Thank you for the additional information. It's clearly a design flaw, and also using plastic in this application is an issue. I guess what I'm trying to accomplish is to make a permanent repair - one that will not fail over time.
I've been lucky in that I have more than one Hatchet pair and I can move parts between them as they wear, but the hinge issue is a problem because it will fail just from regular (and careful) use over time.
At his time I'm starting to consider using a metal for the block part of the plunger, though I'm not sure if this will cause too much friction on the aluminum arm. I may combine metal with epoxy liner for the aluminum arm to slice on the epoxy part. I wish I was a jeweler for this sort of work...
I've been lucky in that I have more than one Hatchet pair and I can move parts between them as they wear, but the hinge issue is a problem because it will fail just from regular (and careful) use over time.
At his time I'm starting to consider using a metal for the block part of the plunger, though I'm not sure if this will cause too much friction on the aluminum arm. I may combine metal with epoxy liner for the aluminum arm to slice on the epoxy part. I wish I was a jeweler for this sort of work...