Fixing the Flying I on a Triumph Norm-6 Portable Typewriter

The typeslug "Ii" on this lovely burgundy Triumph Norm-6 portable typewriter had decided to sprout wings and take flight. It seems someone must have toggled it and snapped the clip underneath it - a tiny, thin piece of metal which normally wraps under the head of the typebar and grips it in place. These typeslugs are like small sleeves that fit snuggly on to the typebar heads.
There was only one thing for it: good ol' Araldite.

But this of course meant a great deal of care needed to be taken to make sure it was refitted correctly, so that it left exactly the same impression as the other typebars. Once Araldite is applied, it dries almost instantly and a typeslug that's not flush and in the right place will be impossible to realign.

The operation proved a complete success and the typeslug will now stay grounded as long as this typewriter keeps working - probably another 200 or 300 years at least.

Araldite is a two-part epoxy adhesive that's been around since the Swiss Industries Fair in 1945. I figured it was good enough to reattach a Triumph portable typewriter typeslug, since it is used to join together the two sections of carbon composite which make up the monocoque of the Lamborghini Aventador.

As well, Araldite was used to bond the rib sections of the shells on the Sydney Opera House.

Plus Brian May (ex-Queen) used it to seal the pickups in his homemade Red Special guitar to prevent microphonic feedback.

In 1983, British advertising agency FCO Univas set up a visual stunt presentation of the strength of Araldite by gluing a yellow Ford Cortina to a billboard on Cromwell Road, London, with the tagline "It also sticks handles to teapots".