Best Glue

[MrSnappyTurtles]

I am new into rocketry and got myself two estes rockets the Hi Flier XL and the Olympus. What is the best glue to use for them?

 

[NateB]

I like Titebond II Wood Glue to assemble paper and balsa or plywood rockets. I use Titebond Quick and Thick or Rocketpoxy for the fillets.

 

[neil_w]

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on starting things off with a glue question.

For wood-and-paper rockets, you're best off with white glue (e.g. Elmer's Glue-All) or yellow glue (any of various carpenter's glues, or my personal preference Titebond II). There are many other glues that are useful to keep around for assorted other uses, but for basic construction stick with those. Titebond Quick and Thick is good for fillets (see my tutorial), but you can get by with just the regular stuff until you get hold of the Q&T.

Also see the NAR Model Rocket page for excellent reference material on rocket building techniques.

 

[SecondRow]

 

[bobbyg23]

I prefer Gorilla wood glue myself. Titebond II works excellent also.

 

[MrSnappyTurtles]

Im gonna go ahead and guess that the fillets are the fins?

 

[teepot]

The fillets go where the fins meet the body tube. It's a fillet of glue.

 

[MrSnappyTurtles]

Ah that makes sense thank you.

 

[Antares JS]

I swear by Aleene's Tacky Glue for low-power, except for bonding plastic. I use CA for that.

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

It’s crazy that no one has ever asked this question before, and almost nobody has an opinion on it.

 

[samb]

Welcome to the forum MrSnappyTurtles !
Lots of good suggestion and lots of favorites for the #1 favorite question on the ol' forum ! If you already have some Elmer's Glue All or Aleene's I wouldn't hesitate to use it for those models. The instructions in those kits also provide some direction for the adhesives to use as well. And a big +1 for the NAR Model Rocket info page that neil_w included as a link in post #3.
One question, what kind of modeling experience do you have ?

Im gonna go ahead and guess that the fillets are the fins?

The fillets go where the fins meet the body tube. It's a fillet of glue.

Fillets provide a surprising (until you do it) amount of strength at the fin/body tube joint. A critical construction step.

 

[laming]

I have used Titebond for years. It works great and sets up relatively fast.

 

[Jee3300R]

For that size, hot glue will work just fine. I’ve used it for up to E’s. By far the easiest glue to work with.

 

[MrSnappyTurtles]

What about epoxy? The olympus Rockets says it's needs epoxy

 

[teepot]

There are all different types of epoxy. And probably as many opinions on which one to use. What I use is JB Weld kwik weld 5 minute epoxy with steel to tack fins to the motor mount and to attach the centering ring to the motor mount and also the body tube. This epoxy has the consistency of toothpaste. I use JB Weld clear weld 5 minute epoxy to attach couplers and to do the back side fillet of the forward centering ring. This epoxy has the consistency of syrup. I use PC Super Epoxy to do fin fillets both internal and external. This epoxy is a paste. About the consistency of thin peanut butter. A lot of people like Rocketpoxy. I'm sure you will get a lot of comments when asking about epoxy. There is probably a thread on epoxy too.

 

[MrSnappyTurtles]

Thank you

 

[Senior Space Cadet]

I've been using two glues.
Titebond III Ultimate: stronger bond and longer working times than most other wood glues.
Titebond molding and trim glue: found out about this from a NAR video. Doesn't run or drip. I use it mostly for fillets, but it's good anytime I want more gap filling.

 

[samb]

What about epoxy? The olympus Rockets says it's needs epoxy

The instructions call for epoxy one time to glue the threaded part of the engine retainer, which is plastic, to the end of the cardboard motor tube. I use JB Weld for that ‘cause I can get it anywhere. The rest of the construction specifies carpenters glue for the wood and paper joining. Estes instructions are short on words and long on pictures and it takes some time and study to understand them.
FYI you can do a forum search for “Olympus” to see some other threads from folks who’ve built this one.

Olympus instructions on JimZ

 

[Senior Space Cadet]

What about epoxy? The olympus Rockets says it's needs epoxy

I may be insane, but I use super glue to glue the plastic motor retainer on.
Epoxy is messy and I hate opening up tubes of epoxy, and ruining the auto mix spout, for just this.
I've had motor mount failures, but I've never had a plastic motor retainer, that I super glued, come off.

 

[prfesser]

I use <insert generic glue variety> and my go-to for this is <specific brand/type of glue>. Of course, when gluing <specific application> I use <other brand/type of glue> but for general use <specific brand/type of glue> does the job for me! It always <useful feature> and <other useful feature>. However, it does <minor problem> but I take care of that by <trivial solution>.

<Generic closing phrase or word>,
Terry

 

[samb]

I use <insert generic glue variety> and my go-to for this is <specific brand/type of glue>. ... ... ...
However, it does <minor problem> but I take care of that by <trivial solution>.

<Generic closing phrase or word>,
Terry

Yep, that about sums up the “best glue” question.

 

[cbrarick]

I LOVE a good glue thread. What's it been, 10 days?

Terry (prfessser) is my hero! I <large quantity> agree with him!

 

[SharkWhisperer]

For that size, hot glue will work just fine. I’ve used it for up to E’s. By far the easiest glue to work with.

Not sure that I'd trust hot glue for the fin fillets on a small-diameter rocket or for the centering rings (especially inner glue joint to the motor mount tube) because motors get hot and hot glue likes to melt. And with all respect, getting hot glue into tight places can be more problematic than other glues. If limiting discussion to fin fillets, unless you're using specialized formulations with polyurethane that "cure" to some degree to resist remelting (and I don't know anybody using these for rockets), there's still quite a lot of motor heat that reaches the outer tube/fillets that is likely maximum right around the time velocity is maximum--even if it didn't cause outright separation of the fin joint, and even if you had a decent underlying initial bonding with yellow glue or whatever your favorite is for initial attachment before filleting, I could see a reheated glue fillet softening and allowing fin flutter at high speed.

Those would be my concerns with using hot glue in lower rocket construction, apart from the glue stringiness and finger burns if hand-smoothing a fillet, but that could just be my poor technique. And use of "generic" hot glue sticks when there's many different formulations available with different chemical and physical traits. All said, though, if it has worked for you and continues to work for you, then I cannot criticize your preferred approach.

 

[SharkWhisperer]

I use <insert generic glue variety> and my go-to for this is <specific brand/type of glue>. Of course, when gluing <specific application> I use <other brand/type of glue> but for general use <specific brand/type of glue> does the job for me! It always <useful feature> and <other useful feature>. However, it does <minor problem> but I take care of that by <trivial solution>.

<Generic closing phrase or word>,
Terry

That's a hoot! I'm both a rocketeer and a pyrotechnician/fireworker, sometimes combining finned and recovered rocketry for effect delivery to altitude.

The rocketeer forum "what glue?" question is similarly ubiquitous to the fireworker forums' "what's the best way to make reliably hot BP" question, hah ha.

 

[BABAR]

Something likely nearly as important as the glue is surface prep.

most kit paper body tubes come with a glassine outer layer which does not hold an adhesive very well.

Therefore it is a really good idea to sand off the outer glassing layer where you’re going to attach the fins.

Also if you do any fin preparation prior to attachment aside from carpenters wood filler aka CWF to fill the grain, try not to have primer or superglue or paint on the root edge of the fin (the part that will actually attach to the Rocket.)

 

[Jee3300R]

Not sure that I'd trust hot glue for the fin fillets on a small-diameter rocket or for the centering rings (especially inner glue joint to the motor mount tube) because motors get hot and hot glue likes to melt. And with all respect, getting hot glue into tight places can be more problematic than other glues. If limiting discussion to fin fillets, unless you're using specialized formulations with polyurethane that "cure" to some degree to resist remelting (and I don't know anybody using these for rockets), there's still quite a lot of motor heat that reaches the outer tube/fillets that is likely maximum right around the time velocity is maximum--even if it didn't cause outright separation of the fin joint, and even if you had a decent underlying initial bonding with yellow glue or whatever your favorite is for initial attachment before filleting, I could see a reheated glue fillet softening and allowing fin flutter at high speed.

Those would be my concerns with using hot glue in lower rocket construction, apart from the glue stringiness and finger burns if hand-smoothing a fillet, but that could just be my poor technique. And use of "generic" hot glue sticks when there's many different formulations available with different chemical and physical traits. All said, though, if it has worked for you and continues to work for you, then I cannot criticize your preferred approach.

I use the glue gun tip to smooth out filets while applying them - to the fins, around the CR’s, etc. As for the MMT, I just plop a big blob of hot glue inside and all around and twist the mmt and it ends up jamming well. Helps get small rockets done in less than 10 minutes.

As for the heat, LPR motors dont produce a lot of thrust and don’t burn hot or long. For the filets, the airflow cools the glue and fin flutter would be because of the fin material. I did a E9 min diameter and it worked with all hot glue.

Hot glue can’t be sanded so for nice looking paint jobs and high quality builds, other glues would be better, only problem is my rockets end up getting lost after only a couple of flights so I personally don’t bother.

 

[dr wogz]

knowing how glue works goes a long way..

knowing what the glue is designed to hold also plays a part in your selection

Knowing the difference between the materials you're tying to glue also helps with the choice..



https://i.redd.it/c2fx01pzli551.jpg

 

[rocket_troy]

Interesting tables, and interesting contradictions in some instances such as the recommendations of say "cyanoacrylate" with "rubber".

TP

 

[Antares JS]

I may be insane, but I use super glue to glue the plastic motor retainer on.
Epoxy is messy and I hate opening up tubes of epoxy, and ruining the auto mix spout, for just this.
I've had motor mount failures, but I've never had a plastic motor retainer, that I super glued, come off.

You're not insane sir. I do the same thing after buffing the inside of the ring a bit with sandpaper. For small motors it's good enough.

 

[JPalmer621]

Here is another chart of glues I picked up a few years ago