Thanks again to super glue. (Warning: slightly graphic pic)

[Noah Magnuson]

I generally buy 12 packs of super glue and keep a few in various places for primarily first aid reasons and occasional project repairs. The other day, entirely by my own fault, I took a 3/4" 'shield' of skin and flesh from my thumb with a freshly sharpened chisel. I looked at the wound, and was immediately thankful I didn't just put a chisel through my hand, and then looked over at the chisel. There on the chisel was this perfect surgically removed piece of tissue. My first thought was "Hey, this will fit perfectly back in the hole and I have superglue open and ready in my toolbox". I quickly slapped it back in place, dribbled some glue over the seam, covered with a bandage, and figured see what happens.

Well, the next day, I checked and the pale dead-looking piece had regained color and apparently "took". Now, four days later, you can see it healing nicely. The "gross" end is where I was racing against time and blood flow so it has made a scab. Anyway, it is sure going to beat a thick scab over a deep gouge taking a month to heal. I have used superglue and butterfly bandages a handful of times to suture some pretty ugly wounds over the years, and it is much better than alternatives in many cases. I have never done a tissue "graft" though, lol. I encourage everyone to have some handy.

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[Jim Koepke]

Hope it all heals well Noah.

Hope it isn't something my supper glue doesn't have to put back together.

jtk

[James Tibbetts]

Looks well on the way to a successful mend. SG is my go to stuff in the shop.

[Don Orr]

Works great for me too. I tore a fingernail kind of deep and used it til the nail grew back out. And blood is an excellent accelerator. Stings a little though.

[Noah Magnuson]

Yeah, you are seeing more and more sutures being done with "surgical" super glue at hospitals. I am sure the hospital loves that they can slap a designation on some CA and charge 20x the normal price. In my experience SG seems to last just long enough to heal well and you don't get stitch scars. It also allows for a reasonable amount of work without fear of busting back open.

[Jerry Olexa]

Good for you..hope it heals well and quickly...

[george wilson]

I always glue cuts back together with super glue. I think it was developed for surgery,wasn't it?

Back in the 60's.a friend who worked for IBM gave me a bottle of this glue that no one ever had heard of before. It was used for gluing back together plastic gears in the then huge IBM computers. I was afraid to use it on guitars,but would get visitors to my shop to let me put a small drop on an index finger and thumb. Then,they'd press those fingers together. After 1 second,I'd tell them to take the fingers apart! They had a hard time doing it!!! They were suitably amazed. Finally,the bottle hardened up. No one had told me to keep it in the fridge. Lasted several months,though.

[Jeff Ranck]

There actually is a difference between the stuff you buy at the hardware store and the medical stuff. Different formulation. From what I remember the hardware stuff is methy-2-cyanoacrylate or ethyl-2-cyanoacrylate. The medical stuff is 2-octyl cyanoacrylate. Apparently the 2 side effects from the hardware store stuff that make it not recommended is that it creates heat while curing (exothermic reaction) and it releases formaldehyde. Still, I use the hardware store stuff all the time with no ill effects. I keep thinking I might try to pick up some of the stuff they use at the vets, but I haven't yet.

[Gary Cunningham]

Works great for me too. I tore a fingernail kind of deep and used it til the nail grew back out. And blood is an excellent accelerator. Stings a little though.


BTDT.

And, when you spill a bottle of thin sg, and it runs off your bench and onto your shorts, when the sg 'kicks off' it gets rather hot.

So, not only do you have shorts sg'd to your leg, you get a mild burn as well.

[Wayne Cannon]

If I recall correctly, "super glue" was originally developed for gluing optics. It was also possible to "unglue" with a sharp rap -- again, if my recollection doesn't fail me.

The hospital "stitched" my wifes palm with super glue after a bad parrot bite had sliced it open.

[Stanley Covington]

There actually is a difference between the stuff you buy at the hardware store and the medical stuff. Different formulation. From what I remember the hardware stuff is methy-2-cyanoacrylate or ethyl-2-cyanoacrylate. The medical stuff is 2-octyl cyanoacrylate. Apparently the 2 side effects from the hardware store stuff that make it not recommended is that it creates heat while curing (exothermic reaction) and it releases formaldehyde. Still, I use the hardware store stuff all the time with no ill effects. I keep thinking I might try to pick up some of the stuff they use at the vets, but I haven't yet.

Once did some work for Toagosei, a Japanese company that makes Krazy Glue, the product that made cyanoacrylate adhesive famous. I asked one of their chemists here in Tokyo at the time if there was any difference between the stuff sold as Krazy Glue and the product they sold for surgical purposes. I was told the formula was identical, and that the only difference was the packaging and the price. Obviously, he was not a marketing dude.

It is good stuff to have around the workshop.

[Stanley Covington]

If I recall correctly, "super glue" was originally developed for gluing optics. It was also possible to "unglue" with a sharp rap -- again, if my recollection doesn't fail me.

The hospital "stitched" my wifes palm with super glue after a bad parrot bite had sliced it open.

Did you use it to glue the bird's beak shut?

[Tommy Martin]

BTW, I've tried quite a few CA glues. Some were great and others not so much. The store shelves have a great number of alternatives. gel, liquid, different set times, etc.
Any preference price performance wise? (not medically speaking of course)
Hopefully not too much of a thread hijacking.

[Patrick R Gill]

I used to work as a bicycle mechanic and one of our other mechanics, who was is in his 40's and worked there part time to get discounts, really liked to show off his toe that one of his college roommates reattached for him. He had two roommates and one was in the later years of a doctorate in orthapedic surgery and one training to be an anesthetist. I forget how he lost the toe but but his roommates were home and the one had a suture kit along with the other necessary stuff at the house to practice with so they reattached it right in the kitchen. The orthapedic surgeon roommate wrote about it for his dissertation. Apparently, there is a small window of time, like Noah experienced, that tissue will keep right on living if you reattach it.

[Noah Magnuson]

BTW, I've tried quite a few CA glues. Some were great and others not so much. The store shelves have a great number of alternatives. gel, liquid, different set times, etc.
Any preference price performance wise? (not medically speaking of course)
Hopefully not too much of a thread hijacking.
My most recent purchase was a dozen of superglue brand from amazon. I have had them about a year or so with no issues on shelf life (which can be a real issue). I can tell you don't use gel, and don't buy off-brand for most uses. There are some very good commercial grade/size brands out there if you use it a lot, but I tend to use a bit every so often so I get the tiny tubes of the name-brand.

By the way, the piece healed amazingly, but is notably pinker than the surrounding area. I suspect the body sends extra blood there for a while doing the final healing. See pic.
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[Matthew Cashman]

I use the veterinary version of the stuff optimized for human tissue. My research indicated there is no difference between the two beyond labeling. Cyanoacrylates for tissue have butyl (four carbons) and / or octyl (eight carbons) chains, rather than the usual two (ethyl). IIRC one reason is that you end up with a more flexible polymer once it's set.

Amazon has it here (https://www.amazon.com/3M-Tissue-Adhesive-Bottles-Twin/dp/B0160VSB94/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1494174629&sr=8-2&keywords=vetbond), or you can search elsewhere for "Vetbond" to find the 3M version.

[John K Jordan]

I use the veterinary version of the stuff optimized for human tissue. My research indicated there is no difference between the two beyond labeling. Cyanoacrylates for tissue have butyl (four carbons) and / or octyl (eight carbons) chains, rather than the usual two (ethyl). IIRC one reason is that you end up with a more flexible polymer once it's set.

Amazon has it here (https://www.amazon.com/3M-Tissue-Adhesive-Bottles-Twin/dp/B0160VSB94/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1494174629&sr=8-2&keywords=vetbond), or you can search elsewhere for "Vetbond" to find the 3M version.

Are you familiar with Alkoxy-Ethyl based CA? I just made an order with Parsons Adhesive for their 3408 CA. I haven't used it yet but some are using it as a finish for woodturning and other woodworking - low odor, 40 second fixture time instead of the normal 10 seconds or so gives time to apply and wipe off excess with a paper towel. Someone told me this was formulated for medical uses but I haven't seen that in writing anywhere.

BTW, thanks for the info on the Vetbond. I ordered some. Shearing season is here and occasionally a llama or alpaca gets nicked, usually from suddenly moving at the wrong time!

For anyone interested, this is how I store my CA glue bottles, in a sealed container with indicator desiccant beads to keep the moisture away. It would be better to put the whole canister in the fridge but my shop fridge is too small. I recently went to a larger container which makes access easier.

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JKJ

[Matthew Cashman]

Hi John,

I'm not familiar with alkoxy-ethyl CA, but it sounds interesting. Are you worried about fires getting substantial amounts on a paper towel? Perhaps it cures slowly enough that the heat isn't an issue. Sounds cool either way, and I like your storage solution. I'll have to get myself a shop fridge some day.

[John K Jordan]

Hi John,

I'm not familiar with alkoxy-ethyl CA, but it sounds interesting. Are you worried about fires getting substantial amounts on a paper towel? Perhaps it cures slowly enough that the heat isn't an issue. Sounds cool either way, and I like your storage solution. I'll have to get myself a shop fridge some day.

Frank Penta has been using it for some time and mentioned no issues with fire. I'll call and ask him and do a test with paper towel and cotton cloth when I get some in my hands.

My first thought was the same as yours: since it is slow to set up, perhaps the exothermic reaction is spread out over time and doesn't reach the "smokin" temperatures.

JKJ

[george wilson]

Aw shucks! The last picture showed how SMALL the cut really was!!:)

[Noah Magnuson]

Haha :). Yes, healed up it doesn't look like much (and wasn't overall). It was basically a divot about 3/32 deep, but the taper made it so the feathered edge of the superficial skin part made the real damage look longer and wider. It would have healed without stitches and just a deep nasty scab, but I am mostly impressed that it took after being completely detached.


Aw shucks! The last picture showed how SMALL the cut really was!!:)

[george wilson]

Hey there,Buddy-ro ! You ain't got no cut!!! I cut my left leg all the way off a few years ago,and glued it back on with Krazy Glue. But,somehow my Japanese is fluent now!!:) O.K.,I made that whole thing up!