General Balsa and Light Plywood Do's and Don'ts...

someguyinsandy

Crash Test Dummy
I am starting this to ask a few basic questions from the group concerning working with wood used in model airplanes.

The first question I have concerns glues. Should I be using CA on nearly everything? In the event of a yes, no, or maybe answer; which type of CA do you find works best?

When is a traditional wood glue, or Gorilla type glue appropriate, if ever?

I'll leave it there for now, thanks in advance for replys - and especially for any good tips tossed in along the way!

Steve in Sandy
 

Tony

Staff member
When I built the Telemaster, I used wood glue on everything. But medium CA will work just as well if not better. It dries faster and I think has a stronger bond. It's also easier to sand since it doesn't stay on top of the wood and soaks in. The mods I'm doing on the wing and fuse now I'm using nothing but CA. I'm cutting things for a tight fit and using thin CA so it will seep in under the wood and lock everything together. IMO, I would never use Gorilla glue on any thing wood unless you are out at the field and have nothing else on hand. But you should always keep some CA with you anyway lol.
 

someguyinsandy

Crash Test Dummy
Thanks for that info. How about medium CA? I have pleanty of that. Also, do you think that there are any issues to worry about if I use kicker with the CA?
 

Tony

Staff member
If you re read what I wrote, Medium CA is what I suggested first. But if you are doing cuts that fit tight use thin so it will soak in. And kicker will work fine with no ill effects.
 

Chris O'Hara

Thermal Padawan
each CA has different properties I might add. Thin CA is very good for tight fitting balsa parts because it bonds nearly instantly and wicks into the wood all the way through
 

RandyDSok

Well-Known Member
First we probably should clear up one thing... Gorilla is actually a brand and not a type of glue. Gorilla makes many different types including CA, wood glue, epoxy as well as the one most think of as Gorilla Glue ( their first one ) that is waterproof, a large temp range ( doesn't crack or get soft at temp ) foams and expands etc.

Gorilla Glue works well to fill voids and areas that requires some added strength like you'd find around landing gear. Because it expands and foams up as it cures... you don't want to use it in tight places or where precision glueing is warranted. This one is certainly handing in certain situations but the other types of glue made by Gorilla aren't probably as good as other brands provide.

Wood Glue... two good brands are Elmer's and/or Titebond. These work very well but they do have a slower dry time so I tend to use the right CA instead in many cases. These will fill gaps better than I feel I get with a thick CA. I will often mix these with saw dust, baking soda, Tiny Bubbles ( a light filler modelers use with various glues ) and/or talc powder to make a lighter weight sandable filler for things such as fillets and such.

Thin CA... This actually makes a stronger bond than wood glue since it penetrates the wood more. If that penetration is important to your joint, don't use kicker. Also doubles as a permanent locktite on screws and bolts and unlike locktite, it doesn't matter if they are all metal or not... it won't attack plastics or nylons like locktite. As far as being sandable, it really isn't so much as compared to a wood glue.

Medium CA... Doesn't penetrate like the thin and it does fill joints in pretty well but not as much as a thick one will. I'll use this one to go back over all joints I may have glued with thin CA, to beef them up some... as well as all critical areas such as firewalls, landing gear blocks and motorbox's....

Thick CA... It doesn't make as good of a joint glue like the thin or medium... but it fills gaps really well but not as well as wood glues are capable of. Also works great to hold nuts and bolts in place when you don't want something permanent since it doesn't penatrate the threads and only sits on top.

Epoxy... I use this in landing gear blocks, firewalls and similar areas where added strength ( beyond what wood itself provides ) is needed. It also works nicely when thinned down to fuelproof a FW or other wood on IC engine airframes. When used with a filler ( to lighten it up ) it makes excellent fillets and adds a lot of strength to that area. It isn't as sandable as the wood glue, but it is much stronger. I use this almost exclusively on composite airframes or where I'm joining a composite to wood.
 

someguyinsandy

Crash Test Dummy
rdosk, wow you certainly did. This is getting printed off and saved in my build book. Thank you!

- - - Updated - - -

Additionally, I was referring to the foaming type of "Gorilla" glue!

- - - Updated - - -

One of the reasons I asked the glue question had to do with light plywood. Do water based glues cause a problem with delamination at all? Or, is that even a concern?
 

Chris O'Hara

Thermal Padawan
As far as my experience goes, no. Using a good wood glue can make a strong joint without delaminating the plywood.
 

someguyinsandy

Crash Test Dummy
On epoxys, rdsok - you mentioned thinning down epoxy to coat a firewall making it fuelproof. Can you elaborate on that a bit more?

What do you thin it with, etc.

Additionally, I bought some 5 min epoxy. It seems to be very strong, but I have found that that it doesn't bond well to smooth surfaces (even roughed up with sandpaper), and it also seems to be very brittle when cured. Do you have a favorite all purpose epoxy that you recommend?
 

RandyDSok

Well-Known Member
I prefer the 15 and 30 minute epoxies usually... they give a much longer work time. I can't recall the brand I usually pick up from the LHS and I'm at work so I can't cheat and look.

All types of glue/adhesive are application specific... epoxy works great on more porous materials like woods and fiberglass ( which is actually what fiberglass uses as a resin )... on plastics and glass it is terrible since there isn't a good surface for it to adhere to.

I only thin an epoxy when I don't have to worry about strength or even color issues... thinning it down can affect both properties. When I have to worry about those and I still need it a bit thinner, just applying head with a hair drier can make a lot of difference... I heat each separate components and then mix.

Thinning it for the purposes of sealing and fuel proofing etc... read the label of the brand you have... they often will list a recommended thinner. If they don't the standards are acetone, lacquer thinner and denatured alcohol.
 
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