Which Adhesive ?

[Robert11]

Hello,

Hard to describe in words, but let me give you a general descripton of what I am attempting.

Have a Nikon Coolpix 3100 camera where the very small U shape bracket that holds the battery door closed has snapped off. Seems to be a very common problem.

I think I can possibly repair it by cutting a stiff piece of metal wire (was thinkinking of snipping a sewing needle to the right length (about 1/8" as this is the stiffest small dia stiff metal I can think of) and gluing it across the top of the broken bracket. The bracket is plastic.

Do you think Eastman 910 or an epoxy would hold better ?

Would Eastman 910 hold around the metal needle ? I seem to remember with this stuff you really need two very flat pieces for it work; that it won't fill in any gaps. Or, has the formulation changed a bit by now that it does have some gap-filling capability ?

Thanks, Bob

[tnom]

[tnom]

I should have pointed out that the best fix is the use of a piece of paper clip wire.

Get a magnifying glass to see what you are doing.

Stuff the battery box with cotton to keep shavings out.

File the drill area flat.

Don't attempt to drill by hand. Use a drill press with the camera secured.

Get a tiny drill from a wherever to accurately start the two pilot holes.

Measure accurately the diameter of the paperclip. The more accurate your hole is the less likely the glue will fail. Drill to the final size.

Fit the clip by use of your magnifying glass.

Super glue will work fine with accurately sized holes.

[Robert11]

Hi,

Thanks for info.; appreciate it.

BTW: Might you know the screw size/thread for the tripod hole in the 3100 ?

Thanks, Bob

[tnom]

Don't know specifically but 1/4 x 20 is standard on tri-pods

[Arthur Shapiro]

I think the "correct" surgery is too delicate to be realistic.

This "think outside the box" fix works fantastically - I'm looking at my 3100 with that fix as we speak. The only downside is that one can't use the Nikon on a tripod any more, but I guess a big rubber band would temporarily hold the battery door shut if one sporadically needs a tripod mount.

Art

[tnom]

Delicate? yes. Realistic? Yes, as long as you have access to the tools needed and take your time the paper clip fix is very doable. No, if you cut corners and use a hand drill, don't pilot the holes, ect.ect ect.