Gaffed,

I made no mention of Teflon bands. Re-read my reply: "I have a good supply of Teflon circles and bands for flippers". They are 2 separate items. Teflon circles and bands for flippers. The bands I am referring to are available in latex and silicon. I have some of each. Sorry if I didn't distinguish between the 2 separate items more clearly.

I agree with you. Craig is a wonderful teacher. It's a shame that the company that bought the rights to market his "Mirage" set and included such sub-par quality gaffs with it, is so greedy and/or clueless. The effect retailed for very close to $200.00. I break that down to maybe as much as $50.00 for the DVD and well over $100.00 for the gaffs, including an extremely warped and cheap looking Chinese coin. I felt taken advantage of and my Magic dealer felt the same. He decided to not carry the item ever again because of this. That the props were an abomination would be stating it kindly.

That special Tango coin you ordered, used to be manufactured with the special gaff put in in a random fashion. That made using a stack of 2-4 (or more) of them a challenge. If there was a difference between 2 or more of them, that necessitated having some of them right-side up and some reversed in order for them to stack and not fly apart. That's all I can say in this venue, or risk drawing the ire of the "Junior" proctors that come here solely to make trouble for the adults and aggrandize themselves.

I've seen a bonding agent that is similar to "liquid solder" or "liquid weld" used for assembling small parts in some flippers. It may hold a bit better than cyanoacrylate based adhesives, but is even harder to strip off when the time comes (and it always comes at some point in the life of this type of gaff).

We can discuss this at length in private if you need more or detailed information.

dsalley13

Dsalley13,

What have you used to reattach the small stationary part of the insert? A lot of folks recommend double-sided tape but that didn't work for me - keeps popping loose as I try to use the flipper. Is there a particular type/brand of tape?

Thanks!

Jim

First, I'll be getting back to you dsalley13.

Jim, as I said, I gave up on using the double sided tape as it just does not hold.
I simply used a toothpick and placed on two very SMALL dabs of Super Glue. Holds very good. Just make sure to give it time to dry before attempting to use the coin. When the time comes that I have to change the band, I'll simply cut and remove the band, and then soak the coin in some Acetone. This will loosen it up and then the remaining glue residue can easily be removed with another soaking in Acetone. Don't worry, as the Acetone will not harm the finish of the coin. Just try to avoid getting your fingers soaked in it as it will suck out the moisture from a Rhinoceros hide!

I use a dab of super glue gel applied with a flat toothpick. If you use it sparingly, it doesn't drool out all over everything. Works for me and with finger nail polish remover/acetone soak, it removes as easily as the low viscosity stuff.


dsalley13

PS: They used to make a product called "Zap-A-Gap" and "Zip-Kicker". The Zap-a-gap glue was a real thick cyanoacrylate. Zip-kicker was an accelerant. Basically baking soda in solution with water. You sprayed that on an item that was setting up and it flash-cured it. You can make your own at home. 2 T. baking soda and 4 oz. of distilled water.

PPS: Why an old lady should know all this minor tech stuff that most women eschew: My dad was a model railroader. I spent many happy hours with him working on his Lionel trains and accessories. I learned almost everything I know that is mechanical in nature, from him and those happy times. I still have many of his train engines and cars. I will miss him badly this Father's Day. Please hug your dads if possible. I wish I still could.

PPPS: There is a bit of methyl alcohol in Zip-Kicker too. You can, if you want to replicate it more closely, use 70 proof rubbing alcohol in place of distilled water. It dries faster and won't bother ferrous metals as quickly as a pure water based vehicle for suspension. I just dry everything and hit it with WD-40 upon completion, then wipe it down. This works OK if there are silicon bands in the assembly. Latex is another story and WD-40 usage is verboten!!


dsalley13

Thanks for all the tips dsalley13! Invaluable!

I'll have to get some Super Glue Gel; I've never had much luck with regular old Super Glue or Krazy Glue. The stuff always had a way of running all over where I didn't want it to go, not to mention that while holding pressure on whatever piece was on top for as long as possible, no matter how careful I was the entire assembly would then be stuck to my finger when the glue finally dried. (Talking about any and all glued items here; not specifically gaffed coins).

I guess I was just brought up on regular old model airplane type glue for too long!

Jim

Jim, using the Super glue (cyanoacrylate)shouldn't prove to be much of a problem seeing that the coin will be lying flat. This type of glue is still available in different viscosities, but I would recommend just purchasing the regular super glue which is not very runny. Also, no need to have any concerns as to getting any on your fingers. As I mentioned before, I would not recommend applying it straight from the bottle. Simply place a drop on a piece of foil, or something that is not porous, and then dip a toothpick in it and apply two SMALL dabs on the shell. If you apply too much you run the risk of the glue squeezing into the edges and perhaps into the grove of the coin where the band is placed.

Cyanoacrylate is known for drying fast, but it does not dry as fast on a non-porous surface such as metal, especially considering that the two pieces will not be exposed to air and moisture so give it time to dry. Super glue does indeed have a reputation with "glued fingers" simply because the skin has moisture, which definitively accelerates the drying process, and it is also porous. Years ago I used to make custom handmade knives so I think I must have used about every adhesive you could name and different types of cyanoacrylate was among them. The only reason I was somewhat confused as to how to secure the flipper coin is from very limited experience with having a very old Johnson flipper which, I never really used, but as I remember, it was secured with double sided tape. So, remembering that, and reading of other users on the site referring to using double sided tape for flipper coins, I thought that was how it was supposed to done.

Jim,

LOL! I know what you mean! I've been stuck to too many things myself. I just hope you approached the airplane glue in a Clinton-like fashion and did not inhale! ;o)


dsalley13