Subject: Rev ferrule replacement
Message-ID: <17187@umd5.umd.edu>
From: jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu (Jeffrey C. Burka)
Date: 26 Nov 92 20:42:12 GMT
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park


Here's something that some of you might find useful:

Two weeks ago, I was flying my stacked Rev I and II.  The wind had been
picking up through the afternoon, and I had the Revs staked down so I could
set up a different kite.  Either I didn't have the Revs leaned far enough
back or there was enough slack on the bottom lines that the bottoms of the
kites got pushed back far enough to create a favorable forward angle of
attack.

The obvious result was that the kites took off and immediately started 
cartwheeling across the ground.  I made a mad dash for the lines, but before
I could do anything, I snapped a ferrule on the Rev I.

I hoped to simply be able to find a piece of alumimum large enough to fit
over the old ferrule.  A friend had told me about an archery store where
he sometimes picked up scraps for ferrules, so I drove out there, expecting
to either be able to find a bigger ferrule or have to buy a whole new
center spar, as the remaining half was glued on extremely well.  

The bad news was that they didn't have any aluminum big enough for my
needs.

The good news was that the guy who was helping me then asked if I wanted him
to try getting off the old ferrule.  I had no idea what he planned, but
the prospect of blowing $24 on a new spar prompted me to reply yes!  The
guy held the ferruled end of the spar over a miniature propane torch until
the glue burned/melted and he was able to slide off the old ferrule.  He
then cut a new one for me and glued it in place.  The stick seemed not to
be effected at all from the cooking it got.

Best part was that all of this was done free of charge!  

I don't know what different sorts of glues can be cooked off like that,
but if the choice is replacing the spar, it's definitely worth a try.  The
guy told me that sometimes the ferrules pop off, so you might want to wear
goggles, or at the very least keep the ferrule pointed away from you while
you heat it.

One more thing--Revolution stuff a couple of pieces of vinyl tubing into
the ferrule to sit between the two spars.  I suspect that this cushion
is what caused me to break a ferrule and not a spar.  Something to
keep in mind...

Jeff
-- 
|Jeffrey C. Burka                | "Show what you are / Be strong, be true  |
|                                |  Time for you to / Be who you are."      |
|jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu            |                         --Happy Rhodes   |



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Subject: Re: Rev ferrule replacement
Message-ID: <1992Nov27.084635.25675@nic.funet.fi>
From: salanne@convex.csc.FI (Simo Salanne)
Date: Fri, 27 Nov 92 08:46:35 GMT
Organization: Finnish Academic and Research Network Project - FUNET
Organisation: STACK Finland

In <17187@umd5.umd.edu> jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu (Jeffrey C. Burka) writes:


>Here's something that some of you might find useful:
(... txt deleted)
>The good news was that the guy who was helping me then asked if I wanted him
>to try getting off the old ferrule.  I had no idea what he planned, but
>the prospect of blowing $24 on a new spar prompted me to reply yes!  The
>guy held the ferruled end of the spar over a miniature propane torch until
>the glue burned/melted and he was able to slide off the old ferrule.  He
>then cut a new one for me and glued it in place.  The stick seemed not to
>be effected at all from the cooking it got.

>Best part was that all of this was done free of charge!  

>I don't know what different sorts of glues can be cooked off like that,
>but if the choice is replacing the spar, it's definitely worth a try.  The
>guy told me that sometimes the ferrules pop off, so you might want to wear
>goggles, or at the very least keep the ferrule pointed away from you while
>you heat it.

I have succesfully used a more gentle method: I cook the the broken
ferrule (and spar end) in boiling water about 3-5 minutes. When it's
cooled I can pull the ferrule out. The boiling water does not dissolve
the glue, instead (I imagine) the heat makes the ferrule expand more
than the spar and loosens the glue. This has worked with "super glue"
type stuff.

Other possibility is NOT to glue the ferrule at all; using the shrink
tube around the ferrule and spar is tight enough to keep the ferrule
in place. And loose enough to pull the broken ferrule out and push
a new one in place. The shrink tube can be glued to the spar to make sure
it does not slide.

Smooth Winds
Simo Salanne




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