Reviving and connecting an ASR33

From: Tothwolf <tothwolf_at_concentric.net>
Date: Mon Sep 22 03:14:12 2003

On Sun, 21 Sep 2003, Ian Primus wrote:

> Some of the keys are cracked. A couple of the keytops have cracked out
> from the lettering, most notably the "Break" key, which gets stuck down
> because it is now slightly wider.

> The paper advance knob is cracked. I think I can glue it, but otherwise
> I will need to track down another.
>
> The cover is cracked, but that isn't really a big deal. I should be able
> to glue it back together. What type of glue is recommended for teletype
> plastic? Just regular wacky glue, or some sort of epoxy?

It all depends on what kind of plastics need to be bonded.

For ABS plastics, a Methylene Chloride based solvent works very very well.
(It does not work very well for ABS+PC blends, however. I seriously doubt
you have any ABS+PC in the ARS33 though, since it is a pretty modern
plastic.) Plastic model cement is pretty much useless these days, as they
have removed nearly all of the solvent type chemicals from the product.
Superglue/wacky glue/etc tend to be a very bad idea for most plastics, as
they don't bond to it well and cause major cosmetic damage.

If the keys/knob are bakelite, you might want to talk to folks who repair
old radios, as cracked knobs are a common problem. I've not had to repair
bakelite yet, so I can't recommend a specific method. I do know that you
can't bond bakelite with a solvent as you would more modern plastics. Some
type of epoxy might be the best method for bakelite.

-Toth
Received on Mon Sep 22 2003 - 03:14:12 BST