Vertical Stabilizer - which glue?
 

OK guys, I'm trying to glue my 4 Star 40 vertical stabilizer and can't decide on which type of glue to use.

• It is a very small surface area get epoxy on so I was thinking maybe Medium CA.
• I have made fillets that I could then epoxy in.
• Can I get away with the CA on the stabilizer?

Believe it or not you can glue your whole airplane together with thin and medium CA.

Bob

epoxy the fillets in nice and good, and you should be fine!

I use mostly epoxy now. Got tired of gluing myself to the plane:D. That's true, but my problem is that after a very short time using CA, my lungs really start to get a burning sensation, and my eyes have swelled to almost shut a couple of times. I think I am allergic to the stuff, so I use it very sparingly and a very short time each time I do. However, it is very strong just on the brittle side.

I use CA on most of the plane, but when I need to glue areas that take a lot of stress (Vertical and horizontal stabilizers, Joining wings, and firewalls) I use 30 min epoxy.

:cool:Yes you can!

John

Same problem here... I noticed that using the Foam safe CA does not bather me that much, so I thought using it on balsa also. Is it as strong on balsa as the regular stuff ?

Finally, a kindred spirit !

Vasek I have used foam safe Ca for conventional balsa structures sometime now and can detect no strength differences.


John

I have always gotten away with wood glue. its strong, it dries slow enough to position a piece correctly, it sands easily, it cleans up easily. it does not harden the wood nor make future repairs difficult by creating epoxy strata when trying to repair epoxied joints that can fracture easily. epoxy is good for the first application becuase it soaks into wood but the next time you use it it is trying to bind to the slick surface of epoxy and breaks easily. Wood glue does not have allergic reactions and so you can save your tolerances for ca for those occasion when it is truly needed.

Ditto !! Plus one !! ;)

The big advantage of epoxy is that it will fully cure no matter where it is, and will become a very solid material once it has cured. That makes it great for joining parts that may fit perfectly together, and for joining parts where the adhesive won't be exposed to air. If you mix it right, you can be confident that you will get fully cured epoxy everywhere you put it, and all the little gaps will be filled when you're done. No other glue can do that. For gluing in tail parts, you usually need to be able to check your alignment and reposition pieces if needed. Epoxy is better than anything else in that are too since it doesn't even start to harden until the specified time.

I recommend aliphatic (white or yellow) wood glues, like Titebond II. Put the fillets on with it also. For belt'n'suspenders, tie the top of the vertical stab to the spar in the horizontal stab with 2/56 rods, makes the tail super rigid.

Thank you John, very good news for me indeed.

I'm a big fan of Hysol # 9462 made by loctite,I use it on high stress areas like stabs landing gear wing joiners fire walls,it has a very high shear point,just a thought.

I use CA glue on every plane and jet, and for any part.

Always use 30 min. epoxy on high stress/value control surfaces. The long drying time allows the glue to soak into the wood creating a strong bond that CA cannot match. Epoxy is also flexible making it less likely to come loose.

You can also poke small holes in the vertical stabilizer as well as in the fuselage where it attached to increase the bonding area for the glue. This technique makes little "pins" that strengthen the area.

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

Hi hookedonrc,

Do you use kicker with the CA? I found out that I was allergic to the kicker. Everytime I used it, I would come down with bronchitus. I thought I was allergic to paint, so I started using iron on covering and still came down with bronchitus. So I stopped using the CA. Then just to see just what it was, I didn't use any kicker, but just the CA and I never came down with bronchitus again.....

Larry

Instructor...nope, no kicker used. I first thought it was balsa dust and then I stopped using the CA. Problems went away. I was a heavy user of CA until after that happened. On one occasion my left was completely swollen shut. So I closed up the CA and waited a week or so then went back to building with no CA. Never had it again. Although I still use if for things like reinforcing screw holes for servos and the like, and in areas that are hard to get to. I use the eyedropper type of applicators and it has helped, but if I use it long enough, my lungs really start to ache. I could use a respirator mask, but in hot weather it is a pain. So I just assemble or build slower which isn't such a bad thing.... No 2 left wings yet:D

You can use almost any of the above mentioned glues. Properly applied, all are stronger than the wood so use whatever you have handy or whatever you like.

QFT!

+1

In addition to that you don't have to worry about the LHS putting the CA right out in the light from the neon tubes. CA is UV sensitive both in the bottle and on hotstuff hinges. The other benefit is that most wood glues do not get as brittle as CA.

Every once in a while I find a need for the CA and get it out of the freezer the day before. Open or not, it gets kept under a can so MY UV sources don't damage it.

The one thing I have started doing is using a magic marker to date ALL of my glues. I tried to use some CA from the freezer last month that had to have been at least 8 years old. I think that was when that shop went out of business... Oh, it did not work.

I keep CA in the refrigerator. Keeps the shelf life of the glue for at least 5 years that I can verify. The cheap versions (like Tower Hobbies) won't last that long, but the Great Planes, Zap, and Hot Stuff have lasted 5+ years. Although the thick CA does get too thick after some time. Never tried the freezer.

I've found that CA bonds have an issue with shear strength so anywhere shear is the greatest force I use epoxy. And the stabs are definitely subjected to shear more than any other force, especially shear shock such as accidently hitting the stab when taking the plane in or out of the car/truck.

Vibration too. Tails get the worst of engine vibration, especially when sitting at idle. Epoxy is flexible enough to take it, while CA can develop small cracks and weaken.