awl, the wire. None of it clears the nozzle enough to get a good usable flow. Anybody have any ideas?
Just like a tube of caulk that can stay fresh for years unopened, once opened no matter what is done to seal it dries to a solid useless blob right before you want to use a fraction of an ounce and you're forced to open a new tube and the cycle continues?
I was amazed a month ago, needed some super glue and found a package of (10) 0.1oz tubes. Still expensive but at least your not throwing out 95% of the product!
I find the super glue in the tiny bottles to last longer than the tubes.
To get back to the silicone. Since I do 3D printing, I thought I'd look to see if anybody already designed one. Lots of them for the large caulking type with a removable nozzle, but nothing for the small tube. Part of the problem is the design (on purpose) by GE to make the tube and nozzle all one extrusion. If I knew the thread size maybe I could design one, but my skills at that level are poor to nonexistent.
I always buy the bulk packs of superglue. You get a few applications from one tube and toss it.
It's almost impossible to save the product in big tubes.
I never buy a big tube unless I plan to use better than half of it in one application.
I only occasionally have problems with the small tubes.
I squeeze the tube allow a small blob at the tip and put the cap on. Don't let any air back in.
When I pull the cap off the blob usually comes off.
For those stubborn tubes I use a 3" sheetrock screw.
The seam split on the last tube I had in my tool bag.
The best method I have found to keep caulk tubes from sealing up is to immediately and wrap up the end with electrical tape. Cross the tape a few times to make an air-tight seal. If you can't do it immediately, squeeze out a little just before you wrap it up. While this will not 100% prevent the caulk/glue from setting up it will greatly slow it down. I have used silicone tubes weeks later and it only has a little part that is set up which I can squeeze out of the nozzle.
If the tube has set up so far back in the nozzle that you can't squeeze out the set-up blob, take a knife and very carefully trim back the nozzle without cutting into the blob. Then you can squeeze the gun and pull on the blob at the same time to get it out.
The caulking tubes are not the big problem. Usually, you use a caulking gun tube because you have a lot to do and most of the tube gets used.
It's small hand squeeze tubes that cause me aggravation. Tough to seal them up. But I'll try PJ's suggestion of a small blob at the end.
I've used the electrical tape method Tolyn describes and it works pretty well for me.
I think this was a reader hint I saw in Fine Homebuilding. Cut an inch or so off the tip off a finger from a vinyl or nitrile glove. Little finger is probably best. Slide it tightly over the tip of the tube and then tape it tightly to the tube. Now squeeze the tube so a blob expands the glove tip. Done. When you want to use it again, peel off the tape and glove tip and the probably hardened blob, and you should be good to go.
What kind of hinges do I need to build a hidden floor hatch?
In an old house with a small winding staircase down to the basement. Getting a washer/dryer/furnace up or down that way won't work, so there's currently an 24"x36" access panel in the floor. I'm renovating the floor (and everything around it) and would like for it both to disappear as much as possible, as well as be reasonably easy to use.
So I'm thinking about 2 layers of 3/4" ply, followed by the 3/8" bamboo flooring. But standard hinges would require either the end of the hinge to be showing, or a gap, to allow the hatch to open without binding on itself.
I've found a few "trap door hinges", either which appear to be too small (made for a cabinet door), or in the $600-800 range.
Any suggestions for creating a hatch that is almost invisible once complete?
I am looking to get another screw like this one. I believe that it is made of brass. This one is used to connect a plate on a purse clasp, but its peer went missing. It is a Phillip's head screw. Any help is very appreciated!
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02-04-23, 11:34 AM
