I am slowly putting together a videotape on rebuilding the Ampico Model
B -- from start to finish.  But one of the many little "tricks" to
doing a set of valves is clearing the ball bleed hole after the pouch
board is reglued back to the block.

A medium-thick hot hide glue is painted around the pouch board and then
the board is joined to the valve block again with its new pouch.  The
assembly is aligned together by pressing its mounting face against a
flat surface and small rubber bands keep a little pressure against the
two halves while it is drying.  But the glue, often as not, gets
squeezed into the ball bleed hole channel going to the pouch.

If this channel leaks to the stack vacuum supply hole, the pouch won't
work.  And if this hole is clogged with glue, the valve will return
very slowly and repetition will suffer.

The way I have found works best -- because it fixes both possible
problems is a simple Yello-Bole pipe stem cleaner.  As you are gluing
valves, just curve the cleaning stick at the end and insert it into the
ball bleed hole.  It will go right down to the pouch board and the
chenille will wipe the glue out of the hole and coat the sides of the
hole at the same time wherever there might have been a leak to the
supply.

There are also other things one needs to know prior to valve block
reassembly if he plans on replacing the ball bleeds with new ones from
Bob Streicher, but I thought someone might profit from this comment if
they are not replacing ball bleeds (which they should, by the way).

Craig Brougher