Retail CA - which is best?

[Peter Wilcox]

I get my CA at the Dollar Tree, small tubes of gel or liquid, 2 or 3 for $1. It's "The Original Super Glue" made by Pacer Technology. The liquid thickens after open a few months - easy enough to start a new tube at this price.

For application of small drops, I use insulin syringes after they've delivered 10 or 20 insulin doses and start to get dull.

[Steve Sawyer]

I finally started using CA more a couple of years ago when my son borrowed my air compressor for 6 months and I couldn’t use my 23ga pinner. Bought three of Woodcraft’s Stickfast in 4-oz bottles @ $15. They lasted me a couple of years, but I only used about a third, max of all three types.

Ordered 3 viscosities of StewMacs CA, which was $6 for 1oz. Not as good a price, but if I’m going to throw half away...

I haven’t had cause to complain about the performance of any of the brands I’ve used, so for me packaging is like #1 for me. I liked Hot Stuff because they sell replacement spouts for their bottles, but they ain’t cheap (it just annoys me). Having to dig an opening in the spout every time I use it is a pain and haven’t yet found any packaging that addresses this. The StewMac bottles have a red cap that goes over the spout, but in the center of the cap is a tiny sharp pinpoint that pierced the spout and plugs the hole.

We’ll see how well that works.

If I had some small dispensing containers that worked reliably, I’d buy the larger bottles and decant as needed.

[David King]

I use cut offs from guitar strings to clear my CA tips, I unscrew the cap with a handy pair of slip-lok pliers and run the unwound portion of the string end up from the inside of the cap.
I really like these generic applicator tips which are disposable at 3¢ each: https://www.amazon.com/Adhesive-Dropper ... B074M9VG1X You do need the trim the wide end to length for the particular bottle nose you're using and I'll still get clogs between the bottle tip and the whip tip occasionally, usually when the bottle spout has been contaminated with accelerator along the way.

[David King]

Steve, for dispensing bottles try pipettes which come in lots of sizes. The pipette can store glue for up to a week but I usually just suck in what i need for the particular job. https://www.amazon.com/moveland-Transfe ... B07JD8S451

[Steve Sawyer]

David - Yeah, I have some of those tiny pipettes and have used them for getting CA into very tight places, or for precise placement, though the whip-tips work well for that. I also have a ton ( a TON) of syringes w/needles. Someone in our local woodworking club was getting rid of them, and being the last person to say "I'll take some", I got all he had left - an entire shopping bag full. I've always assumed that leaving glue in them for any period would plug up the needle, but I should dig out some of the stuff I'm discarding from the hazardous waste bucket and see how long it remains useable.

[Chuck Tweedy]

I suppose I should elaborate on my experience, because I've put a bit of time and thought into the storage of CA to extend life. Some of the old-timers around here may remember an old thread about this. Might be in the Library, but whatever...

Keep in mind, as Randy said, keeping the glue away from water is what will extend it's life. That's why it's sold in HDPE bottles (high density polyethylene), which is essentially super-wax, and is great at blocking water vapor. Also, the glue does not stick to HDPE very well. Even the spouts of the foil tubes is HDPE.
We are not talking about liquid water - it is water vapor that is the culprit. So, for practical purposes: humid air.

So ... how do you keep it fresh? Simple, cap the bottle and create a hermetic seal against the air.

You say: "Yea, right! I capped the damn bottle and it still turned into a frosty nugget of plastic."

This is where a little OCD could really help. Not confessing, just sayin'
The bottle caps are designed to seal very well, and they do! However, they rely on very narrow rings of plastic interference to create a seal when fully engaged. Those sealing surfaces need to be kept clean and free of hardened glue to work.
So - here comes the OCD part - on those regular bottles of CA with a needle like spout and tall cap that snaps on, if you wipe the tip off with a paper towel and cap the bottle EVERY TIME you use it, the glue lasts till it is used up. I know, I did it. Crazy, I know.
What normally happens is you either forget and leave the cap off, or you just jamb the cap on there with a little glue that has dripped down the spout. Once that glue hardens on the spout and in the lid you are done, its just a matter of time till you have a frosty nugget of plastic.
The thing is, if you keep the bottle totally clean, even if you leave it open for some hours, and you have to pick off some dried glue off the spout, the glue lasts a LOT longer.

For the little tubes, I put a small brad in the tip to seal it, and even the tubes last a long time. I just used the last bit of one that has been open for months - yep months and I'm not BS'ing you.

I don't know. Guitar building is kind of a fastidious process, so this just fits right in for me. I'm not OCD - I just asked my wife who has a degree in Psychology and masters in social work, and she said "no". I don't check doors 3x if they are locked, none of that.

[Eric Baack]

I get mine at Hobby Lobby. They have a good selection at good prices. I finally threw out the bottle of thin glue after a couple of years in the kitchen cabinet.

[Steve Sawyer]

I don't know. Guitar building is kind of a fastidious process, so this just fits right in for me.

Amen, bro'

When I started building guitars (even these easy-peasy electrics) I realized I'd come "home".