On Sat, 23 Apr 2011 07:19:56 -0500, "Pete C."
wrote:


Don Foreman wrote:

The TV in the treadmill room is right next to a window. While walking
on the treadmill today, I glanced out the window and noticed neighbor
Travis in my back yard peering in my family room patio door so I went
to see what he might want. I opened the patio door and got the
trademark Travis grin and "Hi there!" That means he wants something.
I said hi there back. He said he had a little problem that maybe I
might have an idea how to solve. Sure! We went next door.

Wesley's pop gun won't pop. Wesley, 2-1/2, had chewed on the "cork"
(one of those polyethylene capplugs)until it cracked, leaks air, won't
pop. Ah ha. A lathe op. I said yes, I think I might have an idea. I
had him remove the barrel which is probably just ABS water pipe. I
took it to my shop, carefully measured the ID with a telescoping gage
and mike, machined a plug out of delrin a few thou smaller than the ID
of the pipe. Then I cut a groove to accept an O ring that would fit
just snugly enough to seal. Drilled a small hole for the tether
string, bored out the outboard end of the plug to reduce its mass a
bit, went back next door. I doubt if the whole job took 10 minutes.

Um, is Wesley choking on that O-ring now? It seems that if the original
problem was chewing on the "cork", adding a small detachable O-ring is
not child safe.

The groove is deep. The O-ring projects only a few thou proud of the
plug, just enough to effect a seal. About the only way to get that O
ring out of there would be with a pick.