Problem with opening fraystop

[Petal]

Is it me! Have I gone barking mad here.... :(| I bought some fraystop a couple of weeks ago and thought I'd have a go at using it today... now I have tried twisting, pushing and generally being very polite with my bottle of fraystop, but before I get the hammer out and bash it to oblivion, have I missed something very very obvious??? (I have twisted the top part, so there is a gap between the top part and the next section, but that's as far as I have got). I've even given it to my OH to open and he can't do it either.... This could be very embarrassing, couldn't it!

Come on then guys, how the hell do I open this xx!! thing?

BTW, there was a little bit sticking out at the top and I chopped that off, as I assumed that was where the glue came out, but no glue so far.....

:-D

xx

[mizgeorge]

I use fraycheck, and you just cut the top of the nozzle until there's a hole. There's a little rubber top that then goes back on top and closes it.

[Petal]

Thanks for replying George.

There's two parts to this nozzle; the top part unscrews up to a certain point and goes no further. The bottom part stays as it is... with the words Easy Open Seal! I've been cutting the top off the nozzle, while its screwed down rather than up (open) and .... there's not much of it left, so I'll carry on cutting until a hole appears!?

(I can't believe I have actually asked this question on the forum) - I think this does go into the section of 'stupid' questions to ask, does'nt it #-o

I'm off out for a bit to hopefully sell some of my stuff, back later .....

xx

[Di Sandland]

Oooh, good luck, Jules!

[Solunar Silver Studio]

I'm struggling to work out what sort of lid it has....I have never used this fray stop stuff... Does it look anything like this?? (Excuse drawing!!)

466

If so then as soon as the lid is twisted into the Open position then the channel is clear for the contents to come out as the sealing plug has dropped out of the way...just turn it upside down and squeeze. The lid of this one is never designed to come off...it is just the little plug in the hole that receeds out the way as you twist. Sorry if I am telling you what you already know and this sketch bears no resemblance to your glue pot!! But it was the best guess I could make from your description!!:">

[bustagasket]

I'm struggling to work out what sort of lid it has....I have never used this fray stop stuff... Does it look anything like this?? (Excuse drawing!!)

466



OMG B I had to look twice, i thought Geti was up to no good again!!! #-o lmao:X

[Solunar Silver Studio]

Wicked woman!! I did my best!!!:'(

[Emerald]

OMG B I had to look twice, i thought Geti was up to no good again!!! #-o lmao:X

pmsl i am with you Su, it is so apt this week my 4 year old came home from school today and showed me what his friend had taught him at school, so pleased with himself (:))and even more so cos his class bully couldent x

[Solunar Silver Studio]

Mock if you will!! :'( I'm signing off for tonight now....just make sure that when the entire forum finishes mocking my beautiful little drawings :'(:'( someone directs Jules back to the suggestion I have made to help her open her bottle!!:D
Nite nite folks...see you in the morning!

[bustagasket]

lol nite huni xx

[lesley]

Jules, mine was a snip the end off too, although I did have to snip quite a way down.

Nice drawings - are they to scale? ;)

[Petal]

When I saw there had been 10 replies, I thought I'd been Geti'd! ;)

Yes, Barbara is exactly right - that's exactly the type of bottle I have (lovely drawings btw and they are spot on!) and there's not much left of the bloody bottle now, but as Lesley says, I need to chop some more off!

xx

happy days!

[Petal]

Oooh, good luck, Jules!

Thanks for the good wishes Di, I had a good evening. It was only 5 mins drive away and I was invited to take my jewellery as some local ladies had expressed an interest in it. I went on my own this time - which was good practice for me and a real confidence booster. I had a good laugh and spent a very pleasant 2 hours with some lovely ladies, they did their thing and while I waited I carried on making things and then they came over to buy! :Y::Y: They spent £100 and I'm going back again in a few weeks time to sell some more :D

Happy days

xx

[snow_imp]

oh nice one Jules. Glad you had fun and success on the sales too.

[Emerald]

well done Jules and you bypassed our Geti moment beautifully:)

[geti-titanium]

well done Jules and you bypassed our Geti moment beautifully

Not so fast - I've only just seen this so there could be some mileage in it yet :)

[Petal]

Oh no you dont! [-X I'm off to bed now and you had better behave yourself while I'm there !

see you tomorrow....

xx

[Solunar Silver Studio]

Glad your evening went so well Jules!!:Y:

Back to the bottle!!... I really don't understand why you are chopping anything off! :confused: This system doesn't have anything to chop off!! Have you actually tried twisting it to the open position and then turning it upside down and squeezing?? You never actually see where the glue comes out the bottle as it is from a hole that is hidden underneath the twist cap...see if this masterpiece of technical ( cut away ) drawing helps!!!

468

The glue comes out through a hole hidden behind the screw cap. When you have unscrewed it as far as it will go the plug draws away from the hole allowing the glue to flow past the central plug and out through the hole in the top. When you screw it back down the plug fills up the hole in the top and the glue is prevented from coming out of it. There will still be glue inbetween the 2 'skins' of the top though - so if you cut away the plugging mechanism at the top you will ruin the airtight seal and you won't be able to stop glue leakage in future, or stop it from drying out between uses!!=:-O So don't cut off any more!!!!!!

[Petal]

Thanks for the drawings Bee. My brain had gone to another planet yesterday - where was this calm person who is normally sensible - well, she'd buggered off to panic about the evening selling event, that's what!

Here's what I did - I unscrewed the top part of the bottle, squeezed it and waited .... and waited for the glue to come out. Nothing! So, I assumed I should get just cut the top pointy part off to activate it, which I did, but also nothing and no discernible smell either, then in desperation (even more panic here), I stuck a pin in the top to see if that would help. =:-O (I wanted to make up some stuff to take to the event - but that idea went out of the window). There's a lesson to learn here - don't make any last minute stuff for an event - stick with what you've got.

umm - all very embarrassing.

xx

[MuranoSilver]

Hope you got your glue out eventually and great drawings B!
nic x

[mizgeorge]

It may help to know, Jules, that I fraycheck quite a lot for various things, and rarely use the tip. I generally just unscrew the whole top and dip into it, or pour a few drops onto a flat surface and use that.

[Petal]

Yes George, I was hoping I could do the same with mine and just open the top and use it. However, I've got Fraystoppa and am unable to open it at all. I've tried the strong arm of hubby and he is stumped completely. This is it....

469.

I don't like to give up on something without a good fight, or chuck things, but I really don't want to spend ages, or take up everyone's valuable time, with something like this. So I think its going to be relegated to the back of the draw.

thanks for everyones help xx

xx

[Solunar Silver Studio]

OOOO.....can't.......give.....up........yet....... ..!!!!!!!

This might have the answer!!... You have the bottle....see if you have one!!!

it says....We apply a foil seal to increase the shelf life of this product by drastically

reducing solvent evaporation.

Just another improvement the we give our customers that our competitors don't.

Perhaps it is an improvement they could do without!!

See image on this link...

helmar - Fray Stoppa (http://www.helmar.com.au/products/products_df/fray_stoppa/)

[Petal]

Yep, that's the little bugger I have!!! Oh Bee, I had to laugh when you replied, 'cos I knew you wouldn't want me to give up on this stuff either!

YES it does have the 'easy open seal' (their words, definitely not mine). Trouble is, how the hell do I get the bloody top off to get rid of the seal.....

Oh hell, I've got to go out for 20 mins to drop off some jewellery to a customer.. I'll be back soon - I promise!

[Solunar Silver Studio]

OK! So - we are getting closer!! Sometimes things with foil seals get the seal mangled up with the thread of the screw top and need a bit of brute force. First - get your monkey wrench/huge pair of heavy duty pliers/ rubber glove/anything that is going to give you a good bit of grip and traction....second - fill the kettle, collect cup/mug (make that 2!!). Boil kettle. Pour half a cup of hot water in one receptacle. Place tea bag, (milk, sugar-optional!) in other and fill with water from kettle. In the moments that the tea is brewing, invert the Fray Stoppa bottle into the now slightly cooled half cup - so that the hot water covers the cap portion only and doesn't touch the bottle section. Hold in that position for 45 seconds - I minute. Remove from water and immediately set to work with the tool of choice from the above list!! Hopefully the hot water will have expanded the plastic the top is made of by just a fraction which might just encourage it to release it from the bottle with just a twist!

Slightly more serious variation....collect icecubes from the freezer and pack these around the bottle in a small container with a little cold water to ensure good contact with the cold for 5 minutes before attempting the above. This will hopefully encourage the plastic of the bottle to contract slightly making the warming of the top in boiling water more effective.[-o<

When this techniques works just like magic....settle down to your freshly brewed cuppa!!:rofl:

[lesley]

OMG stab it!! :D.......or saw it in half :D

[Di Sandland]

Sorry, Jules, but I'm enjoying this. The creeping desperation and increasingly more dramatic language...

[bustagasket]

OK! So - we are getting closer!! Sometimes things with foil seals get the seal mangled up with the thread of the screw top and need a bit of brute force. First - get your monkey wrench/huge pair of heavy duty pliers/ rubber glove/anything that is going to give you a good bit of grip and traction....second - fill the kettle, collect cup/mug (make that 2!!). Boil kettle. Pour half a cup of hot water in one receptacle. Place tea bag, (milk, sugar-optional!) in other and fill with water from kettle. In the moments that the tea is brewing, invert the Fray Stoppa bottle into the now slightly cooled half cup - so that the hot water covers the cap portion only and doesn't touch the bottle section. Hold in that position for 45 seconds - I minute. Remove from water and immediately set to work with the tool of choice from the above list!! Hopefully the hot water will have expanded the plastic the top is made of by just a fraction which might just encourage it to release it from the bottle with just a twist!

Slightly more serious variation....collect icecubes from the freezer and pack these around the bottle in a small container with a little cold water to ensure good contact with the cold for 5 minutes before attempting the above. This will hopefully encourage the plastic of the bottle to contract slightly making the warming of the top in boiling water more effective.[-o<

When this techniques works just like magic....settle down to your freshly brewed cuppa!!:rofl:

omg lmao i am almost choking with laughter here you are fantastic B love you to death [][]

[Solunar Silver Studio]

Just can't bear to see someone beaten by two pennyworth of plastic!!:D

[Petal]

Yeeeeeeeesssssssssss - I've done it! Thanks a million Bee - you've made my day and all made me laugh so much, I've had tears rolling down my face :'( :ta:


... oh god and all that for a £3 bottle of fraycheck. I was tempted with the mallet/saw it in half idea Lesley, but decided on this

470

No - course I didn't use the wrench... I just used a pair of rubber gloves and went outside to open it :Y:

It was bleedin' obvious (with a normal head and not the one that was attached to my body yesterday), to use the hot water idea and I do that with anything else that won't open, but was put off with all this talk of pickling and vapours. Having read the side of the bottle I thought it might be a bad idea, in case it reacted with water in some way!

Oh, what a laugh eh! I can honestly say that my bottle of fraycheck will not be at the back of the drawer now and I shall think of Bee and everyone helping me to open it and all the laughs we have had :giggle:

BTW, my wires came this morning and my micromesh ! (I nearly kissed the postman... no, on second thoughts, maybe not)... anyway - much excitement .... and for my next trick - polishing my hammer......

Love xx

[Solunar Silver Studio]

Well - thank God for that!! Though I must admit I have had a good laugh and I have spent far too long on here today.....all your fault....mutter, mutter!!:-D

Just leave me out of the hammer polishing!!!:D

[bustagasket]

Well - thank God for that!! Though I must admit I have had a good laugh and I have spent far too long on here today.....all your fault....mutter, mutter!!:-D

Just leave me out of the hammer polishing!!!:D

Even i succumbed to hammer polishing the other day!! What was even stranger was the fact that it was strangely soothing and satisfying!!! #-o

[Ominicci]

OMG you lot!!! 24 hours and you create havoc and then make it good again!

Thanks for the entertainment!

Of course if I had been around at the time this was going on my first question would have been 'have you removed the foil seal'? .... :-"

[Petal]

Oh, I know Nic, its silly isn't it. I definitely had a bad day on the 20th - it was my first 'going it alone' selling event and I got in a bit of a strop! Then the old 'sensible' brain promptly left me and was replaced by an >:)

Oh, I did laugh once I'd sorted it out... tears rolling down face and much shoulder shaking :giggle:

xx