CA glue shelf life and why "instrument grade"

[Ron Daves]

I've had my StewMac CA glue for about 4-years ago. The thin and thick glues still work, but they aren't as runny as I remember. Since I don't need very much of this stuff at any time and since it thickens up over time, I'm wondering if I can avoid buying so much of it. It looks like I'll just throw most of it out after it gets old. So, why wouldn't the hardware variety work?

[David King]

Freezing extends the shelf life considerably if not indefinitely. Let it warm up before reopening it.

[Alan Carruth]

I've found that keeping water vapor out really helps extend the life of the stuff. I put a 1" or so length of Teflon 'spaghetti' into the tip of the bottle, which makes it easy to apply and also helps keep air and water vapor from diffusing into it so fast. I seldom end up throwing out CA these days.

I've been using 'Loctite' CA, that I get at Home Depot, for several years. It's not quite as thin, or as quick to set up, as the super thin stuff, but it wicks in well. It also seems to cure better that some on 'difficult' acid woods, such as walnut. Of course, in those cases, it really helps to rub a little baking soda into the grain, and brush or blow off the excess before gluing. Enough remains to start the stuff kicking over, and once it starts it's fine.

[Ron Daves]

Alan: Where does one find "Teflon Spaghetti"?

[Bill Raymond]

It's teflon tubing used to insulate electrical wires. You can google "teflon spaghetti" and find suppliers.

[Randy Roberts]

See:
http://www.mimf.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2387

[Ron Daves]

About the teflon Spaghetti. Can someone recommend a size and a source? I've looked around and found lots of it in bulk, but all I need is a few inches and it needs to be very small. If it is some kind of hollow tubing, it escapes me how that would work as it would let air in. What is the trick.

[Alan Carruth]

I use tubing around #26 gauge; it just fits in the spout of most CA bottles.

Yes, it's a tube, but it's so narrow that the air takes some time to diffuse through it; there aren't enough molecules of water getting into the bottle to cause the stuff to 'kick' very fast.

[David King]

I usually buy the CA glue tips at the hobby store. They are a little stiffer than the teflon tubing and easier to control when placement is critical. They always seem to clog right at the tip so I just just slice off a 1/16" when I get a clog.

[Ron Daves]

Well, I bought StewMac Medium and Thin CA glue. It's more than I'll ever use. Anyway I ordered the medium thickness first, then called and asked that they add the thin to my order. . It's the week-end and the thin has yet to arrive. So, I'm just going to have to try using the medium for installing my abalone rosette. Don't want to wait 'til Monday afternoon for that shipment.

Anyway, looks like I can go to a Home Depot or a Hobby Shop and get a satisfactory product in small quantities (which is all I need).

Now, the questions.

1.) My old StewMac CA glue has thickened up. Is there a way to thin it down. Acetone? Or should I just toss it.
2.) I purchased whip tips that fit on the end of the CA glue spout,but the next time I want to use the glue, I'll have to destroy the cap. So, last night, I used a Pipette to pick up some of the Medium viscosity CA, but the tip was just too small. Any tricks here? I thought of snipping off the tip but it seems like then I'd probably be putting too much glue in place when I squeezed the bulb.
3.) The only trick I can think of right now is to dip a toothpick into the CA and dispense the glue drops that way. Any other excitingly clever ideas?

[David King]

1.) My old StewMac CA glue has thickened up. Is there a way to thin it down. Acetone? Or should I just toss it.
2.) I purchased whip tips that fit on the end of the CA glue spout, but the next time I want to use the glue, I'll have to destroy the cap. So, last night, I used a Pipette to pick up some of the Medium viscosity CA, but the tip was just too small. Any tricks here? I thought of snipping off the tip but it seems like then I'd probably be putting too much glue in place when I squeezed the bulb.
3.) The only trick I can think of right now is to dip a toothpick into the CA and dispense the glue drops that way. Any other excitingly clever ideas?

1.) Either toss it or use it for grain filling if you can find a way to smear it around effectively.

2.) Pipettes come in all sizes and diameters. One trick is to buy fatter ones and them stretch them out to make them thinner.

3.) This technique works for the medium and thick stuff.

[Ron Daves]

Question on installing the abalone rosette:

I have a new batch of med. CA glue that I was thinking of using for installing the abalone rosette in my project, but I think I've read somewhere that the process should be to install the whole rosette, then carefully apply thin CA and allow it to sink in. So, is this the best way to do it? I experimented with the medium by putting a drop in the bottom of the channel and then insertingone piece of abalone. Installing that single piece worked okay, but what's next? More glue? Consider it done and move on? Advice, please.

[Michael Lewis]

The reason for putting the complete rosette in before adding glue is so you get all of it in place before it gets 'locked'. The medium viscosity should work, just take your time and 'encourage' the CA into the joints with a tooth pick or something similar.

[Barry Daniels]

Add glue to fill up all the voids or your finish will have sinkholes.

[David King]

Try to fill from one side only and let capillary action draw the glue under so that air doesn't become trapped under a section.

[Ron Daves]

The thin CA arrived yesterday and I installed the rosette then applied the thin glue. Hope I didn't trap any air inside the glue, as I applied the glue to both sides of the rosette. I altered a file by smoothing the edges and gluing a handle on one side. Nest comes the time consuming job of filing the abalone flat. More later.

[David King]

Ron,
when leveling pearl/abalone I like to lay down thin tape on either side so as not to dig into the surrounding wood. The thinnest tape I could find is polymide tape which is used to mask off PCBs during wave soldering operations.

[Nick Middleton]

The thinnest tape I can find easily and cheap is clear packing/shipping tape. I'm also more likely to use it on the scraper instead of on the wood (a piece on each end of the blade as the depth-stop).

[Ron Daves]

I did consider putting tape down, but thought that would leave the abalone just a tad proud. I avoided taking the abalone down to the same level as the wood and will give the tape idea a try to finish up. I'm on the Oregon coast and shopping is limited, so that polymide tape probably isn't an option. Where does one find this tape if not a hobby shop? I've got packaging tape and will try that first.

[Chuck Tweedy]

mcmaster-carr.
they deliver to the Oregon coast.