Glues

Anybody who spends much effort insisting that the particular glue they use to wire blades is the only one that will work properly is a) wrong, and b) probably in need of a life. So long as you’ve cleaned and prepared the blade well, just about any reasonable choice of glue (i.e., not paper or wood glues) will work fine. For the purpose of this how-to manual, I’m going to broadly divide glues into two categories: slow curing and fast curing.

Slow curing glues include general-purpose cements (Duco, Cementit, Pliobond, etc.), specialty cements (such as fletching cement), and epoxies. What they have in common is that they require at least several hours (if not a full day) to cure, and they typically have a higher viscosity. These glues can be more forgiving to work with, since you have plenty of time to re-position or re-tension the wire before they solidify and, unless you are prone to prolonged episodes of narcolepsy, you shouldn't be at risk of gluing your fingers to the blade. Their viscosity means they won’t run where you don’t want them to. They also tend to retain more flexibility when cured. For beginners, I think a general-purpose cement is the best choice. Fletch-Tite, a fletching cement, has many qualities which work well for wiring blades (including remaining flexible when cured) but puts of a great deal of fumes when curing, requiring a well-ventilated work area.

Fast curing glues are cyanoacrylates, a.k.a. superglues. They include the normal brands you’ll find at hardware and drug stores, and specialty brands like Pacer Zap and others, which are available from hobby supply stores. They all cure in a matter of seconds, which allows the blade to be used almost immediately, and have a low viscosity which allows them to easily flow in the groove. The curing time and fluidity do require some consideration when wiring, however. The specialty superglues are available in a different viscosities, ranging from almost water-thin, instant-cure glues (e.g. Zap CA) which dry in less than 5 seconds, to somewhat thicker ones which are better at filling in gaps. Fast cure glues tend to be more brittle when cured, although there is one formulation available (Pacer Flex-Zap) which has greater flexibility when cured. I myself use Zap CA for the majority of my wiring jobs.

<< Prev - Next >>