I made a bunch a couple months ago no fails yet and best of all no leaky lids. They recommend a 24$ superglue, I used 5$ Home Depot version, ran them thru several dishwasher and sanitizer/cleaner soaks with no problem. The trick is to use a tiny drop of glue (way less than you think you need) so it doesn't get brittle at the glue joint and trick 2 is to cut very straight and clean. I got the cheap splicing jig but it was useless for me. Got a long fresh razor like the bigger clicker knife blades, set one end of blade into a cutting board so it doesn't move, hold the cord very close to the cut, drop blade straight down and cut slow and evenly so it works like an office paper trimmer. No back & forth cutting. I think I cut 11-7/8" pieces but I forgot to write it down. very carefully align the cord ends and hold. Give it a bit to let the glue set up and try to pull them apart. If it does, toss it. They wont clean up & re-glue, I tried. They will only come apart if you didn't make a straight mating cut or used too little glue. The last few tries look factory, cant even see the seam without my reading glasses. I think I wasted the first 3 or 4 using the jig, sawing instead of chopping, too much glue, misaligned, etc.