Nang Cracker

Ok, so i am making a nang cracker out of brass things from the plumbing section at bunnings, and i have all the bits i need, and i have drilled the hole for the nail i jsut need to glue it in. i used araldyte and glued it in, and it felt nice and strong, i waited longer than the recomended drying tiem then attempted to use it. it jsut pushed the nail out coz it wasnt strong enough. this araldite was about 5yrs old so i thought that may have been the reason. So i tried again with a tube of this 5 minutes epoxy glue ( i think its jsut another kind of araldite). i glued the nail in and waited 30 minutes jsut to be sure. i went to use it and the nail was just pushed out.

What can i do to make this bloody thing stick in? What glues have people used? can the nail be fastened in another way? has anybody else encountered this problem and how did u fix it?

thanks

(also no1 telling me this is dangerous and ill freeze to death etc etc, i know this and am going ahead with it anyway)

I seriously reccomend buying a dispenser, sure they are a bit expensive, but it is the way to go.

I bought one before but it sort of got stolen and i just dont have the funds at the moment. I also want something i can keep in my pocket, and i have all the parts and have drilled the hole so it would seem a waste to not even try it over a glue problem.

haha, ben you fool.
nang dispencer = $100
trip to the emergency room after finding out why they call it a "nang bomb" = PRICELESS

When I built mine I used a drill bit that in diameter was a tiny bit smaller than the nail I was using. Then I simply hammered the nail in because it was a real tight fit. Then lined it up dead center and put some silicon on the outer side to seal it. Haven't had a problem with it so far except that the thread tape needs to be redone after every 10 or so boxes.

Maybe you should try to get a wider nail if you have already drilled the hole or rebuy the end part and drill a smaller hole. Also remember to make decent grooves in the balloon end for good nitrous flow.

On another note, are the homemade crackers legal? Or does it fit into some kind of substance abuse instrument category?

Yeh I had the same problem as you drink_mcbeer and i'm not sure there's any easy way to fix it. I tried various different types of adhesives, superglues etc and the nail would never stay in for long. It's because the head of the nail has such a small surface area, so there's less surface binding ability. In the end I got sick of it and now use one of the commercially produced crackers - a cop out I know but it's just that much easier. If you're low on funding, try ebay - you may well be able to find a cheap cracker on there. Peace

any idea of what one would search for on ebay when looking for a cracker? i have a dispenser... it was only about $72 from a chefing shop, and it works real good! you can also find them in op shops for $5 if u look in the right place, if ur in melbourne, PM me and i can suggest somewhere for u

I bought mine of e bay second hand for $5 and $10 postage and handling works like new I only had to buy a new handler for $5 so it was $20 all up. I'v done thousnds of bulbs on it and it still works fine

I strongly reccomend trying to source an actual cracker as making your own can be very very dangerous.

There is a device inspired by some twisted minds from this very forum that gained quite a reputation however.

The bulberator could be what you seek.

try ebay. You can get them very cheap, but make sure that you ask the seller if the seal is in good working order. Also once received make sure you give it a good clean out first.

have a look at sixthseal I wrote up a cracker how to with photos for veritas. I used the copper fittings from bunnings but the key thing is you don't drill through the cap for the nail/screw you glue it into the base of the cap.
See the photos on www.sixthseal.com (dig through the archives).

why dont you use a screw instead?

or liquid nails and a backing plate so the nail cant move backwards.

oh my gawd Fry-d- what a thread...............ahhhhhh

memories of a weather baloon

hmmm how do u think welding would work?

You need to look at the surfaces you're trying to fix together and the strain they will be under. Usually for cryogenic applications it's important to consider the thermal expansion/contraction of the materials as they change from room temperature to that of the refrigerant... ie. metals expand when hot, and contract when cool - when your nail cools down in contact with liquid nitrous which rapidly cools as it expands to room pressure, it may be shrinking and cracking the glue.

Araldite is also stronger under compressive/tensile stress than shear/peeling stress.

BigTrancer

Yeh, but that doesn't apply in this case because the nang was never cracked, as soon as i screwed it in the screw was pushed out, so what u said may be an issue later on, but not at this point..

until you mentioned it, iu'd never seen anyone drill a hole.

you just use that araldite, or any *really strong* glue, and glue the nail in. ive seen several crackers that worked perfectly for many thousands of bulbs this way.

I had a realy good cracker i made get stolen - but have never had my bulbinator ( soda dispenser) stolen. i spose i just take more nitice/care of my syphon.

hope you succeed.

^No gluing required. Just use a flat head nail that will slide inside a small threaded sleeve (F-F). Then get two M-M connectors that will screw into both ends of the F-F sleeve. The nail head will be held firmly between the 2 M-M pieces. Oh yeah - wrap the nail in a few layers of plumber's tape to get a good seal. Screw a F-F-F or F-M-F T-piece over the nail to get a nice mouth piece. The resulting contraption can be screwed onto a M-F sleeve to take you up to the correct diameter for a bulb - use a few sleeves and caps & whatever to complete the unit. I've had one of these for 17 years and it still works fine - just need to sharpen the nail up every now and then and replace the plumber's tape on the part that unscrews to pop in the next bulb. When the unit is tightened up, the nail pierces the bulb and forms an incomplete seal - some N2O leaking out your maouth-piece. You can gradually loosen and tighten the unit to control the flow - prevents exploding lungs. A bit tricky to use and very funny (schadenfreude) to watch people fuck it up - but very safe and effective with a bit of practice. That said - I barely touch the ole bulbicator since the bulbs went behind the counter...

drinky_mcbeer: you haven't looked at sixthseal have you.... here is the link. http://www.sixthseal.com/000573.html
that should give you an idea of how to go about it.....

i bought one from this cool little op shop in a country town... genuine 'relic' of the 70s... hehe but it's full of liquid that won't pour out.... which is a little freaky, so i never used it.... it just looks pretty... anyone know what this might be and how to drainn it? or is it broken inside or something... a bit like a thermos does?