Compliant Glue??

[rblakemore]

Is there a compliant glue/adhesive???
My son sent me a web site with 20 actions to improve pens and one is to use a compliant glue - primarily a polyurethane glue; apparently, CA and epoxy are too solid and do not give as the pen material slowly changes (heat, humidity, dropped, etc). Is this true?? My wife and I have changed from CA to epoxy and I am pleased with epoxy. Does anyone use a compliant glue???

 

[monophoto]

My understanding is that CA tends to be very brittle when cured.

One of the advantages of epoxy is that is is somewhat less brittle. And polyurethane is even better in that respect.

I routinely use polyurethane to glue tubes in pens, mainly because it comes premixed and is therefore somewhat less of a hassle to use.

 

[walshjp17]

There are pluses and minuses to each adhesive. Kurt Hertzog (the author of the article noted above - located here 20 Steps to Turning Better Pens - The Woodworkers Institute) is a proponent of polyurethane glues (such as Gorilla Glue) but he notes that other adhesives will work fine depending upon factors such as humidity, wood species, working time and others.

The thing I don't like about polyurethane are its expanding properties when working with brittle woods or thin acrylics. I have cracked a few blanks when the glue expanded so I now stick to epoxy and, occasionally, CA.

 

[kovalcik]

I would be interested in who made up the list. A lot of people use CA and Epoxy without any issues. Can you post a link?

EDIT: Nevermind, Walshjp beat my post.

 

[sbell111]

My advice is to take such lists with a grain of salt. With nearly every step of the pen making process, there are as many valid ways to complete it as there are people giving advice. Some of these people can be very forthright about how their way is the best and only way, but that doesn't make it so.

Find what works for you and do it that way. If you are having problems with something, post your issue and plenty of people will chime in with possible fixes. Choose a fix that works for you.

 

[toddlajoie]

The thing I don't like about polyurethane are its expanding properties when working with brittle woods or thin acrylics. I have cracked a few blanks when the glue expanded so I now stick to epoxy and, occasionally, CA.

I never had any blanks break back when I was using the polyurethane glue, but it sure will show you if you have any voids in your wood... Of course by the time it shows you, it is too late to fill it with anything more interesting than polyurethane glue...

 

[BayouPenturner]

I use both epoxy and CA without any issues.

The Polyurethane glues can make a mess.

 

[triw51]

I use mostly thick CA and use epoxy some of the time I agree that gorllia glue is a mess and I don.t like the way it stains my fingers (even if I use gloves I get stains)

 

[1080Wayne]

The thing I don't like about polyurethane are its expanding properties when working with brittle woods or thin acrylics. I have cracked a few blanks when the glue expanded so I now stick to epoxy and, occasionally, CA.

I never had any blanks break back when I was using the polyurethane glue, but it sure will show you if you have any voids in your wood... Of course by the time it shows you, it is too late to fill it with anything more interesting than polyurethane glue...

Not quite too late . Dig out the glue with a sharp point , fill with coffee grounds , turquoise or other contrasting material , use thin CA to hold it in , and you have converted the hole into a feature .