cold weather woes

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Fatstrat

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Hello all, ive got a problem and am looking for suggestions. Its winter. Cold. Seems that CA doesnt do too well with cold. I turned a bunch of barrels last week and went about applying thin CA in light coats. I used a paper towel and made enough friction to cause the CA to at least be dry to the touch before applying more, but after applying several coats and setting them aside to work on others, they became all splotchy-like and were still tacky for a long time (relatively). Im not sure whats going on here since each coat seemed dry before but now it wasnt, but im thinking it probably has something to do with the cold. I have an uninsulated shop with a woodstove that i can normally get to about 35 or 40 degrees F and i cant bring my lathe in the house, so how do i finish pens in the winter?
Thanks for any comments or advice.
 
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I also achive a better and faster results at CA in warm workshop. I belive that CA needs heat for drying, and that is why in cold shop I put smaller amount of CA at a time, and put on few layers more, to get same thickness of the film. I think (but are not sure) that it also goes better, if the CA glue is not too cold. That way it spreads on the wood better than when it is cold.
 
Maybe try a small electric heater on your bench or at your lathe height. You could heat that small area and the glue at the same time.
 
I don't even try to appy CA when the temperature is below 50 (or so) degrees. It's just a waste of time. For some reason, even if I heat up my garage with a propane heater, the CA still doesn't work right. Maybe keeping the CA indoors and not letting it get cold in the first place would help -- then get your shop warm before you bring out the CA. I don't know if this would make a difference, but it's worth a shot.
 
Just found an email answer from mr. Russ Fairfiled, when I aksed him the same question.

"Yes, cold will affect the time it takes CA glue to cure. The curing is an exothermic reaction, and the cool surroundings keeps the necessary heat from developing."
 
CA glue also likes some humidity in the wood, and in the air around it when it is used as a finish. Cold air is usually accompanied with lower humidity, and heated winter air is an even lower relative humidity. The low humidity is why we get sparks when we touch something. The curing reaction can be forced with an accelerator, but the accelerator also quits working as the temperature drops.

There comes a time when nothing works, and we have to either relocate inside the house where it is warmer, heat our working area, move to Arizona, or wait 'til spriong.
 
I have the same problems with CA in that cold garage too. I do my 4 coats and they look like poo out in the shop, but when I get inside the house with the finished pen. It looks fine after it adjusts to the inside temp..
 
the move to arizona idea is good, except then theres summer which is far too hot in arizona for us northerners. id melt. anyway, back to the issue at hand...i do keep my glue and wood inside and get the garage as warm as i can before trying to finish, so maybe ill have to try a small heater on the workbench. thanks for the suggestions
 
I havn't noticed the problem. I use a 100W lamp just above the mandril and that helps keep things warm. I also keep the glue and finishes in the house until I am ready to go to the shop.

Wayne
Spokane WA
 
DCBluesman said:
No lasting finish works well in 35 or 40 degree (F) weather.
Click to expand...
I'm with Lou on this one...your shop is just too cold to apply a finish. Turn as long as your hands work, but anything below 50 or 55 will be trouble for any finish.

However, CA cures mainly with moisture, not heat. In the winter the humidity drops and if you're cranking a wood stove too...your shop must be bone dry which isn't helping the CA at all!! Maybe try getting a humidifier for your shop. Anything less than 35% RH will likely cause CA to take longer. My suggestion though might be to try using a CA accelerant, though I've never tried it at that temperature. It'd be a good experiment!
 
I have it on good authority (me) that accelerator will help. You do need to lengthen the time from ca application to application of accelerator. In most cases people say to wait at least a minute before applying accelerator. I found I needed a few more minutes. Of course, I wasn't using thin, so it may work well with thin after 1 minute. Try it and let us know how it works.

I do understand your dilemma. I was in northern Montana in an unheated quonset with temps in the 40's. It's also exceptionally dry there. Sounds like very similar conditions. I attempted a propane space heater but in the 60 foot quonset, the heating effects were minimal.

It is simply a fact that it will take you longer to finish a pen in those conditions.
 
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