Epoxy, CA glue

[BigCasino]

Ok I know there was a discussion about Glues and such I have been unable to find it, I don't know if it was lost in the big crash or not, the only thing I can find mention on CA is the recent stabilization discussion but any ways

What is the preference to all you fancy pipe making peoples? and why?

and a couple other question is does CA truely bond instantly? and is is strong like epoxy? will it hold fast when bonding say acrylic to ebonite or either of those to wood?

Thanks for any and all comments, opinions

[oklahoma red]

I'm partial to G-Flex epoxy because it does not get rock-hard and brittle. It is NOT fast setting but I don't care. I'd rather be slow and right than quick and wrong (that's what she told me anyway).
I've got some high dollar, high temp stuff to be on the safe side if I'm close to the bowl. (however, I'm going to try some good old J-B Weld slow-set for steel as I believe its high temp properties are as good as the high dollar epoxy.)
When ever possible I use threaded Delrin tenons that I've either made myself or bought from Tim West. Delrin's non-ability to glue well is legendary so I interrupt the thread with a Dremel cutter on both the mortise and tenon, across the thread. This allows the G-Flex to flow into the cuts I made and form a mechanical lock. If one opts for non-threaded tenons the same technique can be used but there should be some grooves cut that are perpendicular to the airway as well as parallel to get the best mechanical lock.
Thickened CA glue is good for gluing on little blocks of scrap briar where the guide pressure will be applied during drilling in the shape-first method. Apply the glue to the bock and accelerator to the stummel and viola! Thin CA will run all over everything including you. Loctite Gel CA a good one. Readily available at hardware stores.
Disclaimer: my preferences only! There will be those that use other techniques and brands of epoxy or use CA for everything.
Chas.

[BigCasino]

I Don't use derlin that much for tenons, but when I do I also have cut "cross hatch" grooves to help with the lock.
I mostly cut tenons on the lathe, mostly what I use glue for are stem inlays, but I am going to start trying my hand at shank extensions and such. I like the epoxy, but I thought if the CA was as good and instant setting that I could get more work done on the few days I have to work on pipes, plus it claims to work well at bonding dissimilar materials including metals and wood

[caskwith]

CA glue works fine for rings and details etc, as does epoxy, even the fast 90sec kind which is what I use on tenons.
Just remember though, no glue is particularly good at the sheer stresses of removing a stem so don't rely on glue alone to hold pieces together. The best thing to do for stems is have one solid piece of material and cut a tenon to slide your details onto, that way the solid piece takes all the stress and the glue just has to hold them in place.

[The Smoking Yeti]

CA glue works fine for rings and details etc, as does epoxy, even the fast 90sec kind which is what I use on tenons.
Just remember though, no glue is particularly good at the sheer stresses of removing a stem so don't rely on glue alone to hold pieces together. The best thing to do for stems is have one solid piece of material and cut a tenon to slide your details onto, that way the solid piece takes all the stress and the glue just has to hold them in place.

This right here- a lesson I'm glad I learned sooner rather than later.

[BigCasino]

Thanks Chris, I almost always cut integral tenons, not that there is anything wrong with derlin, I do use that now and then, but I just like the tenon being whole with the stem.

[PremalChheda]

CA glue is too fast for me. I like using 5 min epoxy. Plenty of time to move around if needed. The flex epoxy may be even better.

[KurtHuhn]

CA glue is really brittle compared to most epoxies. I'ts okay for shank adornments, but I do not like it for delrin.

[andrew]

CA glue is really brittle compared to most epoxies. I'ts okay for shank adornments, but I do not like it for delrin.

I came to the same conclusion. Not for the tenon. Fine for virtually everything else.

andrew

[BigCasino]

Thanks guys,
I think I'll be staying with epoxy, I read somewhere that the CA kind of melts the acrylic together so I thought it might be stronger for that, which is what made me start to wonder if it would be a better choice, but didn't know how well it would bond acrylic to wood and such...

[caskwith]

As mentioned by several above, CA for adornments etc as it sets up hard and fast allowing you to keep working, it also fills any micro gaps much better than epoxy and polishes better. Epoxy if you are using delrin tenons, CA really isn't suitable for this.

[oklahoma red]

I read somewhere that the CA kind of melts the acrylic together so I thought it might be stronger for that

CA glues do not melt acrylics together. Specialty glues such as Weld-On are what do a true surface melt. A lot of CA glue formulations will craze and cause a "bloom" on acrylics but I would not consider that to be a true "melt 'em together" bond. I use Weld-On almost every day in my control panel business and there's nothing better for gluing acrylic to acrylic in my opinion. Strong fumes tho.
Chas.

[pipedreamer]

For delrin, high quality 5 min. epoxy. When close to heat or I need to be absolutely sure of strength, I use J-B industrial Weld.I will use CA glue for little do dads and as Mr.Caskwith stated, It polishes up nice.

[mcgregorpipes]

thin CA is great at penetrating into the wood and saw dust. its also used by archaeologists to stabalize brittle fossil bones while they dremel them out of rock. just got some of the small refill bottles with the fine tips makes it much easier to control runs and only squeeze out a small drop. for shank extensions the slower drying 1500 CPS thick CA might work better than the thin 50 CPS variety. for delrin i've only used 5 min epoxy, tried every brand at the hardware store they all seem comparable. delrin is more about the mechanical connection right? even with scoring the tenon and mortise i still had a few earlier attempts at joints fail with a hard twist, when the epoxy failed it looked kind of white and crumbly. so started chucking delrin tenons in the cordless drill and running the end into a die to score them its quick and haven't had one fail yet

used to order ca here you can see the different kinds
http://www.exoticblanks.com/ca-cyanoacrylate-glue/

to save on shipping in canada i get it here now
https://www.penblanks.ca/Adhesives/