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Broken Mini -- Need Help


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hey everyone -- sorry if i'm mourning the loss of the minis excessively, but i think you all understand how shitty this situation is. two broken within a week, first bowls i've broken in 2+ years of smoking.

anyway, my inquiry is: any idea how i can bring myself back into mini-having without shelling out for a glass funnel or buying anyone else's? here were my two ideas:

  • super high heat glue
  • epoxying one back together, making a mold then a plaster copy, preferably with high quality clay like the original


From what I gather on the internets, glue that withstands the kind of heat a bowl gets can be pretty expensive. I'm not too keen on molding either -- in my experience the copies tend to be pretty inexact, plus I don't have a kiln so firing and glazing this thing would be a problem. On the other hand, were molding to work, I could have like, endless miniphunnel supply.

Thoughts, anyone?
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Well I don't know about everyone else but I've fixed bases and bowls alike, and this may or may not be the best solution but it's worked for me.

Gorilla Glue for bowls. Now this could give rise to debate of the toxicity of it but what I did was put just a small bit in between all the pieces that needed mending, including a small chip on the outside. I think my small phunnel (not the mini) broke into about 5 pieces and it was as good as new. It's a tricky operation though, because IMO you need to keep all gorilla glue on between the cracks and on the outside, none on the inside. Otherwise you could run the risk of inhaling glue fumes.

Gorilla glue is tested to high temperatures so i wasn't too stressed about it but I did it to be on the safe side. Then I threw a little Super goo on the outside of it to ensure there were no leaks. Been almost a year now.
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QUOTE (indian_villager @ Jul 15 2009, 10:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
In what fashion did it break. As in what way did it fragment. Pics could help.


I'll get them up tomorrow -- there is one big piece broken off, approximately a third of the circumference of the bowl, and two smaller ones, maybe a half inch long each. Luckily no tiny shards or I would've had to pitch the whole thing.

I was thinking of the same strategy, keeping it all to the outside, but I'd figured there would still be crevasses where either shisha-juice would leak into the glued portions or hot glue fumes would rise into the bowl. But, if it's worked for you and you haven't died, I feel a bit better about it.
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QUOTE (indian_villager @ Jul 15 2009, 11:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
If you know any pottery types see if they can hold the bits together and add another clay layer to the outside and then fire it.....Like a permanent cast.


Until you drop it again..
I have a pink one for sale. Not sure how much I want for it tho.
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QUOTE (annual @ Jul 16 2009, 03:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (indian_villager @ Jul 15 2009, 11:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
If you know any pottery types see if they can hold the bits together and add another clay layer to the outside and then fire it.....Like a permanent cast.


Until you drop it again..
I have a pink one for sale. Not sure how much I want for it tho.


can you check to see how much your mini holds? if it's around 25-30g of Tangiers packed tobacco, i'd be very interested!
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QUOTE (indian_villager @ Jul 15 2009, 11:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
If you know any pottery types see if they can hold the bits together and add another clay layer to the outside and then fire it.....Like a permanent cast.




you cant fire pottery a second time, the heat will make it crack.
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QUOTE (liquidglass @ Jul 15 2009, 09:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Well I don't know about everyone else but I've fixed bases and bowls alike, and this may or may not be the best solution but it's worked for me.

Gorilla Glue for bowls. Now this could give rise to debate of the toxicity of it but what I did was put just a small bit in between all the pieces that needed mending, including a small chip on the outside. I think my small phunnel (not the mini) broke into about 5 pieces and it was as good as new. It's a tricky operation though, because IMO you need to keep all gorilla glue on between the cracks and on the outside, none on the inside. Otherwise you could run the risk of inhaling glue fumes.

Gorilla glue is tested to high temperatures so i wasn't too stressed about it but I did it to be on the safe side. Then I threw a little Super goo on the outside of it to ensure there were no leaks. Been almost a year now.


For the sake of your health, please do not use Gorilla Glue or any other type of quick-cure glue on something that will be heated then inhaled.

MSDS (pdf): http://www.gorillaglue.com/Portals/0/pdfs/...r%20English.pdf

Gorilla Glue is nasty stuff, and when you put a 400 degree coal on it, it can cause all sorts of respiratory problems.
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  • 2 weeks later...
QUOTE (indian_villager @ Jul 16 2009, 09:51 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Wrap the entire structure in aluminum foil....just have that holding it all together.


That's... wow, that's not a bad idea, actually. If I try this and it works, pics will def be forthcoming.

and yea, re: gorilla glue... i was definitely not planning on using anything like that... they make special high-heat epoxy but I'm still not sure how I feel about that...
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QUOTE (indian_villager @ Jul 16 2009, 08:51 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Wrap the entire structure in aluminum foil....just have that holding it all together.


My phunnel broke off into smaller pieces on the side that broke...I'm desperate enough to try this lol. It's gonna be one huge pain in the ass!
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QUOTE (wilarseny @ Jul 25 2009, 05:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (indian_villager @ Jul 16 2009, 09:51 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Wrap the entire structure in aluminum foil....just have that holding it all together.


That's... wow, that's not a bad idea, actually. If I try this and it works, pics will def be forthcoming.

and yea, re: gorilla glue... i was definitely not planning on using anything like that... they make special high-heat epoxy but I'm still not sure how I feel about that...


no joke athletic tape works wonders lol
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