Need help repairing injection molded plastic tool storage case.

[ThumbPkr]

This has to be a very common problem and I have never really seen anything published with a solution.
I have an old Craftsman socket set that is 20+ years old and the case has seen better days.First one hinge lets go then one latch,now the other hinge gave out.I would like to keep the case as everything has its place and fits well so repair is my only option unless I could purchase another identical case to replace it with.
Back while I was still working I sometimes had to install sediment chambers etc doing new construction and the new structures as well as the pipe these days are plastic.There are different methods of fastening/connecting all the pieces,pipe to chamber and so on but one of the methods is using tape that is supplied with the "kit" that needs to be assembled on the jobsite.
Now.......I want to tell you.......the tape that comes with these kits is custom cut to be put where they tell you to put it because if you use the wrong tape on the wrong joint you will never get it off.They call it mastic I think.
That tape has got to be the stickiest stuff there ever was.It comes with some kind of wax paper or something on the sticky side that you need to remove to use it but it will adhere to anything.
I would like to find some of that tape but have called around to the pipe suppliers and noone knows where to get it.
There is a "Gorilla" tape at Home Depot which I need to look at but aside from that,does anyone have any ideas on the repair of these plastic cases?Thanks,Ron G

 

[WizeOne]

Re: Need help repairing injection molded plastic tool storage case.

Gorilla tape is nothing more than a better Duct Tape. It is closer to the original military Duck tape in it weatherproofness and stickiness. However, I doubt it would suffice for what you need.

How about some plastic welding. I think HF has some goods for that. You can also buy plastic hinges that you might be able to 'weld' on.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Need help repairing injection molded plastic tool storage case.

Have you checked with Sears? They warrantee Craftsman fairly agressively.
I had a lifetime warranty tool set here in Canada from a competitor. The case crapped out, they couldn't get a replacement case so they replaced the whole set with an upgrade.
Worth asking.

 

[rbh]

Re: Need help repairing injection molded plastic tool storage case.

You are not talking butyle or DR tape? are you.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: Need help repairing injection molded plastic tool storage case.

I once saw someone fix one of those plastic hinges with a soldering iron and a plastic lid off of a margarine container. I was skeptical but he made it look easy. He essentially welded the broken joint back together.

 

[ThumbPkr]

Re: Need help repairing injection molded plastic tool storage case.

Thanks for the replies.I don't know what kind of tape it was RBH.
That Sears warranty is worth looking into as well.Sometimes that warranty can be interpreted in different ways even depending on which store you happen to be in.I have tried to get a new ratchet for one of my torque wrenches and the best I can do is to get one handed to me over the counter which is not a problem but they don't seem to have the right one.Others tell me that the torque wrenches don't have a guarantee.
I must look into the welding angle,I have some small tips for my B tank,that might be worth a shot.I have used methyl ethyl ketone on plastic with some success in the past,I might give that a shot.
That socket set is pretty handy to me as it has 3 useless ratchets in it which are frozen with rust because that is the only way that they will stay together,I cannot believe that sears would market such trash but it has both metric and fractional sockets of many varieties and it is really nice to have everything in one place sometimes.Thanks for the help.Ron G