CA glue tutorial
 

I have gathered all the tools I need to begin my LT-40 kit, I still need a razor saw though....anyway....I was wondering if there is some information available online on how to use CA glue, how much to use, the differences between medium, thin, etc. I have never used CA before in my life, just want to make sure I don't screw anything up by using too much or little or applying it in the wrong way.

Thanks.

RE: CA glue tutorial
 

Use thin CA for any balsa that you can push tightly together. Use medium CA if there are any gaps or if you are gluing lite ply. For gluing the fusulage doublers use wood glue. Use epoxy to bond the tail to the body and the vertical fin to the horizontal fin. Use epoxy to bond the pine block for the landing gear to the body. You can use baking soday fillets with thin CA to make super strong bonds. Won't sand though. Hope this helps!

RE: CA glue tutorial
 

You may also want to have some acetone and/or "UNGLUE" nearby "in case" you glue your fingers together. Don't ask how I know about that. :eek:

You do not want excessive (read dripping off or big lumps) of glue left. All that does is add weight without strength. For TIGHT FITTING BALSA TO BALSA joints use thin CA. The extender tips and/or micro teflon tubing make placement a lot easier, especially with thin CA.

For joints with a SLIGHT GAP (LESS THAN 1/16", preferably 1/32" or less), use medium CA. If it is a large gap, either recut/refit the piece or shim/fill the gap with some scrap wood before gluing.

For balsa to ply joints use medium CA.

To MINIMIZE CA drying in the tips, tap the bottle several times after gluing to have the CA go back into the bottle. If it does dry in the tip, you can either cut off the clogged area with a #11 blade (thin tips/micro tubing) or take the tip off and soak it in acetone overnite (use a separate container with a lid for this). DO NOT USE A PIN TO CLEAR THE BLOCKAGE. This will score/scratch the inside of the tip and will result in more clogs since the glue now has a rougher surface to adhere to.

For ply to ply, hardwood to ply or in areas of high stress (Firewall to fuselage, landing gear blocks, horizontal and vertical stab) use epoxy. I suggest using 30 minute epoxy. It gives you plenty of time to align things properly and provides a stronger glue joint than 5 minute epoxy. Rubbing alcohol will remove any excess epoxy that may ooze out from a joint and from your hands. Make sure you remove it while it is wet though.

Hope this answers your questions.

.

RE: CA glue tutorial
 

One thing that hos not been said yet.

With thin CA, the joint must be "mechanically" tight. Squeeze the copmponents to be joined together, and THEN add a drop of Thin CA to the joint. Do not put the CA on forst.

For Medium CA, it is a 50/50 whether you make a "gappy" join and add the CA, or whether you lay a bead of CA on the one component to be joined, then "mate" the other piece.

By way of example, to "sheet" a wing, you add sheets of balsa to the ribs, by first putting a bead of medium (maybe thick) CA on the ribs, and then placing the sheeting over the glue.
For a tight joint, like the "sticks" in the fuselage, or framing members of the rudder/fin/stab/elevator, make a tight joint, then drop a drop of thin CA on to the joint.
For joints like the large parts of the fuselage (top to sides, for example), it is commong to squeeeze them together, and glue them with thin CA where they touch, and go back afterward with medium CA where the parts have a slight gap.

gus

RE: CA glue tutorial
 

Uh Oh!

I used a pin to open up my Medium CA. No wonder why I can't get the cap off no matter WHAT I try!

Also, I don't like CA because it dries WAY too fast..

PS Don't use Pacer debonder because sometimes it leaves a pink spot on the (covering for me! Looks bad.)

RE: CA glue tutorial
 

I kinda got in a bind with medium ca ,i was doing something kinda tricky using a q-tip,i had the wife holding both ca and when i needed,i handed her the dam q-tip,somehow she got the ends mixed up and i got ca all over my fingers more than once.No debonder around,told her to get the wd 40,sprayed my hands and worked it in on my fingers,she grabbed the opps and in a few minutes the ca was almost gone,had to do some scraping with a knife but i was happy.:D