Maraca mysteriously goes silent

[s219]

So this is the great mystery of my morning. My 2 year old daughter has a set of maracas that she loves to shake when dancing and listening to music. The handle popped off one of them the other day, and she brought it to me and said "dada fix". So I took it out to my shop, and glued the wooden handle back to the plastic top part with a dab of GE silicone. This morning I go fetch it, and hand to her. She pulled on the handle, nodded, said "dada fix" and I thought I was golden. Then she shook it and it was silent! She gave me the most betrayed look I've ever seen!

If I beat the heck out of it against the palm of my hand, it will start to rattle, but then slowly goes silent again. Best I can figure is that somehow a static charge built up inside and is making the beads stick, but I have to admit, this is a mystery that is even challenging my rocket scientist brain. My workshop is only heated to 55F in winter, so I suppose temperature could be a factor, or perhaps curing silicone somehow created a charge. But I am baffled. I generally have a reputation among family/friends as the guy who can fix anything, but right now I'm on my daughter's naughty list.

Anyhow, I throw this out as an entertaining mystery from a baffled fix-it man. Any ideas, pass them on!

 

[davesl708]

My thoughts are it is not static but rather the silicone did not cure in the cold temps. The peas inside are sticking to the excess silicone.
Just a guess.
Good luck and make a trip to the store for a new one.

 

[s219]

My thoughts are it is not static but rather the silicone did not cure in the cold temps. The peas inside are sticking to the excess silicone.
Just a guess.
Good luck and make a trip to the store for a new one.

Well there is no way for the silicone to even get inside -- the top part with the beads is sealed, and the handle just glues into a little socket on the bottom. Like a dowel into a hole basically.

 

[oosik]

Take the maraca and rub it vigorously on something hairy. Your dog, a fur coat, a fur collar etc. As you indicate the beads inside may have a static charge - if so, the rubbing action should reverse this charge.

 

[zing]

No idea how to fix it, but if you do buy a new one, make sure you crack that old one open and tell us how it worked/how it broke. You have me curious.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Silicone needs to absorb water from the air to cure. So if it is in an airtight container it never cures. So if there's a crack or a pinhole and a little bit got in it would never cure.

 

[s219]

Take the maraca and rub it vigorously on something hairy. Your dog, a fur coat, a fur collar etc. As you indicate the beads inside may have a static charge - if so, the rubbing action should reverse this charge.

I'm going to try that tomorrow and see if it helps -- thanks! If that doesn't work, I will yank the handle off again, drill out the plug on the bottom, and see what's happening inside. Can always add a few BBs to get some rattle back, and then reassemble.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

The relationship between the broken handle, the fix with silicone adhesive and the failure of the maraca to function seems just too bizarre not to be related. Silicone has a mind of it's own; I took my truck in to a mechanic because the pan was leaking. He "fixed" it with silicone, which promptly got into the oil pump and ruined the bearings. I really have my doubts that there is a static electricity issue here, unless, here again, it was facilitated somehow by the silicone. I will be interested to see how this pans out.

 

[davrow]

I will be interested to see how this pans out.

Yep, I'm keeping my eyes glued to the screen.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Yep, I'm keeping my eyes glued to the screen.

:laughing: I'm not holding my breath though! :laughing:

 

[s219]

So I finally got a chance to look at this tonight, and it appears the culprit was ..... drum roll ..... grape juice!!! After yanking the handle off, I popped a little cap sealing the hole in the shaker, and managed to shake out one little BB that was very sticky. Looked in there and it was kinda purple and smelled fruity. Ran it under hot water and shook out another 10-15 BBs. I am thinking that someone maybe tried to pour grape juice in the hole when the handle came off, and enough dribbled in to gum things up. I never bothered to check the "shake shake" function before fixing the handle, but it was probably gummed up before I even got ahold of it.

Anyhow, some of the paint rubbed off when I was washing it out, so I ended up sanding it down and gave it a couple coats of Kubota orange paint (was handy and she likes tractors). If I can somehow manage to chuck this thing in my drill to spin it, I might add some John Deere green and yellow stripes. Then reload it with the now clean BBs, glue the handle back on, and hope for the best. If all else fails, I'll buy her a new set (which I should have done in the first place, since this is entirely too much effort for a maraca, but I got hooked by the mystery of it all).

As the father of a toddler, I find I am learning new things every day....

 

[2LaneCruzer]

"As the father of a toddler, I find I am learning new things every day...."

And it should continue thus for years to come. It's one of life's great adventures...and if you haven't figured it out already, little girls think that Daddy can fix anything. I made a special effort not to disappoint my little girls, so consequently you often put way more effort into "fixing" something for them than it is actually worth. I learned things about dolls held together with rubber bands and other girly stuff. It does get more difficult as time goes on though. I finally had to quit "fixing" things the second time my daughter trashed the engine in her VW. She and I went down to the bank, I co-signed for a loan for her, and she paid the $800 back herself. I wouldn't trade those memories for the world.