How different is the "new" Elmers Glue-All?

I have a couple of bottle of the "old" Elmers Glue-All and for my purposes (low power rockets) it has worked great. I have heard that the "new" Glue-All is a bit different. How different is it and can I still use it like I have been using the "old" kind? Is there another brand that would work just as well? A friend of mine is wanting to get into rockets and I don't want him using unsuitable glue.

Thank you!

Switch to the Titebond or Elmers wood glue for your LPR stuff its a lot easier to work with, faster tack, better dry time and sands way better. As for the new Elmers glue all I don't know, I still use the old stuff sometimes for my shrouds and paper fins it still works great for that. Its a shame if they messed with a good thing.


TA

Spacepirate R said:

I have a couple of bottle of the "old" Elmers Glue-All and for my purposes (low power rockets) it has worked great. I have heard that the "new" Glue-All is a bit different. How different is it and can I still use it like I have been using the "old" kind? Is there another brand that would work just as well? A friend of mine is wanting to get into rockets and I don't want him using unsuitable glue.
Thank you!

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No, I wouldn't use it like the old formula.
The "New Stronger Formula" Elmer's glues are horrible for LPR rocket building.
Too many experienced builders have had couplers and engine mounts freeze up before being slid into position.
I ran out of the old formula and am now using School Glue for construction. It's closer to the old formula glue-all.

I did some testing, just drops on a piece of cardboard using three different types of white glues.
The New Formula RUNS! It's very thin.
A single drop dries flat, meaning it looks like a stain on the cardboard when dry.
The older formula dries thick and keeps it's dome drop shape.

The new formula would be useless for fillets.

For now I'm using School glue for general construction, epoxy for engine mounts and couplers and Titebond M&TG for fillets.

hcmbanjo said:

For now I'm using School glue for general construction, epoxy for engine mounts and couplers and Titebond M&TG for fillets.

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Would the School Glue still work for engine mounts and couplers? I don't know if my friend wants to use epoxy when building with his children (I am not too up on using epoxy either). Would just using "carpenter's glue" work? I would rather just use one kind of glue like I have been using with the "old" glue. (With Testors model cement and a bit of CA here and there as needed).

I was thinking of switching from yellow carpenter's glue to Glue-All for installing engine mounts and couplers, specifically because I've been victimized by the former's tendency to grab and freeze. In fact I just bought a bottle of Glue-All last night. Looks like I need another plan.

I have no qualms about using different glues for different purposes. The yellow glue works really well for building engine mounts and for attaching fins. I've used it for fin fillets too, but am considering Aleene's Tacky Glue next time since it doesn't run or drip as easily. I also bought some epoxy this weekend, 5-minute and 30-minute, and will be experimenting with those.

Titebond II, applied very liberally, works great for me for mounts/couplers. I like that it doesn't cause the "Coke bottle effect" due to shrinkage (it shrinks very little, compared to most wood glues), and in my experience, as long as I apply it liberally, I don't experience the lockup problem.

What Chris said. The new Glue-All is horrible stuff for rocketry. Never ever use it for couplers as the tubes will bind almost immediately leaving you with an unusable mess. Ask me how I know...epoxy is your friend when joining tubes with couplers.

I long ago switched to TBII and have not looked back. I go so far as buying the Glue-All or generic for the bottles themselves. Pour it out the contents and refill with TBII after washing the bottles out of course.

As to "Coke Bottling", TBII will do it, too, if you like filleting your motor mounts in place. Once again, epoxy is your friend in this regard.

Most of my builds have been done with Gorilla Wood Glue. I haven't had any issues with it grabbing too fast, nor have I seen any excess shrinkage issues. I like that it's white and dries clear rather than the yellow of other wood glues.

hcmbanjo said:

For now I'm using School glue for general construction, epoxy for engine mounts and couplers and Titebond M&TG for fillets.

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I just tried gluing up some couplers (as a test, nothing crucial!). Thin films of Elmer's yellow and white (Glue-All — the new formulation), and a thick application of Elmer's yellow, all grabbed up almost immediately. A thick application of Glue-All took a minute or two to freeze up. Heavy, ugly (on the inside) joint though.

5-minute epoxy in a thin film stayed loose about as long as or longer than the thick Glue-All joint. A thin film of 30-minute epoxy stayed quite loose for quite a while, which seemed nice, but at well over 30 minutes the joint still moved a little before freezing up and the epoxy was still tacky.

My experience with 30 minute epoxy is about nil but I assume that's not what it's supposed to do. And I assume the reason is that I didn't get the 1:1 ratio of resin to hardener correct. I was mixing up just a very small amount, enough for one coupler joint, and of course it's extremely hard to control quantities with any precision for that small an amount.

So what do you do if you just want to glue up one coupler? Mix up way more epoxy than you need? Wait until you have several joints all needing epoxy before doing any? Or do you have better ways than I do of accurately measuring out tiny quantities of resin and hardener?

(The 5 minute epoxy I used was one of the kind from the home center that comes in a double syringe, which perhaps makes mixing small quantities easier; but it's also way more expensive than the bottled kind from the hobby store.)

It seems like Elmer's yellow was reformulated at some time and renamed to Elmer's Carpenters Wood Glue... this does not seem to be or behave like the "old" yellow wood glue.... the "new" formulation seems to grab quickly and then it takes forever to dry,
so I have gone back to the white Elmer's (glue all) without any problems