Neanderthal,<br><br>Thanks for the tip; I may consider it. How old is the oldest compass that you've done that to?<br><br>Shame we have to modify our manufactured articles to make them work properly, but that GE Silicon II is amazingly versatile stuff. We used to slip sections of plastic soda straws over wire splices and squirt the stuff in to water/corrosion proof the splice, on boats or boat trailers.<br><br>When I was a kid I had an old brass bearing compass, dry, with a needle lock ( a little brass fork on a cam that lifted the needle off the bearing a few thousandths of an inch and pressed it against the crystal) and it actually worked rather well. With a little practice you could use the lock dampen the swinging needle pretty easily, and you could sight on a target, gently lock the needle with your eye still on the target, and then read the bearing as a separate operation, sort of like using a sextant. It may have been more primitive than liquid filled compasses, but I couldn’t see any lateral movement of the needle at all when it was lifted, and I’m not sure that it wasn’t more accurate and easier than trying to both aim at a distant object and read the bearing in one operation. Also, with the needle locked, it could be transported with no bearing wear at all, and little worry about damage.<br><br>Liquid filled compasses are great at the helm of a boat, in a car, or on your wrist.. but we might just have over-applied the tech when it comes to taking bearings.<br>