Doing a little research on the Ambroid line it appears that the company started back in 1910 with a line of adhesives and sealers for canvas. I did not find any website for them in my search. It was and still is popular with the folks who still have the double canvas canoes, a different adhesive than the plastic line. They are also evidently a small firm since they are reputed to run thier products in single batches at a time, thus the product we use may only get produced once or twice a year. Seems like the solution to keeping a bottle on your workbench if you do a lot of plastic work like I do is to buy two bottles when your favorite pusher of things railroad related has it in stock.
My wife was out and about today, so she hit the box home centers and hardware stores. Same story everywhere. MEK is offically gone. Government mandate, due to it being used for manufacture of drugs.
I checked a local non-big box craft and hobby store this morning... Tenax 7R is all gone. Some Testor's Plastic Cement-- the clear liquid kind in the small round bottle-- remains even though MEK is listed as an ingredient. Ambroid Pro-Weld was still available. I'm debating whether to grab a few more bottles.
Working in the marine oil and chemical industry, MEK is known as Methyl Ethyl Death.... It is a highly regulated chemical and very deadly.
Yep, bad stuff, but useful. I just dislike that the govt. has to get involved so much in our daily lives. Stuff is perfectly safe as long as its handled correctly. As far as drug mfg. is concerned, it they want to smoke that garbage its just a few less morons in the world.......Mike
I agree. Again, I agree. Except the problem comes when they rob, steal, etc, from the rest of us to support their stupidity.
I was at the local hobby shop the other day and picked up a bottle. Wow, my new favorite stuff. Not only is the applicator a plus but the short, squat, square bottle is very difficult to accidentally knock over. It got to a point with the Tenax bottle that I bored a hole in a block of wood to fit it so I would not tip it over trying to zero in on the small opening with my paint brush or hit it with some other object while my peripheral vision is impaired because of my ever present Optivisor.
While making a stop Monday at one of the few LHS left in the area in Fairfax City, VA I actually spotted a half case of the Tenax sitting on the bottom shelf with the rest of the glues. Suspect though it has been there awhile. So anyone in Northern Virginia who wants to stock up its there for now.
This is a real shame. Responsible, legitimate users of MEK are being punished by the Government for the misdeeds of drug dealers. I have a gallon of it left, carefully stored away, which I use in place of overpriced products such as Tenax. I purchased some of the new "MEK Substitute," and while it might have worked as a possible replacement, it gives me an instant headache, whereas MEK doesn't bother me at all.
I think its more of a case of us being punished by the drug dealers/users as opposed to being punished by the government. I am no fan of "Big Brother" but someone has got to at lest try and stop the moronic drug users/dealers. Dont wanna turn this into a political thread or issue....but...if not the government...then who and how ?
I agree with David. We permanently lose access to something legal and very useful to our hobby. Illegal drug cookers are only very slightly and quite briefly interrupted in their pursuit, until they quickly come up with a workaround, and are right back at it again. Meanwhile, we never get it back.
Taking MEK off the market is about as effective against illegal drug manufacturing as a flyswatter is against a plague of locusts. The drug pushers won't feel it; however, we will. Think about how large a market has been affected by making MEK illegal, versus the trivial impact it will have on drugmaking.
Look at all the OTC drugs that have been taken off the shelves and put behind the counter for the same reason. Should they all be put back out there for the drug makers to buy wholesale ? Maybe LHS's and etailers should require a current drug test...ID...copy of their criminal record...and a written statements saying MEK wont be used for drug making. Then they could sell the stuff again. I know that outlawing it isnt putting a dent in the drug trade...doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure that out. But why make it easier for em ? Like I said...I am NO fan of Big Brother looking over our shoulders every second of every day...but someone has to do something...right?
At least from "behind the counter" they can still be had by legitimate users. Can the same be said of MEK for our hobby? Answer obvious, no. That is the big difference.
Re: OTC drugs vs. MEK, that's apples and oranges. Those drugs are still available to us. MEK is now inaccessible (there's no "behind the counter" option at paint stores). In my opinion, a knee-jerk band-aid action such as an outright ban of MEK is not a sensible solution.
Oh, how many times have I been down this road before. Let's get back on subject with some CORRECT information! Tenax 7r does not, nor ever did have any MEK in it. (and yes, I mean Methylethelkytone). It is made of something else. More on that in a sec. Hebco (the makers of Tenax) appear to be defunct, AGAIN. So for now, no new Tenax coming on the market. Various other brands of adhesives are available. Some are quite good (Tamiya extra thin), but only one other brand is EXACTLY like Tenax! That brand is "Plast-I-Weld" and is marketed by the Flex-i-file folks. It's a little hard to find, but is out there and is good stuff. Why is it good stuff? Because it is Methylene Chloride. That's the "secret" ingredient of Tenax. Basically that and nothing else. It is NOT the same as MEK. No nasty smell. Still toxic as all hell, so be carefull with it! All the other brands of plastic glue out there (Amboid, Pro-weld, Testors, Tamiya, Weld-On, etc) have some sort of blend that is their own proprietary chemical blend. Most have some MEK in it, in varying amounts. You can never hide the smell of MEK, as it is very distinct and strong. Only Tenax (and now Plast-I-Weld) did not, which is what gave it some of it's best characteristics. Getting off my soapbox now! Bronzemeister
Never said Tenax has MEK; I use MEK in place of Tenax because its performance with styrene is comparable (even preferable, as it's not as volatile), at a fraction of the cost. I only use methylene chloride (which I buy in bulk from chemical reagent suppliers, again at a fraction of the cost) when I need to bond harder plastics, such as acrylic (Plexiglas). Fortunately, if you're persistent, you can still get "real" MEK from a few online sources, although not as economically. Search the 'Bay and you'll see.
