l, not -l wrote:
> On 16-Jan-2009, dsi1 > wrote:
>
>>> Once upon a time, casein was used in the making of plastic and has been
>>> used
>>> to make such diverse products as buttons and fountain pens. While
>>> casein is
>>> somewhat water resistant, prolonged exposure, such as soaking a fountain
>>> pen
>>> barrel for hours to remove accumulated crud, will cause softening,
>>> swelling
>>> and distortion.
>>> --
>>> Change Cujo to Juno in email address.
>> So it's not waterproof, right? Sounds like casein plastic probably
>> predates bakelite. I like celluloid myself. :-)
>
> Not waterproof; only water resistant for short periods. It was a
> contemporary of bakelite, but offered much greater color choices. Casein
> plastic is still used, just not anywhere near the extent it once was. I
> like celluloid for fountain pens - it has a good feel; but, like most
> materials, it too has issues, especially when 50-75 years old (don't we
> all).

I did not know that casein based plastics were still in use. I used to
have an assortment of celluloid guitar picks - they were beautiful. The
nylon and delrin or whatever the hell they're using these days are
pretty drab. I guess there's not much use for that colorful, explosive
plastic these days. :-)

As far as Elmer's glue goes, perhaps it could work. I don't know.
Generally, we'll use whatever glue we have around. What else can we do?
:-)