Sumo Glue

[Bobalu]

I've seen a few people here on IAP mention that they are using Sumo glue versus CA or epoxy. My question is what method do you use to apply it on two non-porous surfaces, such as the brass tube and an acrylic blank. Does enough water stay on either to properly activate the glue? Which do you prefer to apply the glue to, brass tube or blank, or does it matter either way?

 

[1080Wayne]

I use Gorilla , rather than Sumo , but they should react the same . Immerse the blank in water before applying the glue . I put glue in each end of the tube , and also on the tube , which may be overkill . Should be turnable in 2-3 hours .

 

[tool-man]

I use Sumo. I dampen the inside of the blank and apply the glue to the inside of the blank with a jumbo pipe cleaner. Before I slide the tube all the way in I add just a little glue to the last .5" or so of the tube.

 

[Bobalu]

I use Gorilla , rather than Sumo , but they should react the same . Immerse the blank in water before applying the glue . I put glue in each end of the tube , and also on the tube , which may be overkill . Should be turnable in 2-3 hours .

I gave it a try and must say that I'm impressed. I've never been pleased with CA. Depending on the fit of the tube to the blank, coverage inside the blank was sometimes spotty, and working time way too short. Epoxy gave me a longer working time, but was messy. This stuff seems to fix both those issues. Granted, I've only glued up and turned two pens so far, but I'm pleased with the results and hopeful it will cure the problems I've had in the past. And this Sumo glue dries white, so maybe I won't have to paint so many tubes in the future. Thanks.

 

[toddlajoie]

They make the gorilla version in a white also, and I've done in on acrylics without water and the glue takes a little longer to cure, but I've never had a glue related mishap with acrylic. I have had the tubes come loose during squaring and turning on oily very hard woods (desert Ironwood and Ipe), even with the water (doesn't do much for the rock hard oily wood, I've tried cleaning the blank with DNA and mineral spirits to remove the surface oil, and never had a tube come loose when I did that, but then without it it was never a 100% occurance, so I can't say for sure if it helped or not...) So I wouldn't live or die by the need for water with acrylics, just give it a little more time, overnight if possible...

 

[1080Wayne]

Neglected to warn you of a nasty habit that plastic blanks have more frequently than wooden ones . As the glue expands , it can push the tube part way out of the hole . I assume plastics are worse because of a lower coefficient of friction . To reduce the probability of this happening , try to make sure that there isn`t a lot more excess glue on one end than the other , to equalize the forces . I suppose that plugging the tube ends with wax or potatoe as some do might achieve the same end , but I find it more work than cleaning out a bit of excess glue with a penknife .

 

[bitshird]

Neglected to warn you of a nasty habit that plastic blanks have more frequently than wooden ones . As the glue expands , it can push the tube part way out of the hole . I assume plastics are worse because of a lower coefficient of friction . To reduce the probability of this happening , try to make sure that there isn`t a lot more excess glue on one end than the other , to equalize the forces . I suppose that plugging the tube ends with wax or potatoe as some do might achieve the same end , but I find it more work than cleaning out a bit of excess glue with a penknife .

Use a rubber band stretched lengthwise over the hole in the blank or just masking tape, the tape cuts away easy enough, and the tubes will crawl out of wood also, you never know when or why.

 

[Rangertrek]

I use Gorilla glue and a fairly simple method to install the tubes. I spread an even coat of glue on the brass tube with a popsicle stick. Then I use a cotton swab (Q-tip type) dipped in water to moisten (not wet) the inside of the blank. I then twist the tube during insertion in the blank.

I also use Ken's rubber band idea (or a small clamp) to prevent the tube from moving. Since I have started using Gorilla glue (+/- 100+ pens), I have had no problems with tubes coming loose during turning and only one chip-off while turning. I think that was operator error and not a glue problem. Works for me.

 

[Bobalu]

Neglected to warn you of a nasty habit that plastic blanks have more frequently than wooden ones . As the glue expands , it can push the tube part way out of the hole .

This happened on the next couple of blanks I glued up. I came back to clean off the bit of glue that had expanded around the end of the blanks and found one had pushed out. Easy enough to fix, as the glue had yet to set fully. I'll use the rubber band method next time, as suggested in a couple of later replies. Thanks everyone.

 

[KenV]

I used polyurethane (Gorilla/Sumo) to repair wood deck boards in an inflatable dingy used in salt water. The knock down/assembly, inflation, use and abuse -- Handles that abuse and wear and tear well. Pen tubes are a minor stress in comparision.

These glues are great for doing a production run of 10-20 pens. Just setup and process.

The rubber bands come off well if the glue is set, but not hardened -- pretty high loss if you wait until the next day, but rubber bands are cheap cheap cheap.

 

[bybill]

Gorilla Glue

If you're worried about enoungh moisture just squirt a blob od glue on wax paper, add a small drop of water, mix and apply.

 

[jbeyer]

If you use sumo or Gurilla glue... if you wanted to paint the tube or the inside of the blank, how would that work?

 

[Padre]

Why water?

 

[nava1uni]

water acts as a catalyst for polyurethane glue. The glue needs moisture to set up properly. I use it in furniture repair prior to upholstering and it works very well and handles stress well. Haven't had any repair problems with any of the furniture and it has been years.

 

[toddlajoie]

If you use sumo or Gurilla glue... if you wanted to paint the tube or the inside of the blank, how would that work?

It works fairly well, being overly aggressive with twisting, spinning, pushing, pulling and otherwise moving around the tube (and glue along with it) will smear the paint, so if you fiddle with it too much, you may wipe some off in spots. It has seemed like this happened to me a few times, but in the end, it was not noticeable in the end product. By the way, I would paint the blank, not the tube, as sumo/gorilla foams as it cures, so by painting the blank, you don't see the glue, but painting the tube, you might still see the glue and or any air pockets that remain.

 

[airborne_r6]

We have been using Sumo glue. We use a bamboo skewer (100 for .99 at Walmart) to coat the inside of the blank and then dip the tub in water before inserting it. We then put some little quickgrip type clamps from HF on the blank to make sure the tube stays in. The blue doesnt stick to the pads on the clamps and we just pop the pads off when the glue is dry. Havent had a single failure for any reason (ie, tube coming out while when the glue expands or not adhering to the blank) using this method.

edit: Just had a tube pull out while squaring the ends but that may be due to the pilot shaft on the barrel trimmer.

edit II: The barrel trimmer was too large therefore too tight and creating too much heat causing the glue to release, it did it with Sumo and Epoxy. Not the glue's fault.

 

[toddlajoie]

LOL. I just glued up a piece of Desert Ironwood burl that had a knot and void in one of the corners. When I picked it up after drying, guess what the void was filled with... white foam, heheheh....I've had it happen in the past, and it is generally not noticable in the end, at least on darker woods like DI, and with a CA finish, but you may want to be aware of this if you're using wormy, cracked, pitted, or seriously punky wood... I've never had the expansion crack a piece, but I'm sure it's possible.

 

[jwoodwright]

Russ Fairfield had an article years ago and said to use 9/32" instead of 7mm when using polyurethane glue. Because of the interaction, the glue expands and causes the tube to be pushed out by hydraulic expansion. Having the extra space stops that. Parts fit better too, seems less pressure on the tube. On larger tube sixes I just use next size drill bit. I too mass glue and use a spray bottle. Rubber bands? Great idea! Plenty to be found at the salad bar in your grocery store...

Wear gloves or suffer the brown fingers... LOL

 

[JakeAB]

Has anyone used Elmer's Polyurethane glue? As far as I can tell, it's the same as Gorilla, but at little more the half the price. I've used it on a few pens (though I prefer epoxy), and it worked just fine.