Moment with Mike: Tire glue belongs in a zoo

0 July 26, 2013, 7:10 a.m.

Main Photo: Moment with Mike: Tire glue belongs in a zoo

7/29/2013

By Mike Garrison
LiveRC.com

This weekend I experienced possibly the worst thing in my R/C lifetime. Over the years I have seen people hit with R/C cars, falling off driver's stands, face planting while turn marshalling, and the list goes on and on. None of these, however, even begin to compare to the nightmare that is still haunting me this morning.

I decided Sunday afternoon it might be good to spend a little time refreshing my cars. Some basic clean-up, new oils, and maybe a diff rebuild or two. I get all settled in, ready to begin the Sunday afternoon cleaning session, and roll my travelling bag up beside me. I unzip the bag and begin unpacking the items on top such as my pit mat, charger, soldering iron, and so on. On the bottom of the bag sits my radio bag, my toolbox, my car, and my tires.

I unpack all of the items on top, and reach to the bottom of my back for the toolbox. As I grab onto it and pull it towards me, the entire bag comes with it. I reach over and grab my brand new tires. As I grab onto them and pull towards me, the entire bag once again comes with it. The same for my car and my radio bag.

At first I am confused as to what is going on, when suddenly I see something laying in the bottom of my bag. Also stuck to the bag is not one, but TWO empty glue bottles.

Apparently while last time at the track, I hastily packed my bag not fully considering the consequences of "tossing the glue in."

I was SO mad that I wanted to pick my car up and throw it! (Except that I couldn't because it was glued to the inside of my bag.) After a slight panic attack, a small temper tantrum, and an entire box of Milk Duds...I calmed myself enough to go assess the situation and find a solution.

One hour later, I had successfully cut the toolbox, radio bag, and car from the lining of my bag. The tires did not survive, and will forever be embedded in the bottom of the bag. Lucky for me, I had just purchased a brand new pair of scissors which did a phenomenal job helping me out.

Come to think of it, I should go right now and put those in my toolbox for future use... SON OF B*%#! my toolbox is glued shut!

Mike's Racer Tip of the Week:

Packing away your tire glue is like trying to tame a wild monkey. You can never really tame it, at some point it WILL try to bite you, BUT if you take the time to lock it up in a cage the consequences of it's bite are far less. If you let it run loose outside it's cage, it will most often ruin your possessions one at a time, and maybe even try to eat you. Also like wild monkeys, if kept in pairs, eventually they will begin working together and find a way to ruin your Sunday afternoon in anyway possible.