preferred guing

[seht]

So is there a consensus on preferred glue to be used for gluing up blanks?
Does it change depending on what the materials are?

Thanks!

Scott

 

[JimB]

Some use CA (thick) while others use 2 part epoxy. I think more people use the epoxy because with CA you don't have any working time and it can cure before you get the tube all the way in plus some people have bad reactions to CA.

Some people use gorilla glue but I haven't read anything recently about people using it.

 

[Hawkdave]

I now use 2 part epoxy all the time. I tried CA glue, but had troubles with some of the blanks.

Dave.

 

[TonyL]

Over 80% of the time, epoxy (acrylic and/or wood). Medium CA the rest of the time, but mainly for wood. That is just what I do.

 

[OOPS]

The reason why CA sets up too fast in some wood blanks is not merely cure time. Some resins have chemicals that cause CA to immediately set up. I use polyurethane for all wood blanks. For acrylic, I use two part epoxy. For CA to set up the best, the interior surfaces should be slightly roughed up. Some acrylics need to be SANDED to remove drill marks in order to achieve the best effect. Also, epoxy glue can be tinted with pigment, as an alternative to painting the inside of the blank. Polyurethane bubbles up, which reduces the ability of light to pass through it. I really like the ease of use for poly, but it just won't work well for acrylic blanks. I hope this helps.

 

[seht]

Thanks for all the answers!

 

[Notscottish]

The reason why CA sets up too fast in some wood blanks is not merely cure time. Some resins have chemicals that cause CA to immediately set up. I use polyurethane for all wood blanks. For acrylic, I use two part epoxy. For CA to set up the best, the interior surfaces should be slightly roughed up. Some acrylics need to be SANDED to remove drill marks in order to achieve the best effect. Also, epoxy glue can be tinted with pigment, as an alternative to painting the inside of the blank. Polyurethane bubbles up, which reduces the ability of light to pass through it. I really like the ease of use for poly, but it just won't work well for acrylic blanks. I hope this helps.

When you reference Polyurethane glue, is it Gorilla type glue that you mean, or is there some other Polyurethane based glue that works?

Also, I found that Gorilla Glue leaves a dark line between wood segments, so while I might use it for gluing the brass tubes, I do not use it for the segmented pieces.

 

[OOPS]

Hi Notscottish: The Polyurethane glue I have used has been Sumo, which has been discontinued by the manufacturer. I bought some up, so I had extra. Several friends have tried Gorilla Glue, which is a poly too, but were not happy with the results. The Gorilla product was excessively foamy, and didn't seem to adhere as well. Titebond makes a poly, but I haven't tried it yet. Also, I wouldn't use poly for segmenting, as the foam might remain visible and hard to remove. I would use 2 part epoxy for the segmenting.

 

[Edgar]

There are a variety of opinions on this topic, so experiment & see what works best for you.

I use medium CA for all my blanks, wood & acrylic. If the fit is a little loose, I use thick CA.

After lots of trial & error and a few premature adhesions & glue failures, I have adopted these techniques:
I do not rough up my tubes or blanks.
Make sure the blank is clean & dry - do not blow it out with your own breath - use compressed air.
Let the blank cool a bit after drilling - I usually wait at least 30 min.
Test fit the tube before gluing - it should slide in & out from both sides very easily without a big gap. If it takes any force at all without glue, redrill a half or one mm larger.
Make sure you get good glue coverage on the tube - insert with an in & out and twisting motion to get good coverage on the inside of the tube.
Let the glue cure before turning - I like to give it a full 24 hours, but sometimes I just give it an hour or two in which case, I try not to be too aggressive with my turning.

I have not had any problems with CA glue when I follow all these rules. YMMV

Edgar

 

[Edgar]

By the way, my favorite CA glue is 2P-10 from FastCap.

I've tried most of the major brands & I get the most consistent results with 2P-10. It also has a longer shelf life than other brands. You can order it on Amazon or directly from FastCap.

 

[jttheclockman]

Hello Seht (keep wanting to write Seth)

You posted this question in the segmenting forum so I will give you my answer accordingly to segmenting of a blank. Never ever use polyurethane glue for segmenting. Be careful of the materials you use when segmenting. Try keeping like materials together such as woods with woods and metals or acrylics together. You will avoid movement problems down the road. I use almost exclusively a 2 part epoxy system. I will on occasion use a med CA if i need quick setup on a build. The stress of those joints will be somewhat relieved when the tube is glued in and for that it is always Epoxy.
Good luck.