yellow wood glue (Titebond, or other brands) for general construction, Epoxy (30-minute) for LG mounts, firewalls, wing joints, etc.

only occasionally use thin CA for things such as strengthening control horn locations. haven't had a bottle of medium or thick CA in my shop in 25 years. CA simply stinks too much and is too expensive for general use.

You want an opinion on the smell of glue?)
I know a chemist who said he could make me some cool glue.

Ca is too hard to sand???
 

Are you kidding me???!!!

Before I get to my main point, it must be said (if you haven't figured it out already) that no single type or brand of glue is suitable for EVERYTHING. There are seemingly countless types of glue out there with different traits and qualities and they are all needed in specific situations where the glue needs to meet a certain criteria in order to make an optimum joint. What kind of glue is best? The answer is based on one's exprience, research, knowledge, skill, creativity and certainly the task at hand. This brings me to CA, a personal favorite of mine when it comes to glue. Is it good for everything? HELL NO, but it IS possibly the most versatile substance I've ever encountered for crafts and industrial applications of all kinds! Besides joining a couple of pieces of wood together, it's useful for sealing, forming, filling, shaping, reinforcing, hardening, fiberglassing, finishing, fabricating and for instantly fusing your fingers to whatever you might be working on!


This brings me to my main point. I constantly hear it said that CA is too difficult to sand and I find that to be the furthest thing from the truth. By it's nature, CA is somewhat stiff or brittle and because of that, I find that sandpaper cuts it very cleanly. By comparison, any other "softer" kind of glue tends to be more gummy and resists sanding. In the case where I need to sand down a glue seam on a balsa surface, the fact that CA cuts cleanly (using a sanding block of course), I can get a perfectly smooth, flat surface. If i try to do that with just about any other type of glue, the glue gets somewhat rubbery, loads up the sandpaper, rolls up into little balls and generally resists being cut. As a result, the sandpaper ends up chewing up the surrounding balsa surface more effectively than it is able to cut down the glue. Maybe that explains why those who prefer sanding a "softer" glue have models that look the way they do.


My own personal selection of glue is strictly based on how effectively it does the job I want it to do. For some others the selection might be mitigated by their disdain or intolerance of certain aromas. Unquestionably CA isn't likely to bring any sort of delight to the nostrils, but then again, you have to consider that one of the ingredients that make this stuff work is cyanide. Yes, the stuff they use in a gas chamber for an execution. Don't worry though, people drown in water all the time, but you still drink it, don't you? And if it makes you feel any better, you'll be happy to know that apple seeds contain cyanide. In any event, the slightest effort to provide some ventilation effectively solves the problem of any fumes emanating from the glue completely. If you're unfortunate enough to be from California however, you are aware of the fact that virtually every substance that mankind has ever encountered is known to the state of California to cause cancer. :p