gilbertfh

My Feedback: (5)

Over and over I hear people recommend building with white glue rather than using CA. I consider myself still rather new at building so I venture to ask. How do you do it? With CA I build it on the board and hold most of the items in place for a second or two until the CA sets and I have no problems. I pin where necessary and it is a rather fast process. What techniques and procedures would you recommend and are there online resources dedicated to the building with white glue?

Phlip

First off, I'd recommend yellow carpenters glue rather than just white glue, but regardless, apply glue, pin or otherwise clamp the part in place, and wait for it to dry. The thing about using pins is you can continue adding many parts and move right along in your construction and then let the whole assembly dry. You don't have to wait for each part to dry individually.

As you go along, you learn what parts will need special treatment to get the best bonds. For example, areas where large end-grains butt up against other pieces, you'll want to apply a coat of glue and let it soak in and dry, then reapply glue before assembly.

Phil

Rodney

White glue is not very descriptive as that could be anything from a flour/water paste to some complex chemical mix. Color is not very indicative of type. In general, any aliphatic glue such as Titebond (three types of mix), Elmers Carpenters glue, etc. are good. There are also some polyurthene glues suitable for many model uses. Glues are a rather complex subject and it will pay you to do a little searching and reading up on the subject.

rwright142

I use Titebond III wood glue, T-pins, clamps I got from Wal-Mart (http://image.rcuniverse.com/forum/up...31/Ea84087.jpg), and masking tape.

gboulton

My Feedback: (15)

I agree with posts above...I also use Titebond III, and whatever system of clamps/pins/etc I need.

Here's a small picture showing both types of clamps I'm fond of using:



I've also been known, when appropriate, to glue some pieces together with Titebond, but then use corner blocks, strips, whatever tacked in place right to the assembly with a couple drops of CA.

It also doesn't hurt to be willing to build some jigs out of scrap wood and CA. Just slap things together in any way you can to hold gluing pieces in the right orientation while they dry.

And finally, while I haven't tried it myself (I intend to as soon as my current project is completed) but I've heard nothing but great words about Paul Johnson's magnetic building system. You may learn a great deal about it here:

http://www.airfieldmodels.com/inform...oard/index.htm

lownslo

I agree with the Titebond. A hint for joining surfaces with yellow glue, or any glue for that matter. I have run into dense, hard, balsa wood that will not let glue penetrate well.. I also do this on some areas of lite ply too. Use your #11 blade tip, or a T pin, and ***** some shallow holes at the area where glue is to be applied. This helps to allow the glue to penetrate better. (ditto on the suggestion about letting glue soak in on end grain, and re-applying a little more). ......lownslo

Indy Bob

AA5BY

After a really scary health event caused by CA (a lot of fluid draining into lungs, coughing and partial lung deflation) an obvious return to alphatic resin (yellow) glue was a necessity. I discussed this with a fellow modeler who does a lot of free flight as I was concerned about going back to something I feared would add excess weight.

He offered a few alphatic resin tips. First, use it out of a pot rather than the bottle so that it can be thinned by about 15% to allow better grain penetration. Apply from the pot with a small brush and keep the brush in a baby food jar of water, which provides a good way to bring the water to the glue for thinning. Apply the glue in two steps, brushing on a thin first layer to the area to be glued and when it has dulled, apply a second. Now when pressing the parts together, a partial degree of contact glue exist though not enough to avoid movement for alignment.

This same method works for prepositioned laser cut parts... the thinning allows the first brush stroke to soak into the joint and the second to form a slight radius atop the now sealed joint. It is more work than CA, but for those of us who can't or don't want to use CA, the extra time is of little concern.

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

A couple of years ago I did a build thread on a Sig LT-40. If you read through it you can get a good idea of how I build using Elmer's Carpenter's Glue. While I use a magnetic building system it's not too different using pins to build with, so you can get a good idea of the techniques used to build with good wood glue.

[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3439708/tm.htm]Pay It Forward build thread!! LT-40 build.[/link]

Hope this helps

Ken

CafeenMan

Furniture is built from hardwood joined with carpenter's glue. People worry about its strength way too much. If the part fit you can glue them in place and not worry about it. If you want to add more glue then you can but it's not necessary. If the parts don't fit well then that's a problem in itself. You can fill the gap with glue but it will be weak despite the amount of glue used.

Double-gluing is a good idea for end grain and I do it but it's still probably not necessary. The joints on my models don't come apart unless I did something to the model I should have such as fly it into a tree trunk. I've had planes blow off a table and land upside down and only a leading edge or spar broke but no glue joints failed.

Don't sweat it. Just make sure the parts fit well and don't have gaps you can see through.

gilbertfh

My Feedback: (5)

This is all very interesting. How does the use of this type of glue affect the overall completed weight of the model? Does anyone use this type of glue for repairs? RCKen I am pulling up your article after I finish this post. I have thought as was mentioned above that using the wood glue and tacking with CA may be a good idea. Time will tell. My next build will probably be a Sig Astro-Hog so I will try using aliphatic glue. How long do you all usually have to let the glue dry before you can unpin and move on to the next part?

carlosponti

My Feedback: (1)

you use such a small amount I doubt there is much weight difference you would notice. I use currently Elmers Wood glue and like it a lot.

ccrebidoux

My Feedback: (3)

Guys,

There is an alternative to CA's and the yellow carpenters glue, it's called Super Phatic!


Super Phatic is a yellow carpenters glue that has had ingredients added to it to make it thin like CA. Because of these ingredients and how thin it is, it sets up in 20 minutes, FULL strength in 2 hours.
-because it's thin, it will wick into wood like CA's
-there is no odour or vapours to irritate your eyes, nose and throat
-since it starts off with aliphatic glue (carpenters glue) it has a high water content, as it dries the water evaporates, therefore it's lighter than CA's (great for indoor and rockets)
-once fully cured it stays pliable, unlike CA that goes brittle. It's much easier to sand too.
-it will bond to: balsa, plywood, spruce, foam and plastics (I've even had it set up in the little metal tube that comes with the bottle and had a heck of a time getting it out!)
-doesn't bond to skin instantly, if you get some on your hands just wash it off with warm soap and water
-has a tougher bond than CA's and is waterproof once set

You can get it at Hobby Lobby in the US or at [link]http://www.ontarioadhesives.ca[/link] in Canada.

This stuff is great! I don't use CA's anymore!

Chris