Help! My cigarette holder needs fixin'.

[Eva Morsikova]

I had a beautiful two-toned cigarette holder from the 30s-40s. I was at my man's house and we had our after dinner cigarette on the back porch. I just finished mine and went to get rid of the cigarette in the ash tray. I dropped my holder on the ground and it broke where the two colors met. Amory's brother suggested that I take a toothpick and dab a little superglue and wait for a few days to let it dry because of the fumes. My concern with that is 1:superglue is toxic and even though it dries, I'm afraid the heat from the clove smoke (I heard clove cigarettes burn hotter) will heat up the glue and I'll be inhaling the glue fumes as well. Nicht gut.
2: superglue is known to melt plastic which makes me a little more wary of using it.

I was thinking of using elmer's wood glue. It's strong but not toxic because it's milk-based.

What would you guys suggest?

Here's a picture of it: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=380105153544

thanks

 

[Geesie]

Elmer's wood glue will not work.

I also would not use cyanoacrylate (superglue) but a two-part epoxy should be fine.

 

[Eva Morsikova]

Elmer's wood glue will not work.

I also would not use cyanoacrylate (superglue) but a two-part epoxy should be fine.

Thank you so much!

 

[Miss 1929]

I have not had good luck with just glue, I recommend if you can, boring a tiny hole into each half and bridging them with part of a pin to add strength. If it is Bakelite, you should be able to heat the pin and sink it in. Add glue onto the pin surfaces too.

Otherwise the glue is all that is holding it - it will come apart in the same place over and over.

 

[JJWord]

Testors makes a plastic cement for model making in a non-toxic version now. The non-toxic is a blue tube, the red tube is the old "don't sniff the fumes" plastic cement. They should both be the same price (around $1.50), and available at any hobby or craft store.

I would try that or Geesie's recommendation of a 2-part epoxy.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Testors isn't going to work either....wrong type of plastic.

I wouldn't use it again, you are not going to be able to glue it with anything that won't off gas as it get's heated. Epoxy included

I'd repair it and leave it on the shelf, get another one and don't drop it.

 

[CigarMan]

If you're lucky enough to find it, there used to be a bakelite cement that was used a long time ago, but not sure if that's readily available anymore. I've read that Araldite can also be used for bakelite, but can't say I've ever used it. Good luck.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

If it were mine, and I was really determined to use it again, I'd use a length of small brass tubing to bridge the break, through the inside diameter of the hole through the holder, with enough tubing to go well beyond both sides of the glue joint.

 

[CigarMan]

If it were mine, and I was really determined to use it again, I'd use a length of small brass tubing to bridge the break, through the inside diameter of the hole through the holder, the with enough tubing to go well beyond any glue joint.

Great idea! that would work great, tough part would be finding the right size tubing, but shouldn't be hard at all.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

My 2 cents here is that it is just not all -that- unique of a holder...to spend that sort of money repairing it.

It's not a one of a kind celluloid carved piece or anything like that...

even tubing is going to cost you more then just getting another holder off ebay, and why go through all that to still possibly poison oneself when the glue heats up......

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Small brass tubing like K & S makes would only cost a couple of dollars at a well stocked hobby shop.

That being said,.....I'd agree that I wouldn't want to draw heated smoke though a recent glued repair. I'd still fix it and save it as a display piece.
Makes you wonder what you were inhaling when it was new, getting Catalin resin off gassing, with your cigarette smoke.

 

[BinkieBaumont]

From my experience whenever I give something away something better comes along to replace it, that probably also applies to breakage's and losses, the Universe always provides