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super glue

Robert Feingold

Robert Feingold

Joined
Jun 14, 2011
Messages
119
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64
Location
Brooklyn, NY
Does it matter what brand of super glue and accelerator is best for general turning work. I see different brands in the catalogs. Is one brand preferred over the other? I'm using it mostly for glue blocks but also general work.
Also what sites have the best prices.
Thanks,
Rob
 
I use a lot of CA and have not noticed significant difference between brands as long as it is fresh. Accelerators vary. The amine is carried generally in a solvent. The amine is what causes the chemical reaction. The ones that use acetone as the carrier for amine in my experience tend to be more aggressive or cure faster than the others that don't use the acetone as the carrier. Why I am not a chemist but this is just from my practical experience. I tend to use accelerators that use acetone for the carrier of the amine.

Good Luck

Alan
 
The retail markup for small quantities of CA and Accelerator is enormous. If you can, join a local woodturners club and take advantage of their volume buying capability. At my relatively small AAW Chapter, we sell 2 oz bottles of Starbond CA and the small pump accelerator bottles for $5 each and still make a small profit.

Dennis
 
Alan hit the nail on the head, freshest is the best no matter which brand. Refrigeration will extend the life of the product. I buy in larger quantities but no longer buy thick CA in those quantities as I have never been able to use the thick before it went solid.

Bill
 
Shop stuff just doesn''t get frige space in my household. This is the result of past misunderstanding too lengthy to explain here.

I store CA in a plastic jar, like and old peanut butter jar, with threaded tight fitting lid. When ever I find a desicant pouch in a product I purchase I put it the CA jar to create as dry of an enviroment as possible for CA storage.

But probably my most useful tip would be - every fall throw all my CA away and buy new.
 
Twenty or thirty years ago there were alot fewer brands and I would have said "Hot Stuff" was the best. However, over the years, all brands seem to have changed and cheapened their refining process, because none of them seem to be a potent as they used to be. I can remember using Hot Stuff brand and it would actually cause a small plume of smoke from the chemcial reaction and it dried about three times faster back then (which increased the need for debonder for thumbs glued to fingers). Had a few close calls back then, now it hardens slow enough its not an issue.
 
I get Starbond in 16oz bottles. $30 plus shipping. I mix the really thin with med. thin. They give you plenty of xtra bottles and tips and micro tips. I also get a 16oz. Bottle of the accelerator. By the time 32 oz. are used up so is the accelerator. I keep the big glue bottles in the freezer. I have a med. thick thats been in the freezer since 03 I think. I only decant a bit at a time and try to remember to even put the small bottle back in the freezer if I am not going to use it up soon. It starts to really thicken in a few weeks. If you are worried about it maybe going off in the freezer put the jars in another container. Knock on wood I have had no problem.
Save all used clogged tips. When they fill up a jar and you are out of new ones put some acetone in the jar. It will clean all the glue from the tips.
 
Every year at SWAT, I usually pick up a few 16 oz. bottles of Starbond CA and keep it in our garage fridge. It actually keeps for years in the fridge, but in the hot garage may only last a few months. My only complaint about Starbond is that the small 2 oz. bottles they provide are notorious for the caps not sealing well. This past year they seemed to be better quality, but not perfect. I wish that they would use bottles with wedge lock seals. Right now, I am overstocked with medium CA (3 large 16 oz. bottles) and none of the other thicknesses.
 
Ca

I get the odorless ?quart size Starbond thin and keep in in the freezer (doesn't freeze), I decant it into 2 oz containers when I need it. It still flows well. Maybe 2-3 years old. Other than not flowing well, is the efficacy still there if flows nicely?? Have wondered that. I can still stick my fingers together!!!!
 
I have used "old" CA that had thickened up slightly and didn't notice anything different other than it takes longer to set up. If it will come out of the bottle then I will usually use it. Thick CA that is old and gotten much thicker often takes forever to set. If it takes longer than I feel like waiting then it gets tossed.
 
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