Ha! Back to try to fix this problem. I was at my workbench after I posted this, looking down at the remains of about five p^&*ture repair kits, all brimming with patches, sandpaper, etc, but each now
missing a tube of glue. When I had a thought.... what if I could get a big pot of glue, and refillable squeezy tubes? Surely it's worth a go....
And behold, thanks to the wonders of a website named after a large South American river, I was able to purchase a pot of rubber cement, as well as a dozen refillable lip balm tubes, all for around 12 quid. Worst case scenario? This doesn't work, but all I've really wasted is the 4 quid on the refillable squeezy tubes as I'll use the rubber cement instead of breaking into the puncture repair kits!
If you look at the photo, note the empty tube to the bottom left, with a top just to the right of it (and you can't see it easily but it has a point that goes into the tube top that is the dispenser just to its right to help seal it). Also there is my first tube filled with rubber cement (done by using a straw with my finger tip over the top once there is glue in the straw and then removed when the straw is inside the fillable tube. And just to finish things off:
I wrapped the tube with insulation tape to help seal it (though actually I'm not even sure I need this judging by the feel of the seal). Battery is there to give you an idea of the size of the tube.
OK, the good things: i. I can now see the rubber cement in the tube -if it magically disappears, at least I'll bloody well know now instead of have the frustration of squeezing and squeezing a tube with nothing coming out..... ii. the money I spent on it was the cost of around 5-6 repair kits, and I reckon if this works, this will last for 20 kits (risk vs reward) plus I'll still have plenty of glue for when I repair my tubes in the comfort of my basement..
Here's hoping it works!