bulletbob

I have been building in an unheated garage in our very damp climate. It seems the CA sets up very slowly if at all and I have had some failures while flying. I heard that high humidity slows drying and weakens the joint. is this a fact? What about temperature?

JohnW

My Feedback: (6)

CA by its very nature is an unstable brew. There are numerous types of CA but I believe the instability of most is accelerated by high humidity, heat and UV light. I don't know if there is a stability threshold or if it is a gradual process. One manufacturer claims to store under 90'F. Best bet would be to store in a cool, dark and dry place. Keep bottles sealed when not in use. Try to limit the use of accelerators (accelerators weaken the bond.) Becasue it is unstable, CA has a very short shelf life. Anything over 12 months old is probably bad. Always use fresh glue.

Azcat59

I am not sure humidity is your problem. Here in the desert it is usually pretty dry (today was 5%.....lower than normal). I will run into a problem once in awhile gluing wood from some of my scrap box, which may be quite a few years old, and well dried. A swipe with a damp cloth will solve the problem. My guess is that you have some CA that is old, or you are gluing spruce or pine, which sometimes are slow to accept CA, or maybe you have some gaps in the joints? Try a new bottle of name-brand medium thickness and see if things get better.

trailingedge

My Feedback: (1)

I tend to think you have some bad glue also. The humidity here is terrible (80%-95%) and I've never had trouble with my CA.

Azcat, how are the flying fields in Phoenix? I have family there and travel through about once or twice a year for work. Very nice place. I've been thinking about packing up an ARF or small plane the next time I go and take my vacation on the trip back.

CaptKAOS

My Feedback: (7)

Build a PBF........easy to transport......and a barrel of fun.......

pinball-RCU

What are you gluing? CA doesn't work well on some plastics. And how cold is it in the garage?

trailingedge

My Feedback: (1)

CaptKAOS I wanted an excuse to build one of those thanks

Rodney

When gluing hardwood with CA, it helps to lightly dust the surfaces to be glued with plain old baking soda (from the kitchen). CA's do not like acid and most hardwoods have an acid base and yes, balsa is a hardwood. For most uses, you might find that a good alphatic resin glue will do a much better job. It will certainly last longer and (in most cases) make a stronger bond less subject to failure due to shock loads. Models seem to get a lot of shock loads.

bulletbob

Thanks for all the help. Our wintertime temps inside are high 40's generally. I did try some new glue and results seem to be the same. Glue did seem to work fine this summer though. i have new heater to try to warm space and will try again. Some of glueing is of very old balsa while others is of wrecked plane.

Azcat59

Trailingedge.....flying fields in Phoenix are in general, great! My club in Northwest Phoenix has a 600x75 asphalt runway, plus paved pit areas, shade, etc. Another club in the Northeast is similar. Mesa has a similar if not even better site. Bring your plane along next time and fly with us!

Clair Sieverling