CA Glue

[Jim Hipp]

I will be needing some CA sooner or later and have these questions:

-Are all CA glues about the same in quality?

-Who sells CA at a reasonable price? The 2nd in command says it is pricey at the drug store.

-When would a turner find a use for a thin version and when is a thicker version needed?

Thanks for comments.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

All CAs are not the same in quality. I reccommend Starbond. While CAs are not "cheap", it's reasonable when you buy form them in the 16 oz sizes. They send a bunch of little bottles. Google them and they will pop up. I mostly use very thin, and medium once in a while. It's WAY cheaper than buying those small bottles from the hardware stores.

[Grant Wilkinson]

I'll stay out of the which is best discussion, but in answer to your second question, thin can be used to seal small cracks. It can be used to seal the pith in an end grain vessel. It can be used as a finish. And, in a pinch, it is very good at sealing small cuts instead of going the route of emergency room and stitches.

[Joe Kieve]

You might check the IAP website, (penturners.org). Several vendors there sell CA glue.

[Marty Tippin]

Thicker CA is good for filling gaps - such as a minor void in a bowl you're turning. Thin will never fill a space, as it soaks into the wood. I used to use thick (or medium) CA when doing a CA finish on a pen, but have instead switched to super-thin Starbond and the quality of my pens has gone way up.

A good source for Starbond as well as other CA glues is eBay.

I've heard that it's good to store CA in the freezer to extend its life but have never bothered and haven't had to throw any way in recent memory.

Be sure to get some very thin applicator tips so you can put the glue exactly where you want it - I bought some from Ken at http://woodturnerswonders.com/products/ca-glue-tips and have been satisfied.

[Stan Smith]

@Jim. In another thread I said that I just had to throw out a 3/4 full CA glue bottle because it got hard. I also said that I have been buying more than I can use before it dries up. From now on, I'm going to try to make better estimates on how much CA glue I need and when rather than keep larger bottles on hand. YMMV

@Marty. Thanks for the url; I just ordered some. Great price, too.

[wes murphy]

You might check the IAP website, (penturners.org). Several vendors there sell CA glue.
IAP is now defunct.

[Marty Tippin]

IAP is now defunct.

The website is still quite functional and looks to be very active, so I'm not sure what you're saying.

[Stan Smith]

Here's the url for IAP. Great site! I go there almost everyday.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/#community-forums

[wes murphy]

Sorry, it must have been another per turning site.

[Thom Sturgill]

If you buy large quantities of CA, refrigerate it. Just don't use the kitchen fridge where it might get knocked over. DAHIKT. :eek:

[Stan Smith]

If I were to keep CA glue in the fridge, I would put it in a little open plastic box since we only have 1 fridge.

[Jimmy Edwards]

Jim look at EZbond.com. 16 oz bottle is $16.90. But you have to buy $100 worth. My club makes a pooled buy 2-3 times a year.

[Joe Kieve]

If I were to keep CA glue in the fridge, I would put it in a little open plastic box since we only have 1 fridge.
Dont know if it helps or not but I put mine in my "food saver" vacuum bags and store them in the fridge vacuumed down. Have had some for over 2 years and still seems fine.

[Sid Matheny]

The 8 oz bottles of all three CA glues work out best for me but it would depend on how much you use or expect to use.

Sid

[James Combs]

If you buy large quantities of CA, refrigerate it. Just don't use the kitchen fridge where it might get knocked over. DAHIKT. :eek:
+1 on Thom's comment. I do the same but do have a small fridge in my shop. I keep most of my resins, glues, stabilizers, and CAs in it. I have smaller bottles at two different stations, turning & pen assemble, in the shop. I have had a couple of the smaller bottles of lower use CA, thick, harden up and become unusable but what is in the fridge stays very consistent. One caveat on using a fridge, always let the item warm to room temp before opening, especially CA and Alumilite. Air moisture drawn into a cold bottle can condense and effect the quality of the item. I have heard of guys using a can of dry air to purge their bottles before returning them to the fridge for that reason.

[Jim Hipp]

Thanks to all for the helpful suggestions and the links. Time for me to place an order.

[Rick Gibson]

I generally get mine in the 8oz bottles and store in a small bar fridge near the shop. When it's time to use it I let it come to room temperature then decant it into smaller 2oz bottles. Seal them and put all except the one I am using back in the fridge. I've only had one bottle of thin go hard on me and that was because I generally leave the cap off and it was fairly humid in the shop this summer. When I empty one of the small bottles it goes into a jar of acetone to clean it for the next time I want to use it.

[Cliff Hill]

I agree about keeping it cold. I use a freezer in my garage -- it lasts for years when in the freezer. The other thing I do is keep the small bottles I am using in a wide mouth canning jar. The jar has about 3/8 inch of desiccant on the bottom to absorb moisture from the air. I always keep the canning jar closed. Also I never use lids on the small bottles.
Note: I also oven dry the desiccant periodically.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Just to highlight a point Rick made above- make sure if you refrigerate CA glue that you bring it to room temperature before you open it, because it cures with moisture. An exception is if you take it out, use it real quick, then put it back. The object is to avoid condensation.

I am surprised nobody recommended "Hot Stuff." It's very common in the modelmaking world. They also sell accelerators that make it cure instantly, but beware- it gets really hot if you use the accelerator.

Oh my, that reminds me of a story that I must share. I was building a wood surfboard, which gets built on a jig that is mounted to a building table, so the whole thing is mounted to the table as you build it. I glued up one part, and didn't realize that I squirted glue all over my finger when I put the glue on. The cap gets clogged every now and then, so I use a razor knife to cut part of the tip off so the glue can flow. I managed to cut too much off, and the glue came flowing out. You know what's about to happen, but I didn't just glue myself to the part. Oh no- that would be too simple. I prefer, when I do something stupid, to REALLY do it right. I used spray-on accelerator to accelerate the bond. When I did that, the glue on my hand instantly bonded, which creates enough heat that it will actually start to smoke. There I was, glued to the piece, unable to move, and burning. Remember, the whole thing is mounted to a building table, so I am not able to go anywhere. It left a nice blister on my hand. After the pain went away, I went to reach for my razor knife to cut myself free, and wouldn't you know, it's just a few inches further away than I could reach. Fortunately I was able to use a scrap piece of wood to nudge it into reach. I was in pain, but laughing so hard. I somehow felt like Wile E. Coyote when whatever contraption he makes backfires and leaves him squashed.

[John Sanford]

I will be needing some CA sooner or later and have these questions:

-Are all CA glues about the same in quality? No, they aren't.


-Who sells CA at a reasonable price? The 2nd in command says it is pricey at the drug store. One of the better places to get CA is a busy hobby shop. Modellers of all sorts use a lot of the stuff, which is what you want. CA does have a shelf life, so a vendor with high turnover is a better option than one with low turnover. Keep in mind several things when using it. Aside from the normal concerns with not gluing yourself, there's the matter of sensitivity. Unfortunately, CA sensitivity can easily be "developed." You can do some research on the web about it. Key word is "can" be developed, not everybody does.