Question for Buck

D

dunc5

Joined
Aug 31, 2003
Messages
604
I live on the coast and spend alot of my time on the beach and sea both for pleasure and as a roll in the local inshore lifeboat where im a volunteer crew member .Now the other day i was cutting some rope and dropped my Alpha (Rosewood handle , ATS-34 ) folder in the sand , yup you guessed it crunch crunch crunch every time i opened the blade :mad: I spent ages cleaning it but it still was ruff so there was only one thing for it REMOVE THE BLADE :eek: Luck would have it that i have the exact torx bit and in no time the blade was removed and all parts laid out on a clean cloth , with the help of WD40 i soon had all the sand out and after oiling i put it all back together . I noticed some blue thread lock stuff on the screw thread but i left well alone and after tightening it up just enough so there was no blade play it is once again silky smooth :thumbup: I was a bit worried that the srew may work its way loose but this has not happened :D while i was at it i removed the wood handles and it was a good job i did as there was a very small bit of corrosion under one of them , after a rub with wire wool and a wipe with an oily rag it was gone :thumbup: i didnt really want to send it all the way to the States just because it had sand in it but it was something that could not be left . Question is did i do right ?

Thanks

Duncan
 
On parts that others recommend LocTite, I use contact cement. I once had the bad luck to have LocTite strip out a threaded hole because it did not want to let go...:grumpy: Contact cement does the same job, is cheaper, and if you really want to undo that screw later, it is very forgiving... ;)
 
I'm not sure if i need to put anything else on the screw as i left the original blue ( loctite ?) on the thread and i guess its enough to stop the screw coming loose , if in time it does come loose then perhaps i will have to look for something , its a good idea about contact cement but i would like to hear from someone at Buck on the exact stuff they use so if i did need it and if its available in the UK , want to keep the knife 100 percent original .

Dunc
 
dunc5 said:
I'm not sure if i need to put anything else on the screw as i left the original blue ( loctite ?) on the thread and i guess its enough to stop the screw coming loose , if in time it does come loose then perhaps i will have to look for something , its a good idea about contact cement but i would like to hear from someone at Buck on the exact stuff they use so if i did need it and if its available in the UK , want to keep the knife 100 percent original .

Dunc
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I was asking the same questions about my Alpha Hunters, in this thread which you brought back. I needed to reread it too. Good pictures and information.

J Hubbard said:
Interesting on where the spots line up. It's not something we are seeing before we ship. Might be a time based reaction to some out-gassing on the Nylock patch. We don't use blue locktite, but rather a similiar product applied to the screws. I'll do some checking and see if we can figure something out.

Jeff
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LFH found that using a bit of brasso cleans the stains caused, apparently, by "Nylock."

When I removed my first handle screw, I found the blue substance on the threads, and I immediately put the screw back. I hadn't expected to see the LocTite or Nylock, or whatever, and decided that i should come back here and ask more questions. So far, the screw that I replaced hasn't become loose again, so, perhaps, reinserting the screw allowed the LocTite or Nylock bond to continue...? Or when loosening a LocTite'd screw, is the bond lost, and LocTite needs reapplication...?

We need some Buck folks to answer us, I think. I don't use LocTite for anything, so I'm not certain how it works.

GeoThorn
 
Loctite is glue. If you break the ‘loc’ it is no longer sticky but if you leave it on the screw it still gives some adhesion because of surface tension. It fills up all the space between the screw and its screw hole and that makes for a very tight fit.
 
WilltheBarb said:
Loctite is glue. If you break the ‘loc’ it is no longer sticky but if you leave it on the screw it still gives some adhesion because of surface tension. It fills up all the space between the screw and its screw hole and that makes for a very tight fit.
Click to expand...
Thanks, WilltheBarb! You're made me worry less about that screw loosening itself and falling out.

GeoThorn
 
It would be nice to have a definite from Buck as to if its ok to adjust the pivot screws on Alphas ? I really do like Alphas and now i have Two :D

Dunc
 
The latest word I got from our QA department is that the loc tite we use allows a certain amount of loosening and retightening. If I am not mistaken, you can remove and reinstall a screw much later and it will still hold.
I would keep an eye on the blade screw to make sure it stays snug, just in case.
 
Many thanks Joe for the quick reply . I think i'm going to get another Alpha so shortly i will be on the look out for a Idaho First year productin run to go with my new 'Last year production at El Cajon' :D

Dunc
 
Joe Houser said:
The latest word I got from our QA department is that the loc tite we use allows a certain amount of loosening and retightening. If I am not mistaken, you can remove and reinstall a screw much later and it will still hold.
I would keep an eye on the blade screw to make sure it stays snug, just in case.
Click to expand...


Joe would you mind finding out which number loc tite you use , i have some locktite 270 but i think that one is for permanent fixing and i wouldnt want to weld the thing up solid so future adjustment wouldnt be possible .The original stuff on the screw is blue if thats any help .Sorry to be a pain :rolleyes:

Duncan
 
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