Glue Advice

[AstroJens]

Hello, I was just wondering what the experienced flyers here use as their glue. For my first plane I had used a WeldBond adhesive (picture attached), however I am afraid this may have resulted in unecessary weight to my plane. Is CA glue and CA accelerator the better alternative or is there a better standard glue that is suggested for Wright Stuff planes?
Thanks

[bernard]

Common glues used in planes are cyanoacrylate (called CA glue or super glue) or Duco cement mixed with half acetone. Your glue shouldn't be adding significant amounts of weight to your plane. A tiny drop of CA will bond pieces of your plane together quickly and strongly.

I did try Weldbond before with bridges but only used it once as it took far too long to dry and often wasn't as strong as CA, especially for the more difficult joints (end joints, at weird angles, etc.).

[andrewwski]

I used to use both Elmer's wood glue (just a small amount, applied with a toothpick) and CA. Wood glue was good for when I wanted to make adjustments before the glue dried/cured - for me this was mostly building the wings and making sure the ribs were straight. CA was good when I didn't want that time, and wanted it to set faster.

Whatever you end up using, you only need a small amount!

[jander14indoor]

See also:
https://www.soinc.org/sites/default/fil ... weight.pdf
a paper I wrote some time back for this forum, broadened a little and posted to the SO website.

It doesn't say much on epoxies, PVAs (elmers style wood glues), or polyurethanes (gorilla glue) as they don't have much practical use in WS. All fine glues in the appropriate circumstances, but WS doesn't have much in the way of appropriate circumstances for these glues.

Key points. The quality of the joints is critical to using minimum amounts of glue with strength. Once you have that, balsa cement or CA is a matter of preference and which YOU can maintain minimum weight gain with.

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI