- 12/3/18
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For some reason I hate working with stems. I think because it's often the last task in a build, you just want it to be finished. And then you have to make multiple cuts, and sand it down and trial fit and oh no you cut it too short, fvck me! Worse, you snap it off inside the plunger and can't get it out. I had a crown in my parts drawer for a couple years once before finding this fix.
The fix is not instant but at least you know it WILL eventually be fixed so you have to be patient and let the process work. Welcome to ALUM powder. It's cheap, like $5 for a pouch with more than you'll ever use. Get it on Amazon.
Just dump about a teaspoon in a glass jar (with a top), add some water and drop the crown in. The solution will begin to eat away the weaker grade steel in the stem and not the SS of the crown. Be sure to remove any O rings from the crown as this process will take about a week or 10 days.
Then just put the lid on and let the solution do its work.
The solution can only work on the top surface area of the broken stem, so once a day you can scrape away the loose debris on top to speed things along. A thin, very sharp, reasonably strong metal tip is ideal for this task. Each of those 3 "collections" of debris represents one day's worth of scrapings.
About every third day I add another teaspoon of powder to the solution and more water if needed. The lid on the jar will mostly keep it from evaporating away. Soon it will all be gone and you can thread a new stem back in. The crown will have some discoloration on it but a few minutes on the polishing wheel will have it looking better than ever.
Now you get to practice your stem cutting skills again and don't be so hasty this time, haha!
Happy modding!
The fix is not instant but at least you know it WILL eventually be fixed so you have to be patient and let the process work. Welcome to ALUM powder. It's cheap, like $5 for a pouch with more than you'll ever use. Get it on Amazon.
Just dump about a teaspoon in a glass jar (with a top), add some water and drop the crown in. The solution will begin to eat away the weaker grade steel in the stem and not the SS of the crown. Be sure to remove any O rings from the crown as this process will take about a week or 10 days.
Then just put the lid on and let the solution do its work.
The solution can only work on the top surface area of the broken stem, so once a day you can scrape away the loose debris on top to speed things along. A thin, very sharp, reasonably strong metal tip is ideal for this task. Each of those 3 "collections" of debris represents one day's worth of scrapings.
About every third day I add another teaspoon of powder to the solution and more water if needed. The lid on the jar will mostly keep it from evaporating away. Soon it will all be gone and you can thread a new stem back in. The crown will have some discoloration on it but a few minutes on the polishing wheel will have it looking better than ever.
Now you get to practice your stem cutting skills again and don't be so hasty this time, haha!
Happy modding!
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