Thermo-loc getting sticky?

[mitch]

i have a few fixture blocks i've been using for some years and lately the Thermo-loc is more like cleaner, odorless pitch. i try to be careful not to overheat it, but lately it's like removing gum. anybody else experiencing this?

 

[Big-Un]

Mine has been doing the same thing, hence I'm using hot glue more now.

Bill

 

[Brian Marshall]

Same here. Formula seems to have changed.

Got plenty of the original version, but - it needs to be pulled off some of the larger wooden fixtures around here and re-used...

Was too lazy before, but will start doing so now...


B.

 

[monk]

perhaps after having been heated so many times, it has just used up its' useable lifetime.

 

[Ed Westerly]

I recently replaced my original supply of T-lock because of the same problem. The new stuff works just as well as the old did when new. I think the stuff just breaks down over time with many heat cycles, no matter what you do, but i have also changed to 18 second mic times, decreasing to 6 sec times at the end of the heat run up. Seems to be working well so far.

 

[mitch]

yeah, i'm thinking it must be breaking down over time. probably due to while it's not being over-heated overall as a batch, the surface gets hotter than desired before it sinks in. after awhile, it's all been overcooked to some extent.

not too bad as a pitch substitute, tho...

 

[MICHAEL]

I got tired of messing with thermo-loc also. Use glue or leather scraps now.

 

[Idaho Flint]

I have used the same t-loc for years without any problems. I don't use a microwave to heat it, but use a heat gun. I wonder if that is why it has not broken down. It still gets to the same hardness as it did the day it was new.

Mike

 

[mitch]

yeah, Mike, i never nuke mine either and it sets up just like always, it's just getting gooey to remove a fixtured part rather than coming off clean with a little heat. oh well, it is probably 5-6 yrs old and i reuse a few pre-loaded fixture blocks a lot so who knows how many times this stuff has been heated & reheated...

 

[Ron Spokovich]

Not Thermoloc, but a product I've used for decades, and to which you guys might have used and been familiar with. The Product is Dykem blue layout fluid. My 'old' supply is several years old, and turns into an oily, brown colored liquid, being absolutely useless for the purpose. Purchase it in the smallest size you'll need, which is what I did. A little goes a long way. There are other suppliers who market the stuff, such as Starrett and Crown. I don't know if it's the same stuff with a different label, or what. There are just some products that chemically reverse themselves, and can't be brought back. If the stuff, also, is Chinese, how would we know?

 

[atexascowboy2011]

The same happened with my Dykem white.
It was usable for roughly 1 year.

 

[Brian Marshall]

Got a bottle of red that's at least 5 years old that I used last night?

B.

 

[mitch]

Got a bottle of red that's at least 5 years old that I used last night?

B.

everybody knows red ages better than white. i don't know what one should do with blue Romulan ale...

 

[KCSteve]

I use a red Sharpie marker for layout (sometimes - usually on nickels). I have a big chisel point one I use to cover the area and a fine line I use for 'erasing'. Takes a pencil line well and you can still see the original surface through it.

 

[Ed Westerly]

How did we get from thermo-loc, a plastic jig forming substance to layout fluids????

 

[KCSteve]

Hard to say, but we've gone on much stranger journeys.

 

[Brian Marshall]

Probably from drinking the white and red liquids? (of various vintages)

Dunno about Mitch's blue one? How many would you need? Bottles/flasks or years...?

Haven't been to that planet/galaxy yet... maybe next vacation?


B.

 

[Ed Westerly]

It's just that I tried to hold some very delicate work using Dykem and sharpie ink, and the pieces got crushed!!!!