CA Question
 

This might be a really dumb question but I want to make sure I am doing things the right way before I start gluing my kit. What is the best wat to glue balsa? Is there a rule of thumb as to how much ca to apply and how to apply it? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks,

Jeremy

RE: CA Question
 

This would all depend on what you are gluing together. I typically run a bead of CA on one edge of what I am gluing and set it in place. You need to be carfeul with CA because once the 2 surfaces touch, your working time is only a couple of seconds depending on which type of glue you are using. If you are gluing doublers together, you may want to consider epoxy or alphataic resing glue. You get alot more working time and if you use alphataic glue, it is sandable where as CA is tough to sand. Let us know what you are wanting to glue together. Good Luck, Dave

RE: CA Question
 

It also depends on what type (thick, medium, or thin) glue you are using.
Thin is when the two pc are already in situ for instance.

RE: CA Question
 

Generally, less is best with thin CA. Thicker is used similar to Elmer's type glues, but, still using less.

RE: CA Question
 

You may want to practice on some scrap so you get a feel of how to use as little glue as possible while still getting a strong joint.

RE: CA Question
 

THanks for the help guys, Right now I am building a Great Planes Rapture 40, I just strated last night and I have the Stab pinned to my workboard. Everything fits well and is ready to glue. Now do I run a small amount of thin CA in the joints where the balsa meets? Or do I have to remove it from the board to properly glue? I'm a total newb at this! :eek:

RE: CA Question
 

WARNING!!! CA IS HAZARDOUS TO YOU HEALTH!

OK, now that I got that out... I learned this the hard way. Before I joined RCU, I used CA exclusively. For some reason I thought I had to. One day after working on my TopFlite Corsair, I had pains when breathing. It was like my lungs were on fire. I did not put 2 and 2 together until the next day. By conincidence, I joined RCU the next day and read about others and their experiences with CA. You will get many opinions, but I only use CA when absolutely necessary, which is very rare. For critical areas like wing joiners, I use 30 min epoxy. For everything else I use the alphataic glue that DavidAgar mentioned. That is the yellow wood glue. I use TiteBond and so far has worked great.

If you do use CA, make sure you were a mask and/or ventilate.

Good luck!

RE: CA Question
 

Wing joiners and stabs, shoot anything I can leave clamped togeather for a while gets the urathane (Titebond, Gorrilla Glue) treatment. That super foamy action, strength, and ease of sanding are hard to beat.

RE: CA Question
 

You can leave your parts pinned over the plans and just a couple drops of thin ca to the joints will do. Thin ca will not fill any gaps, so make sure your joints are tight before you glue. You should glue in a well ventilated area because the fumes tend to get obnoxious.