You No Longer Have to Live With a Damaged Inkwell
by Ernie Bauer

With years of experience as a shop teacher, Ernie amazed and delighted members with the story of his original discovery that it was fairly simple and inexpensive to repair metal items (his specialty), and how these repair techniques can be applied to inkstands.

Ernie's "magic formula" included either epoxy resin or superglue (cyanoacrolate), depending on the metal, used either alone or with holes and rods or pins. These two glues can be used to produce almost undetectable repairs, and the method is both inexpensive and easy.

Ernie explained in detail:
- basic tools needed to do the work
- how to clean the joint
- how to determine clamping procedure
- how to apply glue
- how to color or "rust" the seam
- tips for dealing with unique areas of breakage
- how to use rods or pins to strengthen an area

Members were able to view several excellent before and after photos of repairs, and one pleased member indicated that one of Ernie's samples was his inkstand that Ernie had repaired for him!

Note: Ernie has his own repair business in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, called Crafted Designs.

This is a general overview of the presentation and does not capture the presentation in its entirety.