Sometimes a locking compound is simply the most practical solution. Most of the electronics equipment used in WWII had either locking compound on the screws, safety wires in the nuts, or both. Any OT who has pulled apart a WWII ARC-5 was greeted with a sea of little red spots on every fastener inside!
There are times when the extra margin of safety is worth the effort. A dab of nail polish is a benign and effective way to add that extra protection that easily crumbles and falls off when the screw is removed. OTOH, I avoid locking compounds such as Loc-Tite. That stuff slowly dissolves many plastics, entirely destroying whatever it touches over a period of weeks and months. I've not had a K3 handle screw come loose, but the design is such that you do *not* want to over-tighten the hardware. That will compress the handle covers so they squeeze against the handle strap and prevent it from moving to lie flat against the side of the K3 when it's not in use. Ron AC7AC -----Original Message----- I hope not. The world would fall apart as we know it. Locking compounds are never necessary to lock with the correct hardware and materials. That's why wheel lug nuts stay tight even when threads are greased, and why oil soaked engine and transmission bolts stay tight even when spun, stressed, and vibrated. When a small screw comes loose it is because of a material problem (like selection of the wrong locking hardware) or tightening error. Locking compounds make up for other mistakes or shortfalls like too tight or too loose or bad hardware. If we can't fix the real problem, then we should use them. 73 Tom ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
