Brain Fart During Assembly....

Ok. So I just wanted to share a little experience I had today. I just aquired an old beige/white horseshor product engine the other day. So as it was sticky, I decided to give it a bath. I decided to use rc fuel for this one as it was not that bad overall, and to just fire up my crock-pot for a crankcase, cylinder, and piston was just not feasible. Also the main reason is the backplate was very dirty. Anyways, during disassembly, I realized that there was no crankcase gasket, reed or retainer. Looking around, I managed to find a spring retainer then made a reed out of a floppy disc. I installed it after the cleaning and assembly. I just polished the crankcase without sanding, and it turned out quite well I must say. Also, I should have seen it when I bought it, the backplate was missing a screw, should have known... I had a few longer 2-56 screws that I cut with wirecutters and filed smooth and round on the ends (I also put on a nut before cutting). So now I had a new reed, retainer, gasket, and screws. I then put in th eneedle and installed the fuel line on the pickup barb on the bottom of the engine. It failed the suck and blow test badly. So I made 2 more reeds from .001 and .002 stainless. They also failed the test. I was mad and only then realized my mistake..... I was blowing in the fuel line and all the air was coming right out the tube. I then blocked off the fuel line, and inserted a piece of tubing in the back of the venturi tube. They all worked much better, but still not a 100% seal. I will have to likve with it as I do not know what else to do. Only time will tell, and sprng cannot come fast enough!