Jim, I think he's talking about the joint between the comptip and the aluminum mast section being loose.
Howard, you are correct, the mast tang rivets hold the comptip into the lower section. The comptip may have also been glued into the mast. To get the comptip out, you will need to carefully drill out the heads on all the rivets (be sure to get yourself a fresh, sharp drill bit or two for this because the rivets are stainless steel). The rivets are 3/16" diameter and I usually use a 1/4" drill bit to take off the heads. Once you have the heads drilled off, you can pull off the mast tang. Then use a punch to drive the remaining rivet shank into the mast. At this point, if the comptip is already loose, you should be able to slide it right out.
Clean up any residual adhesive/dirt/grease/etc. from the mast sections. Mask off both the aluminum and comptip mast sections. Apply thickened resin to the comptip and re-install it into the mast. I would suggest using something like West Systems six10 resin. It is pre-thickened, can be applied using a standard caulk gun, and has a good amount of working time. Make sure the comptip is properly aligned with the mast and inserted all the way (you can put the rivets into the holes to confirm this, but don't pull them yet. Wipe off any excess resin that squeezed out of the mast joint and let the mast cure overnight. Then rivet the mast tang back on.
sm
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