CA glue life

[Steve Bonny]

I have heard a couple of comments that CA glue starts to break down after ~10years and that museums wont accept anything glued together with CA. I have some pens that I made maybe five years ago that are finished with CA glue and they still look as new. Does anyone have any information or facts that would back up this issue? Any experience with using CA for more than 10 years? I mostly use it as a grain filler and finish.

 

[Doug Rasmussen]

If you Google on "David Ellsworth and CA glue" you'll find a link to his and Richard Raffan's opinions about the lack of long term holding.

I think I read somewhere else about other well known turners avoiding it too.

 

[hockenbery]

I use CA for glue blocks.. the glue blocks are removed by using a chisel at the glue joint.
The CA breaks not the wood. There is rarely any wood pulled from either the turned object or the glueblock.
CA is a glue “not stronger than wood”

I just never use for thing I want to stay together.

 

[Steve Bonny]

If you Google on "David Ellsworth and CA glue" you'll find a link to his and Richard Raffan's opinions about the lack of long term holding.

I think I read somewhere else about other well known turners avoiding it too.

Thanks Doug, some interesting thoughts in that pdf.

 

[Steve Bonny]

I use CA for glue blocks.. the glue blocks are removed by using a chisel at the glue joint.
The CA breaks not the wood. There is rarely any wood pulled from either the turned object or the glueblock.
CA is a glue “not stronger than wood”

I just never use for thing I want to stay together.

It certainly seems to be relatively brittle. I could see it breaking if you whack it with a chisel. I have used for finishes and recently I dropped a small vase when I separated it from the glue block. It hit the lathe bed a couple of times and dropped onto concrete. Where it picked up dings the CA finish actually shattered very locally to the ding. A typical lacquer would have just gone with the ding.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I have some pieces with CA glue that are about 15 years old and doing just fine. I had a glue bottle in a metal cabinet in my (then) unairconditioned garage crack and leaked CA all over the metal shelf and glued everything in the vicinity to the shelf. I wish that it would start breaking down in ten years, but unfortunately that isn't the case at all. CA has its uses, but it isn't a substitute for a structural adhesive. I use it for filling hairline cracks, inlay work, glue blocks, and as a finish. It is brittle so take that into consideration when making your decision.

 

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I still have at least one bowl here were I used CA glue to fill defects in the wood, made in 1999, used every day and the CA is not falling-out or anything else is happening with it.



I normally do not use CA as a structural glue, yesI use it to fill hairline cracks, or with Coffee grind to fill small defects making it look like a bark inclusion.

However I have and do glue my ornaments like Birdhouses with CA, my immediate family has at least a couple dozen, and I have my first one that I made in 2004 still, the others made in the next few years, None of these have come apart, and I do not believe that the CA itself breaks down, being brittle, larger wood movement or shrinkage could break the glue line maybe.

 

[Bill Blasic]

I wrote that article for the AAW magazine and in that pdf it is missing a page or two. I still would stand behind most of what is written. I now use CA alone as a finish thanks to Alan Trout. I also have a piece or two that have CA involved that have been around for over ten years.

 

[Michael Nathal]

I wrote that article for the AAW magazine and in that pdf it is missing a page or two. I still would stand behind most of what is written. I now use CA alone as a finish thanks to Alan Trout. I also have a piece or two that have CA involved that have been around for over ten years.

If you access the article through AAW Explore you get the last 2 pages. Good stuff in those pages, worth reading.

 

[Steve Bonny]

Thanks for the info, I found the full article and agree - there is more good info in the last 2 pages. Very helpful.

 

[Donovan Bailey]

Do you guys use CA for finials? If not, what do you use?

 

[hockenbery]

Titebond.

Michael Hosaluk does a nice demo in which he constructs his pod forms.
He uses a rub joint with the Elmer’s or Titebond. Works almost as quick as CA and no clamps required.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Do you guys use CA for finials? If not, what do you use?

Are you asking about using CA to glue the finial to the lid of a vessel or are you asking about using CA as a finish for a finial?

 

[Donovan Bailey]

Are you asking about using CA to glue the finial to the lid of a vessel or are you asking about using CA as a finish for a finial?

Thanks. I'm asking about whether or not folks are using CA to glue the finial to the lid of a vessel. If not, what glue is the preference.