CA glue or Epoxy?

[Denco]

I haven't been turning long. I have just about used up the expoxy glue I got with my PSI starter kit.

Which glue do you prefer for glueing barrels to the blanks?
CA glue or Expoxy? Why?

Thinking about changing over, but was interested in your opinions.

Thx in advance.--Den

 

[dougle40]

Den,
Neither - I prefer Tightbond polyuerthane glue because , to me at least , it seems to penatrate the wood better , but that's just a personal choice and I'm sure that you'll get answers that lean on both CA and Epoxy .
You've got to try all of them and decide for yourself which one YOU prefer .

 

[Fingerworks]

I've tried epoxy, polyuerthane and CA. I think they're all great choices but I've settled on CA, primarily because of speed. I also find that there's no need to worry about plugging the ends of the tubes as virtually no glue gets inside.

 

[DCBluesman]

I love my polyurethane glue (I use Gorilla Glue, but just because that's what I picked up). It can be just a little messy to work with, but it expands to fill any voids between the tube and the blank and it remains somewhat flexible as the surrounding wood expands and contracts with humidity.

 

[wayneis]

On wood blanks I now use epoxy glue because I've had problems with CA in the past. The only time I use CA is with acrylics occasonally when I'm in a hurry. I always use wax to plug one end because, I learned the hard way. I just had completed turning and finishing a four piece desk set and was assembling everything. I got to the pencil and when I pressed in the second tube I pushed to hard and ended up cracking the wood and wrecking the the whole barrel. Come to find out a tiny bit of CA had got inside the tube that could not be seen and I had even run a gun cleaning brush through there was just enough to blow it up. But the really bad part was that it was a special order from a customer that was to be a birthday present for her Husband. I had to order in another kit, turn another barrel and then send it overnight delivery because the customer lived several hundred miles away. Luckly it arrived on the day of his Birthday but quite a bit of my profit was eaten up by the extra kit and the extra postage for overnight delivery. That was the last time I used CA for a wood tube and I've only used it about twice on an acrylic blank because I was in a hurry. I don't have those problems with epoxy and the poly glues because you can easyly see it inside the tube if any gets inside.

Wayne

 

[Doghouse]

I had problems with CA and did not like the foaming of poly, so I have been using epoxy. I usually glue my blanks 1 night then turn the next. Use potato to plug the tube no matter what you are using, this helps prevent glue in the tube.

 

[Old Griz]

I use 5 minute epoxy on all my kits...have never had a blank spin out on me... I use it on corn cobs, antler and wood...
I also drill and glue my blanks the day before... I am usually turning at least 10 pens at a time to keep my stock up.. but even when doing a single I can glue and turn within 10 minutes...

 

[Denco]

Thanks, again, All for your input. It was very helpful to hear all the different views. --Den

 

[Guest]

CA all the way.
cut,drill,glue,mill,turn.
I've tried 5 min epoxy on finials and glue ups and have more problems than it's worth.
Might be the brand of epoxy I'm using,all I know is I cringe when I look at it.
I do use medium or thick CA depending on the dry fir of the tube.
One reason I may not have a problem with CA is I scuff the tubes on my belt sander with 80 grit.
I hold them at an angle with a long screw driver and let them"bounce" on the sanding belt.
It really roughs them up.

 

[Denco]

Originally posted by Eaglesc
<br />CA all the way.
cut,drill,glue,mill,turn.
I've tried 5 min epoxy on finials and glue ups and have more problems than it's worth.
Might be the brand of epoxy I'm using,all I know is I cringe when I look at it.
I do use medium or thick CA depending on the dry fir of the tube.
One reason I may not have a problem with CA is I scuff the tubes on my belt sander with 80 grit.
I hold them at an angle with a long screw driver and let them"bounce" on the sanding belt.
It really roughs them up.

Interesting. How long do you wait between gluing and turning? Is the CA glue sold at woodworking stores different than the stuff you can get at most any store?

 

[C_Ludwigsen]

I have come to prefer the poly glue over the CA for most of my pens. But if I need to whip one out same day, I'll use the gap-filling CA. I have blown 3 blanks off the tubes that were CA'd and ZERO that were poly glued.