Glueing joints and light leaks?

[Billy Bob]

For the finger joints use hide glue as discussed. For the metal to wood connection use epoxy. I use it all the time in my clock making and it works great. Systems 3 epoxy is the best the stuff but pricey and only comes in larger sizes. I adhere metal to wood frequently and I also use cyanocrylate (CA) glue on wood daily. CA glue has never casued a problem for me and wood turners also use it to bond green wood right on the lathe. Its the only glue that bonds wet green wood as far as i know. You'll find world renowned bowl turners selling $1000.00 bowls that are held together with nothing but CA glue. You will also find for butt joints the newer elmers pro bond is the best rated yellow glue for end grain joints such as a butt joint. Tite bond failed before elmers pro bond failed in a test done by wood mag last year or so. You may consider using a poly glue for the lace wood as normal yellow wood glue (tite bond, elmers etc) will not bond oily exotics.

 

[Donald Qualls]

CA glue has never casued a problem for me and wood turners also use it to bond green wood right on the lathe. Its the only glue that bonds wet green wood as far as i know. You'll find world renowned bowl turners selling $1000.00 bowls that are held together with nothing but CA glue.

The big deal with CA is to use a good one, not the "Krazy Glue" sold on the impulse racks at K-Mart. Go to a model building shop and get Jet, or Zap, or the shop's own rebranded version (there's a company that sells the stuff with a blank label and lets the hobby shop put their own name on it -- perfectly fine stuff). The difference is the good CA is pretty much pure CA resin (in the thin form; the "thick" and "slow" versions contain fillers and really require the "kicker" catalyst to get full utility), as thin as water and just as clear, while the stuff sold as "Krazy Glue" and similar is about 50% or less. I've never managed to stick anything in my life with the "impulse rack" CA glues, but the hobby shop glues are good enough to use in human-carrying aircraft construction. I've got a couple model airplane wings that I built 20+ years ago with Zap and Zap-a-Gap, and I'd still trust them in 20G maneuvers (that'd be a wing, built of balsa and spruce, that weighs less than a pound, on a five pound airplane, supporting a lift load of about 100 lbs).

 

[barryjyoung]

I really enjoyed Marks informative and authoritive posts on hide glue. I agree with everything he said. I also agree with Billy Bob on the use of epoxy. If the box joint is tight I would use Titebond liquid hide glue which I have found to be a convenient alternative to a glue pot. If the joint were loose I would use West Systems 30 minute cure time epoxy available at marine stores. West systems epoxy is the best I have ever used. The nice thing about epoxy for loose joints is that you can mix it with fine sawdust from a lighter colored wood (It will darken a lot when mixed with the epoxy) to act as an extremely effective gap filling adhesive. If you don't want to spend $40 per pint for epoxy, do the footwork and find Devcon brand epoxy in a syringe dispenser, it is miles beyond Loctite available at Home Despot from a quality point of view. Epoxy can also be mixed with toner (fun job) for sealing light leaks. After the joint is glued, wipe off all the excess possible with a dry colorfast cloth and use waxed paper between your clamps and the wood. this will make finishing the cured joint easier.