Chris-_-Memphis

My Feedback: (3)

ive been reading a few articals about using wood glue instead of CA fro building kits... what is the best wood glue to use?

RCPAUL

My Feedback: (1)

If your not going to get moisture near the joint, such as when you cover with wet silkspan, PICA Glue-It is very fast drying and strong. I've found that normal carpender's glue from the local Home Depot or Lowe's is great and works with the wet silkspan. (I buy is by the gallon!) I don't use the polyurethanes.


Paul

Rodney

Any of the alphatics work fine. My favorite is TiteBond II as it is relatively water resistant. I've also used other brands with good success.

TEBerg

My Feedback: (1)

Yep, I like to use wood glue for a little more 'heavy duty' approach.. I just bought a nice tube of Elmers wood glue that has a pointed tip and small size for easy use on the model.. I don't use the Elmers throughout the entire plane, just in some areas such as along the spar and fuselage formers for some gap-filling and strength. I do like CA for keeping some of the weight down.

ballgunner

My Feedback: (1)

Titebond II is a good wood glue as is Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Glue. I may take a bit longer during construction than CA but is sands very easily in comparison. I use epoxy whenever there are two kinds of materials such as ply to ply or ply to balsa. Laminating balsa ismuch better with wood glue. For framing CA is fine.

Chris-_-Memphis

My Feedback: (3)

so if wood glue is so heavy what should i use it on and what should i use to save some weight .. or does it make that big of a diff in the weight factor

volkan

i normaly use wood gule, but i add CA to speed it up.
and it works!
both are great

jessiej

Much of the weight of wood glue is water and evaporates off, unlike CA & epoxy.

smokingcrater

I've heard that on a per joint basis, wood glue is actually lighter if properly applied compared to CA. wood glue evaporates water out, while CA needs to absorb moisture to cure.

Al Stein

I'll "weigh in" in favor of the lightness of wood glue, too.

When you use epoxy or CA, virtually all the weight you add stays right where you put it. To demonstrate the weight loss as wood glue forms a joint, just watch it... the volume of the glue bead becomes smaller as the water leaves the glue... visually, it looks like at least 80% of the volume goes bye-bye, so assuming that the solids are about as dense as the evaporating water (a very good assumptin -- note how most organic stuff floats low on the surface of water) anyway, based on that, 80% of the weight of the glue must also be leaving the plane.

Meanwhile, I think most people know that wood glues form a bond stronger than the surrounding wood. Add to that the fact that they're more flexible than CA so they don't focus stress as much as CA would, their joints are better than CA's for anything that won't be harmed by the glue's water content.

Kaos Rulz

Chris,

I like to use the Titebond I instead of the Titebond II. Reason being that the original is easier to sand after cured. The # II is a bit rubbery in contrast to the # 1.

Caffeenman brought this to my attention - Thanks....

A. J. Clark

I like the Elmer's carpenters glues. If I am not in a hurry or have large areas I use wood glues. Have you tried the Gel formulas. There thick and don't run, a big plus sometimes. The one negative for gel formulas is they need about 2 times the drying time. Remember that a good joint starts with a good wood to wood fit.

A J Clark

greenboot

My Feedback: (1)

I use almost 100% Elmers Carpenters glue. Furniture that I built 25 years ago with the stuff is still in use today. Believe me it is plenty strong. I use it for the firewall, spars, and even with fiberglass tape.

Al is right that much of the glue evaporates. But according to my test, the final weight is 50% of the original. On the 1/3 scale Extra I just built, I used 9 oz of Elmers, no epoxy.

Tom

J_R

I use aliphatic resion (wood glue) and occasionally tack with CA (like at the ends of cap strips).

There are essentially two types of aliphatics available. Those for interior use and those for exterior use. If you are concerned about getting a plane wet, I would suggest the external type.

I bought a gallon of external Elmers at Home depot for about $12 a couple of years ago. Part to be used on a wood working project at the time. Since, it has "skinned over" a couple of times, but, once the skin is removed it seems fine. I use a mustard bottle for dispensing, and apply with a cheap (20 for a buck) childs paint brush. It's all water soluable until it sets up, so clean up is a cinch.

Al Stein

Thanks for the data Tom -- I like working with your test result much better than with an estimate, just never quite got aound to it myself.