doug_newman

I need your advice! I have repaired the landing gear in my Great Planes Revolver 60 two times (Awesome plane). The last time I used 15 minute epoxy with fiberglass dust (Great Planes Pro Milled Fiberglass) and it still did not hold. Would Gorilla glue be any stonger? Is 30 minute epoxy any stronger. What is the strongest glue to use in your opinion?

billhass

My Feedback: (1)

The strongest in my opinon is a product called "HYSOL" made by Loctite.
It is what most jet guys use. Just google "HYSOL"

grimmy55

I reckon the toughtest stuff known to man is breakfast cereal ,,you leave it to dry then try getting it of the plate I reckon planes should be build of it

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

Just about all of your 1 to 1 ratio hobby epoxies are junk. I do alot of wet layups so I always have some laminating resin around that I add milled fiber and Cab-o-sil to in order to make a good adhisive out of it. The previous suggested Hysol epoxies are excellent provided you choose the correct one. Remember that the epoxy itself has little strength so you need to keep joints tight.

Look at the repair and see if you can add some structure to increase strength. Usually when I build an airplane with a fuse mounted landing gear I glass the joint between the gear plate and fuse.

Clay Walters

Hi Doug,

When you say "it still did not hold." can you describe how it failed? ie; did the epoxy pull away clean from the wood?

Reason I ask is unlike the other reply; I've found the standard hobby store epoxies quite durable when properly applied and nothing any good when not. You do need a clean surface and good fit between parts to achieve a good bond no matter the adhesive to provide the best opportunity for a solid joining. To add strength to the structure when using epoxy you can add some fiberglass cloth and brush the epoxy thru the weave but you're also adding weight. Another cloth I sometimes use is used fabric softener (dryer) sheets. Very light and very strong. Just remember they have a "grain" to them and you benefit from applying them so that they pull rigid in the direction you wish to secure. Just take a piece and pull it between your hands one way and then turn 90 degrees and pull it again to see what I'm referring to.

Regards,

Clay

daven

My Feedback: (1)

In almost all of our applications, the glue is stronger than the wood if properly applied. If you gear keep breaking out, its most likely not the glue, but how it was repaired.

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Best stuff I found is EpoGrip but like others have said, almost any glue we use is stronger than the wood.

diggs_74

Land softer just messing with you a little.

doug_newman

The landing gear is extremely difficult to get to from the inside as their is a deck built above the landing gear that holds the gas tank. The first time I tried epoxy, I found that I did not have enough epoxy as I could see that I did not get a solid contact all the way around. The landing gear is attached to a piece of ply-wood that broke in half.... I now have bought new ply-wood and am going 1/16" thicker. I have a dremel tool and am going to make sure I clean out the old glue well. I am also going to try and strengthen the front side of the landing gear with some popsicle sticks. I have read this is a common issue with the Great Planes Revolver 70". I still just do not know how to make it stronger??? Any help will be greatly apreciated.

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

I'd be leery of popsicle sticks - what kind of wood are they anyway? Who knows. The sticks I have around feel like they have a waxy coating on them - bad news.

As Daven says - very often it is not the adhesive used, it is how it is used.

Is the substrate clean, grease/oil/spooge free? Oil in the exhaust is a bugger for getting into every nook and cranny. After you Dremel the old adhesive out, can you clean up the area with acetone or MEK?

How well do you mix your epoxy? Some guys I've seen stir it like a cup of coffee, 10 seconds and that is it. You need to remember it is an addition reaction cure - molecules of part A must be in proximity to molecules of part B in order to react. I stir mine, scrape and blend for about two minutes. It takres a bit of energy to truly, thoroughly mix the adhesive well. You'd be surprised how much difference this makes, if you weren't mixing thoroughly to begin with that is.

How accurately do you ratio your part A and B? And don't mix in waxed paper cups either.

You may be doing all this just fine, I'm only throwing things up in the air. As you said, you saw that you did not make contact everywhere, of course that is likely a major culprit.

I am not impressed with the quality of the 15 minute epoxy I have, yet the 5 minute and 30 minute are decent enough. I think it is GP. Use a 30 minute version, make sure you have contact everywhere, and clean materials.