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What glue is best

For most applications I use PVA glue. Here in Canada it's called Lepage glue.
For PE parts, I use Ammo by Mig Ultra Glue
For gluing parts that want to bend with water-based glues, such as false decks, I use solvent based contact cement and lots of ventilation.
Sometimes I use CA, but I try to minimize its use. It ruins the wood. Some say Acetone is ideal for cleanup, but once that CA glue dries, you are done.
 
Donnie. I have a bottle of weld bond that a bought quite a while ago. I seldom use it as it is so darn thick I have to use a brush to apply it. I've tried it in my plastic squeeze bottles and syringes and still can't get the glue to come out as it's so thick. You can get it to come out of those syringes? Do you thin it? thanks.
Okay... I mixed a little water to thin the Weld Bond. I glued a few small pieces of 1x4mm strips together last night. Works just like the thicker Weld Bond. Wood breaks before the joint comes apart. Thanks Donnie. Added Weld Bond back to my collection of wood glues. Can't have too many you know. ROTF

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Okay... I mixed a little water to thin the Weld Bond. I glued a few small pieces of 1x4mm strips together last night. Works just like the thicker Weld Bond. Wood breaks before the joint comes apart. Thanks Donnie. Added Weld Bond back to my collection of wood glues. Can't have too many you know. ROTF

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Where'd you find those bottles with the colored caps? They look pretty hand!
 
Amazon (LINK)

If you forget to put the cap back on the glue will harden at the tip. I use one of these to unblock it.
LINK
Signed in to Amazon to purchase the 24 x set then deleted the item as the shipping cost to NZ was twice the price of the bottle set. Gotta love international postage cost. ROTF
 
I'm really liking the Weld Bond. Even though I diluted it a little so I could use in my small bottles it is still stronger that the wood I'm using it on. And like has been mentioned, it dries very fast. In fact, you had better be ready to place the piece 'right now'. Like in a few seconds, not minutes. This is now my favorite super fast drying glue.
 
Great recommendation on the Weldbond! @Donnie

I recently moved and finally set my little shop back up after a few months. I decided to build something that both my wife and I would like and ended up at an HO scale lighthouse, paper model. Boy, Weldbond really came into it's own. The solvent is acetone-based so, as long as you don't go nuts, it doesn't make a mess out of the paper/cardstock. It i sets quickly, gives you about 15-30 seconds of working time depending on how thirsty the substrate is. Clean up is with acetone. Boy, it was great and the lighthouse looks awesome (paper models are fun and more challenging than I thought at first). I have just built most of a small Chesapeake flattie with wood and the Weldbond was awesome. Also, enough acetone painted into joints (and maybe less patience than it took for PVA) gave me back pieces I wanted a second shot at. So, great with wood too.

I still haven't tried with metal but if that works, it would be nice to get away from some of the downsides of CA.With this on my bench, I'm having a hard time finding an application for PVA.

Thanks!

Glenn
 
New shipwright, long time chemist. Sorry in advance for my compulsion to draw chemical structures, please don't fall asleep.

Wet white glue, PVAc, is a precursor polymer for polyvinyl alcohol, PVA, the dry polymer which bonds your work. Plain PVA is a polyalcohol and can be dissolved in water or alcohol ("like dissolves like"). The precursor polymer, PVAc, is insoluble in water but dissolves well in acetic acid, also known as white vinegar. Again, "like dissolves like", see the structures below. If you put something on with white glue, a mixture of vinegar and water is helpful as most people are pulling apart a partially cured joint (less than 24-48 hours in normal humidity). Isopropanol should work too and dissolves both the precursor and final product, although its more likely to make PVAc gummy.
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Vinegar and water might be the better bet but I've never set up a controlled apples:apples comparison. The acetic acid fumes are less noxious than isopropanol and isopropanol is flammable (let extra air in the shop). My experience is that 99% isopropanol doesn't work well and that the 70% concentration works better, maybe it's the 30% water that helps. Warm water works best. Don't use hot water with vinegar or the vinegar will partially evaporate and reak, and definitely don't heat isopropanol at any concentration for any reason!

Remember, like dissolves like (sorry if I am bringing back high school or college trauma). Methanol and ethanol work on PVAc too, but my opinion is that IPA is your best bet if you really want to use an alcohol, considering safety and availability. 70% isopropanol is used on skin all the time to clean up cuts. Don't use beer. :)

If you go the Weldbond route, the manufacturer's recommendation is cold water on liquid glue if you can get to it quickly and acetone to dissolve dried glue. Acetone is workable but the fumes are strong and the vapor is flammable. Use LOTS of extra air in the shop. I'm not sure what acetone does to the condition of wood, maybe others can comment. I requested more info on the chemistry of Weldbond from the manufacturer. I am excited to get a little experience with this adhesive at Donnie's suggestion. I like the idea of a magical adhesive that dries faster than PVA, bonds metal, and has his stamp of approval. If I learn more, I'll share.

Finally, chemist tips.
1. Wear eye protection, you should already be wearing it in the shop anyway.
2. Wear nitrile gloves when working with solvents, especially when handling IPA for periods of time and acetone for any amount of time.
3. Don't be tempted to save money by buying the large economy bottle of organic solvents like acetone unless you really go through a lot of it in a short period of time. Flammable chemicals with noxious fumes are more manageable, in many ways, in smaller-sized portion. I know model shipbuilding has a reputation for being cheap (except tools, that's an XY chromosome thing), but when it comes to chemicals, less is more.

Glenn
Awesome dissertation Glenn! Thanks for the professional tips! Invaluable!
 
Great read! Also, acetone is a nerve poison and will attack some plastics making them gooey and I've had it attack my glasses which these days are plastic.
 
As a novice and building the POF Bluenose, I was wondering what glues are best applied where? I've seen folks using the white pva and also the cyanoacrylate with the crazy long and curved nozzles. Assuming these are used for certain apps on the model? Any info would be much appreciated! Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!
Hallo @boshaken
we wish you all the BEST and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Birthday-Cake
 
My wife works at a local Hobby Lobby and they have this "Weld Bond White Glue". This stuff dries what I would consider very fast for a white glue. They also carry Syringes with different size tips that I load the Glue into. On my deck planking, I hold the part down for about 30 seconds and it is done !

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Hi Donnie
Useful tip you are providing
I'll give it a try
 
My wife works at a local Hobby Lobby and they have this "Weld Bond White Glue". This stuff dries what I would consider very fast for a white glue. They also carry Syringes with different size tips that I load the Glue into. On my deck planking, I hold the part down for about 30 seconds and it is done !

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I agree totally! I like that it dries clear, can be painted over, and if careful, can be stained over. As far as syringes, I look to Amazon & buy the syringes (I like the small 0.5ml and the 3ml) separately from the needles. For PVA I like 14 or 16 gauge and the 1/2" and 1" length needles. Luer Lock seems to be most popular! Have put super thin super glue in a size 28 needle, but a one-time use as glue in the needle dries out.

I had been using TiteBond 1 and II when I was building doll houses, 25 years ago, but it dries yellow and hard to paint over.

I also like LocTite Gel super glue in the bottle to squeeze the sides, so I don't attack my fingers and keeps the nozzle clear and bottle re-usable without the nozzle stuck with dried glue!

Very excited when I found WeldBond at a local hardware store here in the "willywags" less than a mile from our rural home! (Hobby Lobby is 65-miles away for me.) Modelers in their early 20s happen to be working that day and very knowledgeable for me when I first got back to building models in 2022--with wooden ships; then plastic military boats, airplanes and helos, etc. Now build for a local military museum and have built for our local historical society that has much history with the logging industry here in the "shadow of Katahdin."

Hope this info is helpful!
Blessings,
JJ
 
I use four adhesives:

PVA: I use this for gluing wood and paper. Currently I have a bottle of Titebond II, but I’m not fussy about the brand.

Nitrocellulose: I use this for temporary joints between metal and wood. It also works to reinforce permanent mechanical joints between metal and wood. Example; a hatch cover ringbolt. I buy tubes of Duco at our local Ace Hardware. Ambroid would work just as well.

Epoxy. I like JB Weld Original Formula. I like individual tubes, not the double syringes. I use Epoxy for metal to wood joints If possible in conjunction with some sort of mechanical fastener.

Solder. Where possible metal to metal joints are soldered with lead free soft solder. I don’t use hard silver solder. I am currently using two diameters; 1/32” and .010”. Sometimes it’s necessary to epoxy two metal subassemblies together but this is rare.

Not very complicated.

Roger
 
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