Glue for repairing wooden cameras

[spoolman]

I have a Kodak #5 Cartridge camera that has several wood pieces loose and I'm looking for suggestions on what type of glue to use to re-attach these parts.

Doug

 

[Sirius Glass]

I have a Kodak #5 Cartridge camera that has several wood pieces loose and I'm looking for suggestions on what type of glue to use to re-attach these parts.

Doug

White glue like Elmer's and clamping until cured.

 

[BrianShaw]

Yellow wood glue, with aliphatic resin, and clamps. Titebond is a popular brand. They make several formulations but I find the original best.

Whatever you do… don’t be tempted to use Gorilla glue as it sticks good but expands and gets out of control.

 

[Tel]

Yellow wood glue, with aliphatic resin, and clamps. Titebond is a popular brand. They make several formulations but I find the original best.

+1

 

[ic-racer]

Titebond

 

[RalphLambrecht]

White glue like Elmer's and clamp until cured.

Elmer's is not the best glue for wood. Ponal is much stronger and dries completely transparently. Event don't clamp too hard otherwise you'll squeeze the glue out the gap and then the glue cannot do its job. clamp only litely to hold items in place and let the glue dry for a few hours.

 

[BobD]

Whatever you do… don’t be tempted to use Gorilla glue as it sticks good but expands and gets out of control.

Yes, Gorilla glue is terrible in that way. I wouldn't use it for anything.

 

[spoolman]

Elmer's is not the best glue for wood. Ponal is much stronger and dries completely transparently. Event don't clamp too hard otherwise you'll squeeze the glue out the gap and then the glue cannot do its job. clamp only litely to hold items in place and let the glue dry for a few hours.

Hello Ralph: thanks for the suggestion.

Doug

 

[spoolman]

Hello All: thank you for your suggestions. I'm having some difficulty finding Titebond or Ponal So I've decided to try Elmer's Carpenters Glue and see what happens.

Doug

 

[Don_ih]

Elmer's Carpenters Glue

Elmer's Carpenter's Glue is fine. You don't need anything better. The surfaces should be as clean as possible.

 

[Rick A]

Elmer's Carpenter's Glue is fine. You don't need anything better. The surfaces should be as clean as possible.

Yup, no need for anything exotic.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Yes, Gorilla glue is terrible in that way. I wouldn't use it for anything.

Gorilla Glue is good for cloth focal plane shutter repairs because very thin coats stay flexible.

 

[Nitroplait]

Brand names are useless unless you know if it is available at OP's location.

OP: You just need to find a PVA (PolyVinylAcetate) glue from a reputable brand in your region of the world.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Gorilla Glue is available in the US and Canada. I do not know about the availability in Europe.

 

[BrianShaw]

Gorilla Glue is good for cloth focal plane shutter repairs because very thin coats stay flexible.

This recommendation, although quite tangental to the topic at hand, is so generic it is dangerous. Gorrilla makes many different products. While there are flexible versions, the original formula, which is appropriate to wood applications, expands and dries brittle.

And as long as we are on a tangent... Gorilla silicone sealant sucks compared to other brands.

 

[BrianShaw]

Hello All: thank you for your suggestions. I'm having some difficulty finding Titebond or Ponal So I've decided to try Elmer's Carpenters Glue and see what happens.

Doug

That should work really good; it's a decent yellow carpenter glue. As mentioned before, clamp firmly but not too tight and allow sufficient drying time.

 

[BobUK]

Has any thought been given to the ability for the dismantling of the joints in future years by the next generation of photography conservators?
Are any of the above mentioned adhesives reversible?
Perhaps good old fashioned hide/pearl glue would be a suitable conservation choice for wood.
If the camera is of no historic or rarity value no problem.

I ended up destroying a cheap Agfa Isollete after the previous owner had used epoxy resin to hold the top cover in place.

Something to think of if it is treasured camera.

 

[ic-racer]

Has any thought been given to the ability for the dismantling of the joints in future years by the next generation of photography conservators?
Are any of the above mentioned adhesives reversible?

Titebond (or others of same composition) is reversible with steam.

 

[bdial]

Titebond (or others of same composition) is reversible with steam.

Just don't confuse it with Titebond III which is waterproof for exterior applications. As mentioned, standard titebond or the myriad similar "white" wood glues should work well and are reversible with a bit of work, as are hide glues.
For the high tech oriented, cyanoacrylate, aka "super glue" is also reversible with debonder or acetone, but doesn't withstand shock as well as white glue.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Just don't confuse it with Titebond III which is waterproof for exterior applications. As mentioned, standard titebond or the myriad similar "white" wood glues should work well and are reversible with a bit of work, as are hide glues.
For the high tech oriented, cyanoacrylate, aka "super glue" is also reversible with debonder or acetone, but doesn't withstand shock as well as white glue.

Cyanoacrylate does not stand up to shear forces. If one uses cyanoacrylate to fasten a mug to a table, hitting it with a force parrallel to the table top with shear the mug from the table surface possibly taking some of the said surface with it. Someone at work did exactly that and the only fast way to remove the mug from the table was to punch the mug parallel to the table. It did not do the table any good, and the mug's bottom had some table top stuck to it.

 

[gordrob]

Busy Bee Tools has stores in Ontario that carry Titebond products. I don't know if they have a store in Toronto but you can check here.

Search Results

www.busybeetools.com

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Hello All: thank you for your suggestions. I'm having some difficulty finding Titebond or Ponal So I've decided to try Elmer's Carpenters Glue and see what happens.

Doug

it's hardly anything exotic:

 

[Ian Grant]

Titebond (or others of same composition) is reversible with steam.

Another Titebond user, it's not so common here in the UK, a friend uses it for making banjos, and you need a totally reliable glue for the rim which has to be finished on a lathe after the many component pieces are glued together.

I bought an early 1900s field camera a couple of years ago, a missing piece had been replaced with some sort of composite man-made material, and luckily glued in place with wood glue, so easily removed and replace with a correctly size piece of wood that matches perfectly, The wood was from asimilar aged broken plate holder.

Ian

 

[koraks]

possibly taking some of the said surface with it.

In which case it's not the glue that fails to withstand the shear forces, but the surface the glue adheres to
Having said that, in my experience you're right that cyanoacrylate doesn't hold up very well to shear forces. It mostly tends to break away cleanly from either of the surfaces involved, at least in my experience.

 

[Don_ih]

When gluing wood, the glue used matters much less than how clean the surfaces are, that the parts are in some way adequately clamped together, and that nothing is moved until the glue has cured. Superglue is a very poor choice not due to lack of bond strength but due to how much of it will disappear into the wood grain. After using it, you also would never be able to use wood glue on the joint. Yellow "carpenter's" glue is normally the best choice for clean, never-been-glued wood. White glue is about the same. The Gorilla glue mentioned above that people say expands is polyurethane glue - which is better than carpenter's glue but you need to properly clamp the pieces together. Generally, masking tape can provide enough clamping pressure for carpenter's glue - not the case with polyurethane, which needs a stronger clamp. The advantage of polyurethane glue is you can use it to join very irregular pieces or pieces that have been previously glued.
Hide glue is great but you need a way to heat it. The tack is almost instant and, if you need to undo something, a hair dryer will melt the glue so you can dismantle the joint.
Titebond is a pva glue just like any other pva glue. Titebond III has additives to make it water resistant.