Originally Posted by
sensei
On balsa and plywood airframes I only use thin and medium CA because it is fast, easy and safe to use if you use proper ventilation, it's lightweight and is much stronger then balsa wood or the first full ply of plywood in the first place, and the thin CA soaks into plywood and balsa wood further then 30 minute or 1 hour epoxy anyway so there really isn't a valid reason for me to use epoxy unless I am using laminating resin for wing skins to foam or part manufacturing from a mold.
Bob
Bob, I have never had any luck gluing hardwood with CA?? Balsa to hardwood no problems. I must be doing something very wrong if it works for you. I use 30 minute epoxy on hardwoods. I also use it in places like the tail feathers even when it's all balsa. I have come out in the morning to find the parts have shifted and epoxy is easy to soften with a heat gun and the parts can be re-glued. Last summer I started using Sigment again when I built a stick frame up, it was all hardwood sticks and CA wasn't working for me.
I'm a CA user though, I do once in a while get the reaction but after I had a bad reaction and figured out what it was I can tell when it's time to quit building and leave the shop.