Glue Question

[regular guy]

have a Guillows Goldwing kit from local hobby shop
it came with small bottle of Elmer's
what about Bob Smith med CA glue Guillow's carries

[SteveM]

Either will work fine, Use the search feature to find several existing threads on glues.

[H65 Driver]

Perhaps a tutorial from one of our esteemed forum wizards on how to use the search feature would be helpful. In an attempt to find a few threads to help 'regular guy' with his question, I first typed glue into the search box. I received this:

"The following words in your search query were ignored because they are too common words: glue.
You must specify at least one word to search for. Each word must consist of at least 3 characters and must not contain more than 14 characters excluding wildcards."

OK, I thought, let's try best glue. This search returned 433 threads that had both the words "best" and "glue" randomly located in them. Pretty worthless. So, having some experience with searches, I chose to put quotes around the words (i.e., "best glue") in the hope of finding examples where the words are put together in a meaningful fashion. Unfortunately, the search ignored the quotes and returned the same 433 threads from before.

After getting similar results with adhesive and "best adhesive", I gave up. I also feel that the instructions on the forum's "Advanced Search" page and the answers to the "FAQ" on searches are similarly confusing/meaningless to novices. I can certainly see why someone who is new to the hobby or to this forum would simply choose to ask the experts. But, hey, the search feature is there for a reason I guess, so if someone is able to use it to successfully locate the answer to a very general question such as this, more power to 'em. It just didn't work for me.

[SteveM]

A few years ago there were only a hundred or two threads and one didn't even have to use the search feature to find the one or two threads on glue, all a person had to do was scan through a dozen or so pages. At 38 pages of 25 threads each that's really not going to be effective in finding the 20 or so duplicate glue threads and I assure you that until the forum software was upgraded a few weeks ago that search feature was very useful and did not require a tutorial.

The problem with the search is that the new forum software has a feature to filter out commonly used words in an effort to reduce the workload on the server while performing the search and to help limit the search results to what should be more helpful threads. The idea is to filter out words like "the", "and", and so forth, but you can imagine that the word "glue" comes up a lot so it got filtered out. To fix this the board admin must lower the filtering threshold of the feature or disable it then rebuild the search index.

In the meantime use Google to search this forum, here is your tutorial:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=site%3Ahttp%3A%2F% ... phpBB+glue

[regular guy]

how long does the Elmer's take to set?
how long does it take to totally dry ?

[SteveM]

how long does the Elmer's take to set?
how long does it take to totally dry ?

[Xanadu]

White glue takes a couple of hours to dry, keep things clamped in place during this time.

I like to use Weldbond white glue, good stuff, tacky, dries clear and easy to sand.

[regular guy]

thank you xanadu
sounds like the way it has always worked
Weldbond is a premium type white glue
then what would it be like using
Bob Smith CA glue purple?
is it the new way to do this?
just glue together and it's done?

[Xanadu]

I use CA glues, they have their place. But they are hard to sand. The only added benefit is they work quite fast, but not instantly as some folks think (unless you use an accelerator).

If your going to use them, buy a Medium thickness. Thin is not going to work well for what you want, and thick takes longer to set. Also buy a bottle of accelerator for those times you want to instantly stick.
Thin is for when you have 2 very tight joints, and I mean very tight..........no gaps, etc. And it wicks up quite fast through the wood penetrating like crazy. I have has stick my fingers to sheeting 4 inches away from where I applied it!

That reminds me, also buy a bottle of debonder........you will need it when you stick your fingers together. Don't think you won;t do that, its not if you do, its when you do it. I still have my bottle of debonder from BSI I bought over 5 years ago. Lasts a long time, but when I needed it, was sure thankful I had it.

[Steve Blanchard]

Hi Regular Guy. I just wanted to add my opinion on the glue question so you have all sides of this. What I have been using for 11 years now is thin CA. The best way to do this is outlined below:
1. Make an applicator tool (this is very easy. Take a 1/8"thick x 1/4" wide x 5" long(these dimensions are just examples) stick of hard balsa. Take 2 pins and place them on either side of the stick and glue them in with CA and wrap thread if you have it and then more CA. Bend the two pins in toward each other so they are almost touching. This will look like a 2 tine fork of sorts.
2.Get the two parts that you want to stick together and sand them as necessary so they fit together as perfect as possible. Place them together dry and hold them in position.
3.You should have a pea sized drop of CA on a piece of wax paper close by.
4. Dip the the end of your applicator tool in the CA so it picks up a small drop. Touch the applicator to the joint and PRESTO! you have a light easy to sand joint that is instantly cured.
There are ways to make this even better and as you use this method, or any other for that matter, you will develop your own best way of doing things. The only way to decide whats best for you is to try whatever you think may work and decide from there. The main thing to remember is that no matter what glue you use you must keep in mind the weight gain associated with too much of any glue. If your main concern is flying, especially rubber powered, weight is very important. If you get started in using the CA method I've described and you have any questions please feel free to PM me for more information so not to create a huge debate on the forum. Glue choice seems to create a lot reactions. It's a lot like religion and politics. It make some people want to leave the room.
Good Luck!

Steve

[SteveM]

The whole point of a forum such as this is to share ideas and information. Switching communication to PM only serves to enlighten one person which is selfish and perpetrates the false notion that the people of this forum are unwilling to agree to disagree. I happen to be from the camp that each type of glue has its best application and can easily use a half dozen or more types of glue on a single model. I also happen to develop an allergic reaction to CA fumes so clearly CA is not the best glue for me regardless of its other properties. If you could find those other glue related threads of public discussion I think you'll find open, honest, and differing opinions.

[Steve Blanchard]

I was certainly not trying leave anyone out. I was just attempting to be considerate to those who prefer everyone not rehash old discussions and use older threads to glean their information. My apologies. Please let me me know if you have any questions and I'll be happy to help out right here in the open.

Steve

[regular guy]

xanadu
good tip about 'doesn't dry instantly'
steve
this is my first kit in a lonng time
i'll be lucky to struggle through building it
building your tool sounds like a future project

[cliffm]

I'm from the camp of many glues,as others do appreciate that some glues have their attributes for various applications. A few years ago I started building again and the glues available have "really" changed from 50 yrs. back. I liked the instant response of the c.a. glues but when I use them in a not so well ventilated area I got these very extreme headaches and sinus reactions that were quite unpleasant. Now, when I use them I have a small fan to keep the fumes at bay. My wife has no reaction to it at all as she uses it to fix fingernails and other "major" emergencies, but for me it's serious,red face,running nose,and a migraine to put an end to a nice day. Sorry if I am rambling,but, this may save someone some major discomfort.

[kittyfritters]

Here is my contribution to the glue issue.

I use either TiteBond II or Elmer's Carpenter's Glue for most of my balsa structures. I will use C/A for emergency repairs. I always use a "kicker" to set the C/A instantly, thus reducing exposure to the fumes. But, I use a dribble bottle to apply the kicker directly to the joint, never spray it. The kicker has it's own chemical exposures.

As for technique, most of my non-C/A glue joints are "double glued", one application to let the glue penetrate the wood and a second application, a fifteen to twenty seconds later, to stick it together. I use a Monoject #412 irrigation syringe, or precision oiler depending on where you buy it, to apply the glue. A pin in the end of the syringe will keep the glue from drying out for a couple of weeks. Wash the syringe with warm water every time you reload it.

I sometimes use the original Gorilla Glue for wet laminations. It is a urethane foam glue that is kicked off by moisture. The excess squeezed out of the joints turns to foam and is easily sanded off. Wear vinyl or nitrile gloves when using it.

White glues, like Elmer's regular, and the yellow carpenter's glues can be set, when you are in a hurry, in twenty minutes in a 200 degree (F) oven. Don't go over 212 degrees or the water in the glue will boil and blow the joints apart.

The yellow glues can also be set in a few seconds in a microwave, but home microwaves are not as well equipped or as precisely controllable as the furniture factory versions, as the photo shows, so I don't recommend it. (In this case I missed removing one, hidden, pin before attempting to accelerate the glue setting. Home microwaves don't have a metal detector.)