Someone asked about using CA glue for model rocket construction.
My response: "CA glue can get brittle over time. Not great for rocket construction."
There is actually more to it than that -
Some builders use CA glue to tack pieces together, then come back later and add wood glue fillets.
The problem: If you tack down a centering ring with a super glue, it could "seal" the area where the CA glue has soaked in. Water based wood glue can't permeate or soak into the Kraft tube and centering ring edges.
Wood glues dry a bit more flexible than the hard, brittle Super Glues.
Some instructions will tell you to put a little glue on a knot to prevent it from unraveling. A drop of super glue will run up the tied lines and make them brittle. If you use the right knot, it won't come undone!
Imagine trying to make a Tri-Fold shock cord mount using Super Glue. After Super Glue dries, you can't use more Super Glue to adhere it inside the body tube. It won't stick to itself! Wood glues will.
I do use a wipe of Super Glue around the inside of a body tube to strengthen the ends - but only after the assembly is complete and no wood glue will be near it. I've seen a picture where a builder was dripping CA glue inside both ends of the tube to harden it. There was CA glue all over where the engine mount was to be glued. The wood glue or epoxy won't stick to the dried CA glue area.
I have used Super Glue to harden a card stock shroud - After assembly, after the shroud is glued on the model with wood or white glue.
Years back I tried to assemble a rocket using Super Glues. A year after it was finished, the upper launch lug broke loose at ignition, it turned on the launch rod and pinwheeled.
Some of us have made the "Build it all with Super Glue" mistake.
There is a problem with Forums and Face Book pages. Somebody poses a question and you get ten different solutions. Don't guess. When in doubt, read and follow the instructions. Well, that is if the glue recommendations in the instructions are clear.
These opinions are based on my personal experience. I don't claim to have all the answers, but have been building rockets for almost 50 years.
I am aware of Aerotech assembly using Super Glues. The fins on an Aerotech model lock on very tight.
Another reason to avoid super glue -- eichner radiation ( https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Eichner_radiation )
ReplyDeleteDoes that cause one to have an uncontrollable urge to watch older Disney movies?
ReplyDeleteOh, wait, that would be Eisner ... never mind. ;-)
Each glue has its, ahem, strengths. I prefer yellow glue for attaching wooden fins to paper body tubes, because it grabs... and epoxy for installing motor mounts, because it DOESN'T grab. CA to stiffen a tube, AFTER all other gluing is done (just as you suggest) and for almost no other reason. Except, CA is great for old kits with "fiber" fins where the fin material has begun to peel... squirt some in, wipe off the excess, and clamp it with a plastic clamp that CA won't stick to (I have a bunch of these). Sometimes I do fillets with white glue because it doesn't shrink like yellow glue. Everything has its own best usage.
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