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jadam

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whats a good glue to glue say balsa fins onto a body tube. Its taking HOURS for this elmers glue to dry out and strenghten, and the plastic cement wont bond the balsa to the body tube of course...
 
Hi Jadam,

There are a couple of different adhesives that most builders use. The first is CyA (CyanoAcrylate Glue aka Super Glue) and epoxy.

For lighter weight models (Estes, and other low power birds, CyA is plenty strong.

Typically, you'll see them in 3 kinds, Thin, Medium and Extra Thick. I usually use either medium or thick depending on the application.

You can find these in larger bottles at your local hobby shop. I typically purchase the 2oz. bottles.

Epoxy is good for mid and high power birds. It's much stronger, but also much heavier.

I'm sure others will chime in here with their preferences as well.

Hope this helps.

Welcome aboard!

Jason
 
Jadam,

Welcome to the forum.

I have been an advocate of good ol' Elmer's Glue-All for over 40 years. I use it for everything from gluing to coating.

I've gone over this before but one more time!

Mark the body tube for the fin and with a straight pin make a row of holes along the line.

Put a line of glue along the "root" edge of the fin and spread it out evenly (I use a toothpick). Now, touch the fin along the line of pin holes and remove ...with a toothpick kinda push the glue into the pin hole, this makes a glue "rivet". Set it aside. Let it dry for about 15 or 20 minutes.

Before the Elmer's has almost completely dried apply another very very thin bead of glue to the root edge o9f the fin (this reactivates the glue). Now touch into place firmly and let it set...Instant Elmer's bond!

I then do glue filets one section at a time. I use Elmer's and my little finger to form the filet. This whole filet process takes about four or five hours...don't rush it.

Good Luck,

sandman
 
Hi All,

Well, thansk for the info, i appreciate it a lot. Right now im just using tape to keep my fins aligned and so that they dont fall apart, ive attached 2 sets so far and to tell you the truth, one of them i let dry overnight and the attachment is relatively strong. im going to try that pin method shortly in about 1 hour! thanks a lot guys! This is my second rocket though and first using balsa fins. My first was an Alpha III(comes with electron beam igniter and launchpad for 1/2 the price of those two combined :D) and a commanche-3 rocket.
 
jadam,

First, welcome aboard, these are a great bunch of people here and you'll get some great advice.

I, like sandman, love Elmer's glue. I use the yellow wood glue myself. When attaching balsa fins, I put a little glue on the root and let it dry a few minutes. Then put a bead of Elmer's down the root, but I wipe off a couple of little spots. I then put some thick CyA (super glue) on those two spots. Then I put the fine on the rocket, get it where I want it and hold it in place 20 -30 seconds. The super glue will set-up and will hold it while the Elmer's dries. I wait 10-15 minutes and do another fin. After attachment, I wait several hours or overnight and start my fillets.

I haven't tried the little pin holes sandman described but I think it sounds like a great idea. I plan to use it on my next rocket.

Good luck and have a blast!!!

bmhiii
 
welcome aboard!

First, ditto what sandman said (though i've rarely used the pinholes) I often sand the mylar coating from the body tube befor trying to glue.

I use white elmers for, probably, 95% of my gluing needs. The only time I use CYA is for speed (like, if i'm building a model for launching the same day)

Ironically, due to fin vibration and the brittle nature of CYA, often you will find Elmers provides a stronger bond.

The method of making elmers *fast* acting is valid and I often teach this when doing a rocketry class. Here's another tip: After letting the fin and body tube glue dry a bit, instead of applying another *thin* layer of glue, you can simply use water (or in a pinch, lick your finger and apply to the root edge). It's a water based glue and it is the water content in the glue that "re-activates" it.

good luck!
jim
 
A white glue/filler that dries fast and is a lot stronger than elmers is somthing called WelBond, you should be able to find it at hardwear stores. I have only seen it once and I live in a decent size city so availability may be limmited.
 
I should add I also use it to fill the blasa wood. I put a good size drop and spread it around let it dry and sand until silky smooth. Depending on how much the wood observs this mite need to be done more than once.
 
well, i got hsi glue, Poxy from MegaTech industries, and its awesome, probally is epoxy(it smells like crazy glue). This stuff bonds in a few seconds and has really really nice bonds with little glue.
 
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