Monte.C
...
(I hope this is the best place for this posting)
(I'm sure there must be similar posts out there somewhere but I don't want to do a deep search... Here's my two cents.)
#1. It's ok for me to grumble about hot glue! This coming from a guy who has logged 1000 hours (at least) on CA and balsa and bass and birch ply. I'm new to planes but I used to design/build the slickest, sexiest RC speedboats, mostly offshore racing hulls.
#2. Hot glue is the best thing available for foamcore if you want an instant & strong bond.
#3. I've found that if you can afford the inconvenience of weighting your pieces down and waiting for the cure, Gorilla Glue is superior to hot glue - if you're the kind of builder that wants to go that way. There's no question that the finished weight is only a fraction of a hot glue connection. If done a certain way, the finished appearance can be super clean, where with hot glue even if you get rid of the ugly globs you still have shiny glue smears all over your precious model. That's perfectly fine for many of us. The most crazy builders like myself can't sleep at night when that happens.
#4. Some will say hot glue is best because it flexes and won't crack/shatter. Gorilla Glue isn't rock hard, it flexes too. It has much more plasticity than I thought it would. You'll see this if you trim off visible glue lines from your plane, and handle/pull/squish the trimmings. Also when you pull off the crustiness from the spout of the half used bottle. Let the scrap fully cure, then handle it. It moves and bends and folds as you wish. This is impact/cracking resistance.
#5. I've found that GG isn't the strongest when trying to bond to the silicone surface of my brown FT foamboard. (I think it's silicone.) If you're really careful with a blade you can sometimes peel away visible "trimmings" of glue from the surface without pulling away paper. Because of this, where strength is a significant factor I'll pierce the paper every 1/4" with a toothpick or cut very small windows through the paper along the joint to be glued, that won't be visible after gluing. This let's the GG bond into the cells of the foam, and into the edges of the paper so you still have all the strength advantages that the paper provides. And a foam-to-foam GG joint is infinitely stronger than the surrounding foam.
I'm one of those builders (I've heard there are others) who has found places where it's good to use GG along a joint with one or two spots of hot glue to tack it down to let the GG cure. This technique can be ideal for certain situations.
I'll get a bottle of medium CA in the mail in a couple days, supposed to be "100% foam safe," and I can't wait. I have a couple places on my current WW2 medium bomber build where this is just what I need. Not ultra strength-critical, but places where I want a near-instant but very clean joint. As with GG, I can pierce the paper to allow the adhesive to get in there with an internal structural bond. Who has had experience with foam-safe CA?
Who has thoughts? Opinions? Additions? Arguments? Seriously, I'm all ears. Thanks.
(I'm sure there must be similar posts out there somewhere but I don't want to do a deep search... Here's my two cents.)
#1. It's ok for me to grumble about hot glue! This coming from a guy who has logged 1000 hours (at least) on CA and balsa and bass and birch ply. I'm new to planes but I used to design/build the slickest, sexiest RC speedboats, mostly offshore racing hulls.
#2. Hot glue is the best thing available for foamcore if you want an instant & strong bond.
#3. I've found that if you can afford the inconvenience of weighting your pieces down and waiting for the cure, Gorilla Glue is superior to hot glue - if you're the kind of builder that wants to go that way. There's no question that the finished weight is only a fraction of a hot glue connection. If done a certain way, the finished appearance can be super clean, where with hot glue even if you get rid of the ugly globs you still have shiny glue smears all over your precious model. That's perfectly fine for many of us. The most crazy builders like myself can't sleep at night when that happens.
#4. Some will say hot glue is best because it flexes and won't crack/shatter. Gorilla Glue isn't rock hard, it flexes too. It has much more plasticity than I thought it would. You'll see this if you trim off visible glue lines from your plane, and handle/pull/squish the trimmings. Also when you pull off the crustiness from the spout of the half used bottle. Let the scrap fully cure, then handle it. It moves and bends and folds as you wish. This is impact/cracking resistance.
#5. I've found that GG isn't the strongest when trying to bond to the silicone surface of my brown FT foamboard. (I think it's silicone.) If you're really careful with a blade you can sometimes peel away visible "trimmings" of glue from the surface without pulling away paper. Because of this, where strength is a significant factor I'll pierce the paper every 1/4" with a toothpick or cut very small windows through the paper along the joint to be glued, that won't be visible after gluing. This let's the GG bond into the cells of the foam, and into the edges of the paper so you still have all the strength advantages that the paper provides. And a foam-to-foam GG joint is infinitely stronger than the surrounding foam.
I'm one of those builders (I've heard there are others) who has found places where it's good to use GG along a joint with one or two spots of hot glue to tack it down to let the GG cure. This technique can be ideal for certain situations.
I'll get a bottle of medium CA in the mail in a couple days, supposed to be "100% foam safe," and I can't wait. I have a couple places on my current WW2 medium bomber build where this is just what I need. Not ultra strength-critical, but places where I want a near-instant but very clean joint. As with GG, I can pierce the paper to allow the adhesive to get in there with an internal structural bond. Who has had experience with foam-safe CA?
Who has thoughts? Opinions? Additions? Arguments? Seriously, I'm all ears. Thanks.
.... Globs ans smear can be removed though. Reason why i see hot glue best, is its more flexible than much, the foamboards flex a little it self, and together they stick better than many. Gorilla Glue i see as superb in some parts/places, other not, mainly i like it best where less flex isnt a question.
