Whoo hoo! It's not bulls*** - removing broken taps

[Wirecutter]

Who hasn't broken a tap off in the work? This time, the tapping was the last operation on a number of parts I made up for a job at work. Broke a tap below the surface - it was a 4-40 imbedded in a piece of 1/4" aluminum plate. Yeesh.

After a surprizingly difficult search, I located some alum (Aluminum Sulfate). Disolved some into water until the solution was basically saturated. Heated the whole thing up to "simmer" (not boil) and dropped the part in. Then I went and cleared the leaves from the yard and mowed the lawn. After about 4 hours of this, the only thing left of the tap was little undisolved parts that looked like pepper flakes. The aluminum was untouched. Woo hoo! I finished tapping the offending hole with a proper tap guide, and the part is perfect.

Thanks to the folks here. It may be old news to some, but it sounded hokey to me. After trying it, I can only say that it's like FM. (Freakin' Magic) The part (and my bacon) have been saved!

-Mark

[IOWOLF]

Glad to hear some old wives tales are good, speaking of old wives Do you know what else alum is used for?

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The tame Wolf !

[hoffman]

I used to use it to tan hides back when I was a mountain man

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Deep Sea Tool Salvage

[speedy]

Alum was/is used in water treatment as a 'blanket' that allows water to flow up through, trapping contaminants.

Thanks for the tap removal method; it is in my file .
Ken

[This message has been edited by speedy (edited 11-13-2005).]

[Wirecutter]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by IOWOLF:
Glad to hear some old wives tales are good, speaking of old wives Do you know what else alum is used for?

</font>

Well see, that's the interesting part. I searched high and low - I went to drug stores, grocery stores, small-town hardware stores, etc.

The place where I finally found it was a real crunchy-granola type place in California that sells it for "preparing fabrics for natural dyes" and "marbling". They catered to those that tie-dye shirts and stuff - the music on hold was "Truckin'" by the Grateful Dead.

IIRC, it can be used for:

1. Tart flavoring. It's what makes the pickles in your Big Mac taste tart.

2. Canning. I don't know exactly how, maybe something about pickling.

3. Fabric "sizing".

4. Fabric dye prep (see above)

5. Tweaking the chemistry of a small outdoor pond that has problems with algae growth.

6. It might be used in some "home first aid" application, perhaps like a styptic pencil, which is used to make shaving cuts stop bleeding. (My local drug store said that if they had it, it would be in the first aid aisle.)

7. Broken tap removal

I sure wish I knew more. The stuff was a real PITA to find, much to my surprize. It can be toxic, and it's not recommended to eat or breathe the dust from it. Some think it could be linked to Alzheimers, since elevated levels of aluminum have been found in the brains of dead Alzheimers patients. I was thinking it also has some nefarious use like the making of explosives, since although it was once very common, it was a bitch for me to actually locate some. Everyone I know over the age of 50 seems to know about it, but they talk about it like "Oh, I remember that stuff - my mom used it for something, but I can't remember what..."

Can anyone else shed a little light?

-M

[Iquithadenuff]

My Dad used to use it on canker sores (MINE)
btw had an uncle that worked at South Bend Lathe works, he broke a tap once

[firstlast303]

About 20 years ago I got some to tan a cow hide. If I remember rightly I found it at a swiming pool supply store. It was used in cleaning pools somehow. I think I still have most of it left. If you can't find any let me know and I'll try to locate what I have.
Buzzer John

[rkepler]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Can anyone else shed a little light?</font>

Alum (typically potassium aluminum sulphate) is used in dying as a mordant, a compound to make the dyes stick a lot better to the fabric. I suspect that potassium and aluminum help the sulphur bind to the fabris, and the sulphur gives better binding sites to the dyes.

In water treatment it's used in clarifying the water as it causes crud in suspension to bind to itself and either fall out or get big enough to get caught in filters.

It was used in pickling but that use is less and less common, but it is found in stores catering to the picking folks.

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Some think it could be linked to Alzheimer</font>

Some folks think that aluminum foil beanies stop the mind control rays that the government beam down from satellites. The aluminum-&gt;Alzheimers connection has been disproven to everyone who doesn't have religious belief in the connection.

[IOWOLF]

Prostitutes used an alum rag to stay "tight" or at least snug.
But this was in days of old.

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The tame Wolf !

[Wirecutter]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by rkepler:
Some folks think that aluminum foil beanies stop the mind control rays that the government beam down from satellites. The aluminum-&gt;Alzheimers connection has been disproven to everyone who doesn't have religious belief in the connection.</font>

Does that mean that my beanie isn't working? Damn - what am I going to do now?

I wasn't aware the Al-Alzheimers connection was proven or disproven - I just heard that someone claimed to notice higher al concentrations. I realize the fallacy of "post hoc ergo propter hoc" (after this, therefore because of this) I also know of people that discarded all of their aluminum-containing cookware as soon as this link was proposed. I got a great non-stick frying pan that way several years ago.

-M