Laptop hinge repair

[N_Cook]

Any general tips on how to make a structural repair to the broken and
missing Aluminium extension from the friction pintle mount to where it joins
the plastic of the LCD surround ? Fractured at the screw point so only half
the screw hole remains , a highly stressed point, going by the amount of
force required to turn this pintle rod.

 

[AZ Nomad]

On Sun, 9 Aug 2009 22:36:54 +0100, N_Cook <diverse@tcp.co.uk> wrote:

Any general tips on how to make a structural repair to the broken and
missing Aluminium extension from the friction pintle mount to where it joins
the plastic of the LCD surround ? Fractured at the screw point so only half
the screw hole remains , a highly stressed point, going by the amount of
force required to turn this pintle rod.

Assuming your time is worth more than 1/10th minimum wge, it makes
sense simply to replace the hinge with a replacement part. You can
get one for a few bucks from a junked laptop on ebay.

 

[Arfa Daily]

"AZ Nomad" <aznomad.3@PremoveOBthisOX.COM> wrote in message
news:slrnh7uob6.cfk.aznomad.3@ip70-176-155-130.ph.ph.cox.net...

On Sun, 9 Aug 2009 22:36:54 +0100, N_Cook <diverse@tcp.co.uk> wrote:
Any general tips on how to make a structural repair to the broken and
missing Aluminium extension from the friction pintle mount to where it
joins
the plastic of the LCD surround ? Fractured at the screw point so only
half
the screw hole remains , a highly stressed point, going by the amount of
force required to turn this pintle rod.

Assuming your time is worth more than 1/10th minimum wge, it makes
sense simply to replace the hinge with a replacement part. You can
get one for a few bucks from a junked laptop on ebay.

Mate of mine repairs laptops for a living, and oddly enough, we were
discussing this just a couple of weeks ago, when I was in his shop, and he
told me that he buys new replacement hinges from some place that keeps a lot
of laptop spares. Might even have been an eBay shop. I'll check with him if
you like, but it won't be until Tuesday, because he has Mondays off.

Arfa

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Sun, 9 Aug 2009 22:36:54 +0100, "N_Cook" <diverse@tcp.co.uk> wrote:

Any general tips on how to make a structural repair to the broken and
missing Aluminium extension from the friction pintle mount to where it joins
the plastic of the LCD surround ?

No, I haven't the slightest idea, especially since you didn't bother
supplying the manufacturer and model number.

If you're missing parts, you can find just about anything from various
online computer salvage operators. Also on eBay. Be prepared to
overpay. The few surviving repair shops that actually do their own
repair usually have a fair collection of scrap parts laying around.
Ask, and you might receive.

Fractured at the screw point so only half
the screw hole remains , a highly stressed point, going by the amount of
force required to turn this pintle rod.

I've used hili-coil inserts to fix those. Also threaded brass inserts
commonly used in plastic molding. Drill it out and epoxy the insert
inplace. The smallest you can get is 4-40 which is a tolerable
substitue for the common 3mm metric screw. I've also mixed aluminum
dust with epoxy and built up the broken part sufficiently to thread
the hole. It worked, but the owner had to be very careful when
opening the hinge. It lasted about 3 years, which isn't too horrible.
All these methods were a PITA and far too much work. If it ever
happens again, I'll just epoxy the hinge to the base metal and be done
with it.

You might want to look at hints at:
<http://repair4laptop.org>
This looks close:
<http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=86297>

Incidentally, such breakage usually happens because the screw wiggles
loose. I recommend Loctite on enything threaded into aluminum.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:59:01 +0100, "Arfa Daily"
<arfa.daily@ntlworld.com> wrote:

Mate of mine repairs laptops for a living, and oddly enough, we were
discussing this just a couple of weeks ago, when I was in his shop, and he
told me that he buys new replacement hinges from some place that keeps a lot
of laptop spares. Might even have been an eBay shop. I'll check with him if
you like, but it won't be until Tuesday, because he has Mondays off.

If I inscribe "laptop hinge" into the eBay search box, I get 821
possible hits. Plenty to choose from. Some are amazingly cheap
(direct from Hong Kong).




--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[N_Cook]

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote in message
news:5dqu75992tmtaifp1ka3p3sepq5cv08iaj@4ax.com...

On Sun, 9 Aug 2009 22:36:54 +0100, "N_Cook" <diverse@tcp.co.uk> wrote:

Any general tips on how to make a structural repair to the broken and
missing Aluminium extension from the friction pintle mount to where it
joins
the plastic of the LCD surround ?

No, I haven't the slightest idea, especially since you didn't bother
supplying the manufacturer and model number.

If you're missing parts, you can find just about anything from various
online computer salvage operators. Also on eBay. Be prepared to
overpay. The few surviving repair shops that actually do their own
repair usually have a fair collection of scrap parts laying around.
Ask, and you might receive.

Fractured at the screw point so only half
the screw hole remains , a highly stressed point, going by the amount of
force required to turn this pintle rod.

I've used hili-coil inserts to fix those. Also threaded brass inserts
commonly used in plastic molding. Drill it out and epoxy the insert
inplace. The smallest you can get is 4-40 which is a tolerable
substitue for the common 3mm metric screw. I've also mixed aluminum
dust with epoxy and built up the broken part sufficiently to thread
the hole. It worked, but the owner had to be very careful when
opening the hinge. It lasted about 3 years, which isn't too horrible.
All these methods were a PITA and far too much work. If it ever
happens again, I'll just epoxy the hinge to the base metal and be done
with it.

You might want to look at hints at:
http://repair4laptop.org
This looks close:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=86297

Incidentally, such breakage usually happens because the screw wiggles
loose. I recommend Loctite on enything threaded into aluminum.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Thanks for some interesting ideas. I was thinking of using some expanded
aluminium, anchored into the aluminium, with a fresh drilled small hole or
two and small nut/bolts. To give a scaffold for epoxy to anchor onto. Also
underscore the plastic to give a bit of key. What is the function of
aluminium dust in epoxy, other than a colourant?


To the others in the thread , if I wanted to get hints on (apparently , oftn
walletctomy) buying specific replacement stuff from e-bay or how to google I
wouldn't be posting repair queries to sci.electronics.repair which has the
word repair in the title. Why do you think I deliberately did not mention
make and model?

 

[Jim Yanik]

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote in
news:4mru7599ct8dhbosiindaol64usj8de03m@4ax.com:

On Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:59:01 +0100, "Arfa Daily"
arfa.daily@ntlworld.com> wrote:

Mate of mine repairs laptops for a living, and oddly enough, we were
discussing this just a couple of weeks ago, when I was in his shop,
and he told me that he buys new replacement hinges from some place
that keeps a lot of laptop spares. Might even have been an eBay shop.
I'll check with him if you like, but it won't be until Tuesday,
because he has Mondays off.

If I inscribe "laptop hinge" into the eBay search box, I get 821
possible hits. Plenty to choose from. Some are amazingly cheap
(direct from Hong Kong).

cheap except for the shipping charges..... ;-)

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

 

[Jim Yanik]

"N_Cook" <diverse@tcp.co.uk> wrote in
news:h5oice$4hq$1@news.eternal-september.org:

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote in message
news:5dqu75992tmtaifp1ka3p3sepq5cv08iaj@4ax.com...
On Sun, 9 Aug 2009 22:36:54 +0100, "N_Cook" <diverse@tcp.co.uk
wrote:

Any general tips on how to make a structural repair to the broken
and missing Aluminium extension from the friction pintle mount to
where it
joins
the plastic of the LCD surround ?

No, I haven't the slightest idea, especially since you didn't bother
supplying the manufacturer and model number.

If you're missing parts, you can find just about anything from
various online computer salvage operators. Also on eBay. Be
prepared to overpay. The few surviving repair shops that actually do
their own repair usually have a fair collection of scrap parts laying
around. Ask, and you might receive.

Fractured at the screw point so only half
the screw hole remains , a highly stressed point, going by the
amount of force required to turn this pintle rod.

I've used hili-coil inserts to fix those. Also threaded brass
inserts commonly used in plastic molding. Drill it out and epoxy the
insert inplace. The smallest you can get is 4-40 which is a
tolerable substitue for the common 3mm metric screw. I've also mixed
aluminum dust with epoxy and built up the broken part sufficiently to
thread the hole. It worked, but the owner had to be very careful
when opening the hinge. It lasted about 3 years, which isn't too
horrible. All these methods were a PITA and far too much work. If it
ever happens again, I'll just epoxy the hinge to the base metal and
be done with it.

You might want to look at hints at:
http://repair4laptop.org
This looks close:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=86297

Incidentally, such breakage usually happens because the screw wiggles
loose. I recommend Loctite on enything threaded into aluminum.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Thanks for some interesting ideas. I was thinking of using some
expanded aluminium, anchored into the aluminium, with a fresh drilled
small hole or two and small nut/bolts. To give a scaffold for epoxy to
anchor onto. Also underscore the plastic to give a bit of key. What is
the function of aluminium dust in epoxy, other than a colourant?

it's a FILLER or thickener,gives bulk to the epoxy.

I use a thin,boat-building epoxy,and several kinds of fillers such as fumed
silica,wood flour,phenolic micro-balloons,and chopped glass or plastic
fibers. It's very versatile. fumed silica makes a very hard epoxy,fibers
add strength.

for a good read on epoxy,http://www.systemthree.com,you can download their
Epoxy Book for free. Lots of useful info on using epoxies.

BTW,metal or plastic window screening also makes a good
reinforcement/"scaffold" for epoxy.

Best to rough up the plastic surface before gluing.I even drill holes for
the epoxy to flow into,for additional adhesion.


--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

 

[N_Cook]

Jim Yanik <jyanik@abuse.gov> wrote in message
news:Xns9C635B1417EBFjyanikkuanet@74.209.136.87...

"N_Cook" <diverse@tcp.co.uk> wrote in
news:h5oice$4hq$1@news.eternal-september.org:

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote in message
news:5dqu75992tmtaifp1ka3p3sepq5cv08iaj@4ax.com...
On Sun, 9 Aug 2009 22:36:54 +0100, "N_Cook" <diverse@tcp.co.uk
wrote:

Any general tips on how to make a structural repair to the broken
and missing Aluminium extension from the friction pintle mount to
where it
joins
the plastic of the LCD surround ?

No, I haven't the slightest idea, especially since you didn't bother
supplying the manufacturer and model number.

If you're missing parts, you can find just about anything from
various online computer salvage operators. Also on eBay. Be
prepared to overpay. The few surviving repair shops that actually do
their own repair usually have a fair collection of scrap parts laying
around. Ask, and you might receive.

Fractured at the screw point so only half
the screw hole remains , a highly stressed point, going by the
amount of force required to turn this pintle rod.

I've used hili-coil inserts to fix those. Also threaded brass
inserts commonly used in plastic molding. Drill it out and epoxy the
insert inplace. The smallest you can get is 4-40 which is a
tolerable substitue for the common 3mm metric screw. I've also mixed
aluminum dust with epoxy and built up the broken part sufficiently to
thread the hole. It worked, but the owner had to be very careful
when opening the hinge. It lasted about 3 years, which isn't too
horrible. All these methods were a PITA and far too much work. If it
ever happens again, I'll just epoxy the hinge to the base metal and
be done with it.

You might want to look at hints at:
http://repair4laptop.org
This looks close:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=86297

Incidentally, such breakage usually happens because the screw wiggles
loose. I recommend Loctite on enything threaded into aluminum.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Thanks for some interesting ideas. I was thinking of using some
expanded aluminium, anchored into the aluminium, with a fresh drilled
small hole or two and small nut/bolts. To give a scaffold for epoxy to
anchor onto. Also underscore the plastic to give a bit of key. What is
the function of aluminium dust in epoxy, other than a colourant?

it's a FILLER or thickener,gives bulk to the epoxy.

I use a thin,boat-building epoxy,and several kinds of fillers such as
fumed
silica,wood flour,phenolic micro-balloons,and chopped glass or plastic
fibers. It's very versatile. fumed silica makes a very hard epoxy,fibers
add strength.

for a good read on epoxy,http://www.systemthree.com,you can download their
Epoxy Book for free. Lots of useful info on using epoxies.

BTW,metal or plastic window screening also makes a good
reinforcement/"scaffold" for epoxy.

Best to rough up the plastic surface before gluing.I even drill holes for
the epoxy to flow into,for additional adhesion.


--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

A lot of various-directioned and angled , stopped, small drill holes is
probably easier and more effective than what I was going to try.

 

[AZ Nomad]

On Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:32:40 +0100, N_Cook <diverse@tcp.co.uk> wrote:

Jim Yanik <jyanik@abuse.gov> wrote in message
news:Xns9C635B1417EBFjyanikkuanet@74.209.136.87...
"N_Cook" <diverse@tcp.co.uk> wrote in
news:h5oice$4hq$1@news.eternal-september.org:

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote in message
news:5dqu75992tmtaifp1ka3p3sepq5cv08iaj@4ax.com...
On Sun, 9 Aug 2009 22:36:54 +0100, "N_Cook" <diverse@tcp.co.uk
wrote:

Any general tips on how to make a structural repair to the broken
and missing Aluminium extension from the friction pintle mount to
where it
joins
the plastic of the LCD surround ?

No, I haven't the slightest idea, especially since you didn't bother
supplying the manufacturer and model number.

If you're missing parts, you can find just about anything from
various online computer salvage operators. Also on eBay. Be
prepared to overpay. The few surviving repair shops that actually do
their own repair usually have a fair collection of scrap parts laying
around. Ask, and you might receive.

Fractured at the screw point so only half
the screw hole remains , a highly stressed point, going by the
amount of force required to turn this pintle rod.

I've used hili-coil inserts to fix those. Also threaded brass
inserts commonly used in plastic molding. Drill it out and epoxy the
insert inplace. The smallest you can get is 4-40 which is a
tolerable substitue for the common 3mm metric screw. I've also mixed
aluminum dust with epoxy and built up the broken part sufficiently to
thread the hole. It worked, but the owner had to be very careful
when opening the hinge. It lasted about 3 years, which isn't too
horrible. All these methods were a PITA and far too much work. If it
ever happens again, I'll just epoxy the hinge to the base metal and
be done with it.

You might want to look at hints at:
http://repair4laptop.org
This looks close:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=86297

Incidentally, such breakage usually happens because the screw wiggles
loose. I recommend Loctite on enything threaded into aluminum.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Thanks for some interesting ideas. I was thinking of using some
expanded aluminium, anchored into the aluminium, with a fresh drilled
small hole or two and small nut/bolts. To give a scaffold for epoxy to
anchor onto. Also underscore the plastic to give a bit of key. What is
the function of aluminium dust in epoxy, other than a colourant?

it's a FILLER or thickener,gives bulk to the epoxy.

I use a thin,boat-building epoxy,and several kinds of fillers such as
fumed
silica,wood flour,phenolic micro-balloons,and chopped glass or plastic
fibers. It's very versatile. fumed silica makes a very hard epoxy,fibers
add strength.

for a good read on epoxy,http://www.systemthree.com,you can download their
Epoxy Book for free. Lots of useful info on using epoxies.

BTW,metal or plastic window screening also makes a good
reinforcement/"scaffold" for epoxy.

Best to rough up the plastic surface before gluing.I even drill holes for
the epoxy to flow into,for additional adhesion.


--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

A lot of various-directioned and angled , stopped, small drill holes is
probably easier and more effective than what I was going to try.

Yeah, but those door hinges would have looked cool, especially with #12
hardware.

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On 10 Aug 2009 12:48:45 GMT, Jim Yanik <jyanik@abuse.gov> wrote:

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote in
news:4mru7599ct8dhbosiindaol64usj8de03m@4ax.com:

On Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:59:01 +0100, "Arfa Daily"
arfa.daily@ntlworld.com> wrote:

Mate of mine repairs laptops for a living, and oddly enough, we were
discussing this just a couple of weeks ago, when I was in his shop,
and he told me that he buys new replacement hinges from some place
that keeps a lot of laptop spares. Might even have been an eBay shop.
I'll check with him if you like, but it won't be until Tuesday,
because he has Mondays off.

If I inscribe "laptop hinge" into the eBay search box, I get 821
possible hits. Plenty to choose from. Some are amazingly cheap
(direct from Hong Kong).

cheap except for the shipping charges..... ;-)

It varies. For example, these pair of hinges are $1.47 with FREE
shipping:
<http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180379416300>
That's certainly cheap. However, I recently bought replacement hinges
for an Apple G4 laptop and overpaid $25 plus $12 S&H. Like I said, it
varies. Of course the parts from Hong Kong is probably excess
inventory from the manufacturer or components vendor. The domestic
parts are from scapping old laptops, which adds considerable labor
content.

I buy some parts from Hong Kong and find that the international
shipping is often much cheaper than the excessive shipping and
handling charged by domestic sellers and vendors. The real problem is
the shipping delay. The best I've seen from Hong Kong is about 7
days. 10 days is typical. I'm waiting for a cell phone battery
that's now at 15 days. Typhoon Morakot is currently causing havoc
severe delivery problems from Tiawan and SE China.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[Jim Yanik]

"N_Cook" <diverse@tcp.co.uk> wrote in
news:h5pbg0$4h4$1@news.eternal-september.org:

Jim Yanik <jyanik@abuse.gov> wrote in message
news:Xns9C635B1417EBFjyanikkuanet@74.209.136.87...
"N_Cook" <diverse@tcp.co.uk> wrote in
news:h5oice$4hq$1@news.eternal-september.org:

Thanks for some interesting ideas. I was thinking of using some
expanded aluminium, anchored into the aluminium, with a fresh
drilled small hole or two and small nut/bolts. To give a scaffold
for epoxy to anchor onto. Also underscore the plastic to give a bit
of key. What is the function of aluminium dust in epoxy, other than
a colourant?

it's a FILLER or thickener,gives bulk to the epoxy.

I use a thin,boat-building epoxy,and several kinds of fillers such as
fumed
silica,wood flour,phenolic micro-balloons,and chopped glass or
plastic fibers. It's very versatile. fumed silica makes a very hard
epoxy,fibers add strength.

for a good read on epoxy,http://www.systemthree.com,you can download
their Epoxy Book for free. Lots of useful info on using epoxies.

BTW,metal or plastic window screening also makes a good
reinforcement/"scaffold" for epoxy.

Best to rough up the plastic surface before gluing.I even drill holes
for the epoxy to flow into,for additional adhesion.


--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net


A lot of various-directioned and angled , stopped, small drill holes
is probably easier and more effective than what I was going to try.

too small a hole,and all you have is a epoxy shear pin...

I don't believe angling the holes will make that much difference.


--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:23:43 +0100, "N_Cook" <diverse@tcp.co.uk>
wrote:

Thanks for some interesting ideas. I was thinking of using some expanded
aluminium, anchored into the aluminium, with a fresh drilled small hole or
two and small nut/bolts. To give a scaffold for epoxy to anchor onto. Also
underscore the plastic to give a bit of key. What is the function of
aluminium dust in epoxy, other than a colourant?

Epoxy is hard and brittle. Aluminum is soft an malleable. If you try
to drill and tap straight epoxy, it will usually crack. The aluminum
provides a cushion. You can buy aluminum filled epoxy at the hardware
store, but I've found that it doesn't have enough aluminum and is
mostly brittle epoxy. So, I mixed my own. The hard part was finding
the aluminum powder. I made some by destroying a grinding wheel and
grinding down a slab of dead soft (pure) aluminum. There are various
instructions on the net for making aluminum powder. One uses aluminum
foil run through a shredder, and then through a ball mill for 2 weeks.
No thanks. Anyway, use only as much epoxy as necessary to hold the
dust together. If sufficiently large volume, insert reinforcing bars,
such as a paper clip, into the mix for strength.

Something I haven't tried is to insert the matching (3mm?) screw into
the partial hole, cover it with grease or some kind of mold release,
and then build up the epoxy/aluminum/whatever material around it. When
it hardens, just remove the screw and you have an instant threaded
hole. The problem is that it has a weak spot guaranteed to cause a
stress crack at the screw hole.

To the others in the thread , if I wanted to get hints on (apparently , oftn
walletctomy) buying specific replacement stuff from e-bay or how to google I
wouldn't be posting repair queries to sci.electronics.repair which has the
word repair in the title. Why do you think I deliberately did not mention
make and model?

If you actually want to repair some item, the idea is to supply as
much information about the item and its condition as possible.
Minimalist postings are useful academic exercises, but often wander
badly in a futile attempt to guess your circumstances. More
specifically:
1. What problem are you trying to solve?
2. What do you have to work with? (Make, model, version, etc).
3. What have you done so far and what happened?
There's plenty more info that would be useful, but the aforementioned
are the essentials. Anything less usually results in guesswork and
topic drift. I won't speculate as to your motivations for
intentionally withholding useful information.



--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[Meat Plow]

On Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:53:24 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
<jeffl@cruzio.com>wrote:

On 10 Aug 2009 12:48:45 GMT, Jim Yanik <jyanik@abuse.gov> wrote:

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote in
news:4mru7599ct8dhbosiindaol64usj8de03m@4ax.com:

On Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:59:01 +0100, "Arfa Daily"
arfa.daily@ntlworld.com> wrote:

Mate of mine repairs laptops for a living, and oddly enough, we were
discussing this just a couple of weeks ago, when I was in his shop,
and he told me that he buys new replacement hinges from some place
that keeps a lot of laptop spares. Might even have been an eBay shop.
I'll check with him if you like, but it won't be until Tuesday,
because he has Mondays off.

If I inscribe "laptop hinge" into the eBay search box, I get 821
possible hits. Plenty to choose from. Some are amazingly cheap
(direct from Hong Kong).

cheap except for the shipping charges..... ;-)

It varies. For example, these pair of hinges are $1.47 with FREE
shipping:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180379416300
That's certainly cheap. However, I recently bought replacement hinges
for an Apple G4 laptop and overpaid $25 plus $12 S&H. Like I said, it
varies. Of course the parts from Hong Kong is probably excess
inventory from the manufacturer or components vendor. The domestic
parts are from scapping old laptops, which adds considerable labor
content.

I buy some parts from Hong Kong and find that the international
shipping is often much cheaper than the excessive shipping and
handling charged by domestic sellers and vendors. The real problem is
the shipping delay. The best I've seen from Hong Kong is about 7
days. 10 days is typical. I'm waiting for a cell phone battery
that's now at 15 days. Typhoon Morakot is currently causing havoc
severe delivery problems from Tiawan and SE China.

Cheaply priced is arbitrary. If it saved me time and effort and
guarantied a solid fix instead of trying to make a hinge I would pay
any reasonable price. A pair of $50 - $100 USD hinges to make an
otherwise unusable laptop in working condition useable again isn't
unreasonable to me.

 

[alchazz]

On Mon, 10 Aug 2009 09:15:44 -0700, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:23:43 +0100, "N_Cook" <diverse@tcp.co.uk> wrote:

Thanks for some interesting ideas. I was thinking of using some expanded
aluminium, anchored into the aluminium, with a fresh drilled small hole
or two and small nut/bolts. To give a scaffold for epoxy to anchor onto.
Also underscore the plastic to give a bit of key. What is the function
of aluminium dust in epoxy, other than a colourant?

Epoxy is hard and brittle. Aluminum is soft an malleable. If you try
to drill and tap straight epoxy, it will usually crack. The aluminum
provides a cushion. You can buy aluminum filled epoxy at the hardware
store, but I've found that it doesn't have enough aluminum and is mostly
brittle epoxy. So, I mixed my own. The hard part was finding the
aluminum powder. I made some by destroying a grinding wheel and
grinding down a slab of dead soft (pure) aluminum. There are various
instructions on the net for making aluminum powder. One uses aluminum
foil run through a shredder, and then through a ball mill for 2 weeks.
No thanks. Anyway, use only as much epoxy as necessary to hold the dust
together. If sufficiently large volume, insert reinforcing bars, such
as a paper clip, into the mix for strength.

Something I haven't tried is to insert the matching (3mm?) screw into
the partial hole, cover it with grease or some kind of mold release, and
then build up the epoxy/aluminum/whatever material around it. When it
hardens, just remove the screw and you have an instant threaded hole.
The problem is that it has a weak spot guaranteed to cause a stress
crack at the screw hole.

To the others in the thread , if I wanted to get hints on (apparently ,
oftn walletctomy) buying specific replacement stuff from e-bay or how to
google I wouldn't be posting repair queries to sci.electronics.repair
which has the word repair in the title. Why do you think I deliberately
did not mention make and model?

If you actually want to repair some item, the idea is to supply as much
information about the item and its condition as possible. Minimalist
postings are useful academic exercises, but often wander badly in a
futile attempt to guess your circumstances. More specifically:
1. What problem are you trying to solve? 2. What do you have to work
with? (Make, model, version, etc). 3. What have you done so far and
what happened? There's plenty more info that would be useful, but the
aforementioned are the essentials. Anything less usually results in
guesswork and topic drift. I won't speculate as to your motivations for
intentionally withholding useful information.

Try this:

http://www.freemansupply.com/Freeman801Aluminum.htm

or a similar product.

It's worked for me.

Al

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:49:27 GMT, alchazz <no.spam@wanted.com> wrote:

Try this:
http://www.freemansupply.com/Freeman801Aluminum.htm
or a similar product.
It's worked for me.
Al

Good idea. Have you tried to drill and thread it? The muffler repair
epoxy I tried cracked, but my home made version worked.

I found this putty epoxy compound with Google:
<http://www.cotronics.com/vo/cotr/rm_putties.htm>
The main advantage is that it's allegedly machinable, which means it
has plenty of aluminum and less epoxy. Maybe add some fiberglass
matting to the mix for strength.

All this to save a few dollars for new hinge.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[Meat Plow]

On Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:43:01 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
<jeffl@cruzio.com>wrote:

On Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:49:27 GMT, alchazz <no.spam@wanted.com> wrote:

Try this:
http://www.freemansupply.com/Freeman801Aluminum.htm
or a similar product.
It's worked for me.
Al

Good idea. Have you tried to drill and thread it? The muffler repair
epoxy I tried cracked, but my home made version worked.

I found this putty epoxy compound with Google:
http://www.cotronics.com/vo/cotr/rm_putties.htm
The main advantage is that it's allegedly machinable, which means it
has plenty of aluminum and less epoxy. Maybe add some fiberglass
matting to the mix for strength.

All this to save a few dollars for new hinge.

There is a company that make a marine repair epoxy that I am out of
and can't recall the name but I swear by it after I fixed the right
side handlebar mirror boss on my 2004 Kaw Vulcan when it tipped over
and fell then broke the mirror off. I've since sold the bike but the
repair was permanent and matched the metal in color making it almost
invisible. I have no doubts the overall strength of the glue was
stronger than the metal itself. I seem to recall the design of an atom
on the cans. This was a paste by the way.

 

[Smitty Two]

In article <31mg6j.ic6.17.1@news.alt.net>,
Meat Plow <meat@petitmorte.net> wrote:

There is a company that make a marine repair epoxy that I am out of
and can't recall the name

West?

 

[Jim Yanik]

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote in
newsqp0859jl27cl5hevumv1nc86b661mgl88@4ax.com:

On Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:49:27 GMT, alchazz <no.spam@wanted.com> wrote:

Try this:
http://www.freemansupply.com/Freeman801Aluminum.htm
or a similar product.
It's worked for me.
Al

Good idea. Have you tried to drill and thread it? The muffler repair
epoxy I tried cracked, but my home made version worked.

Most epoxies you find at outlets like Lowes and Home Depot or auto stores
are lousy. They're just general purpose glues,and of limited use.

I found this putty epoxy compound with Google:
http://www.cotronics.com/vo/cotr/rm_putties.htm
The main advantage is that it's allegedly machinable, which means it
has plenty of aluminum and less epoxy. Maybe add some fiberglass
matting to the mix for strength.

Or chopped glass or plastic fibers.

All this to save a few dollars for new hinge.

Yeah...

some folks just like to salvage everything....

I used boat-building epoxy and fillers to fix the spring clamp on an $8
electric fan.JB weld failed,but the boat epoxy with silica filler and glass
cloth reinforcements is still holding.

BTW,did you know it takes a few -weeks- for epoxies to gain their full
strength?

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

 

[Jim Yanik]

Smitty Two <prestwhich@earthlink.net> wrote in newsrestwhich-
23FC7E.12052010082009@newsfarm.iad.highwinds-media.com:

In article <31mg6j.ic6.17.1@news.alt.net>,
Meat Plow <meat@petitmorte.net> wrote:

There is a company that make a marine repair epoxy that I am out of
and can't recall the name

West?

No,that's no paste,but a thin,fiberglassing epoxy,and no "atom" logo on it.
I use some of West's fillers.(because there's a marine store nearby...)

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net