Cyanoacrylate glue vs super/krazy glue, loctite glue, etc

Mike Gager

Member
Messages
118
Location
Topeka KS
been searching for "CA Glue" high and low nowhere to be found locally except normal super glue which if you read the ingriedient list contains Cyanoacrylate. my thinking is these are one and the same but I see everyone using actual bottles marked "CA Glue" and everyone calls the glue by this name vs the more familiar super glue or krazy glue. i know those names are brand names but they are kind of like kleenexs. nobody i know calls them tissues...

so is there some secret super special "CA Glue" out there specifically for woodworking or will any glue containing Cyanoacrylate work?
 
Each of those are brands of Cyanoacrylate. All of them contain Cyanoacrylate in one form or another some are more pure and have different thinners and chemical additives some are gel and others are thinner than water. Yet all are CA. Most call it CA because they don't want to identify the brand (the reason that the TV shows say CA as for the rest of us it is an excepted way to discribe Cyanoacrylate because most of us can neither pronounce nor spell Cyanoacrylate (thanks to spell check I have a good repensation of Cyanoacrylate in this post) CA is easier. I personally prefer the cheapest from Dollar Bills or Dollar Tree store for finishing or wood filler but for strength I order Rhino (which is a real Super super glue) www.rhinoglue.com . Which is not to be confused with Super Rhino glue which is a Polyurethane glue onder a similar label by a different manufacturer.
 
Like you've discovered, there are a bunch of brands out there as well as formulations. It's all the same basic stuff. There is some specifically formulated to work well on wood, but you'll either have to order it or pick it up at a woodworking store. Of the brands available at the regular stores, I've found the Loctite brand to work best with wood.

The larger bottles of the stuff seem to go bad before I can use them up. The glue takes longer to harden as it gets old.
 
jerry makes reference to ca glue going bad...i saw somewhere the instructions to keep the glue in a glass jar with a small bag of the drying dessicant (sp?). i'm doing this with a zip lock bag that i can hang on a hook. we'll see if it works.
 
I bought one of those CA glue "kits" from Rockler or someone. Two bottles of glue, a bunch of spare tips and a clear plastic jar with a screw on lid to keep the bottles of glue in and out of the regular moisture in the air. Of course that means you gotta remember to put em back in the jar when you're finished using em, so I don't know if keeping em in there would have prolonged their life or not. :huh:
 
I use CA in the woodshop almost exclusively for making jigs or when I want something to bond instantly (actually takes about 3 seconds) in which case I spray on the accelerator. Also use it often for gluing a shorter sacrificial piece of 1 1/2 inch dowel onto a longer one to facilitate running it through the Bealle threader. I too have had my last two 8 oz bottles go bad before I finished them, so won't get that large a quantity again.
 
Everyone knows how badly MDF takes to regular wood and sheetrock type screws. I use MDF sometimes for jigs but can't see the expense of stocking any assortment of sizes of the special MDF screws to have them on hand. But I have found the if I drill pilot holes, then run either a regular wood or sheetrock type screw into the hole to "tap" it, remove the screw and add a drop of two of thin CA into the hole and quickly run the screw back into the hole, the CA does a nice job of hardening the threads. Since CA does not stick real well to the screw, you can break it loose from the threads if need be, and the threads remain pretty much intact.

Also works pretty well as a substitute for loctite on machine threads if you don't have that handy in the shop.
 
My method in preserving super glue is a small compact refrigerator. Keep the setting low and I have some superglue stay good for years---that is a good value move because such a unit costs no more than an assortment of glues----and how nice is it have some cold adult beverages on hand?
 
accelerator

I use CA in the woodshop almost exclusively for making jigs or when I want something to bond instantly (actually takes about 3 seconds) in which case I spray on the accelerator. Also use it often for gluing a shorter sacrificial piece of 1 1/2 inch dowel onto a longer one to facilitate running it through the Bealle threader. I too have had my last two 8 oz bottles go bad before I finished them, so won't get that large a quantity again.

Accelerator? I have tried to glue wood back after the router tore out little pieces - but it never worked out. I know that CA glue sets up in the presence of water - would this accelerator just be a little water? If not what would the brand be that has this...
 
Accelerator? I have tried to glue wood back after the router tore out little pieces - but it never worked out. I know that CA glue sets up in the presence of water - would this accelerator just be a little water? If not what would the brand be that has this...

Nearly every brand of CA has accelerator. It's usually in a spray bottle or can, and it's readily available. I've found that any brand of CA will work with any brand of accelerator, so you can easily (and safely) mix brands.
 
Last edited:
Accelerator? I have tried to glue wood back after the router tore out little pieces - but it never worked out. I know that CA glue sets up in the presence of water - would this accelerator just be a little water? If not what would the brand be that has this...



Polyurethane glue (gorilla glue) sets up with moisture not CA glue.
Like Jim said, any accelerator seems to work with any CA glue. I don't know what it is made of (smells a bit like nail polish and alcohol) but it's for sure not water.
 
jerry makes reference to ca glue going bad...i saw somewhere the instructions to keep the glue in a glass jar with a small bag of the drying dessicant (sp?). i'm doing this with a zip lock bag that i can hang on a hook. we'll see if it works.

I have used CA glue for many years-----years ago I purchased a mini refrigerator for the shop---all CA glue is stored within----kept cool it will remain usable for several years----the refrigerator cost less than a set of various CA glue types-------side benefit---nice unit to hold some adult beverages.










t
 
I use Loctite from Home Depot. The 20 gram bottle (not the tiny tubes) seems to last a long time before the tip plugs... far longer than the other options I have found. (Keep it standing vertically). For about $5 it is the best buy I have found, then when the tip plugs, I just dip tiny amounts out with a toothpick.

Another use for super glue - one of the top woodworkers in Texas glues his templates, etc. to his finished workpieces with superglue. Superglue has virtually no resistance to impulse. (It may be very strong, but if you tap it with a hammer it will let go). So he does his fancy string inlays with a template in the corners, taps the template, it pops off, and he superglues it to the next corner, inlay, rinse, repeat.

For an example of his work, where he used this technique, see http://www.strazzafurniture.com/roses-hall-table.html
 
Top