Glue

[mifencer]

This topic sort of came up under wiring, but I thought it deserved its own topic.

What kind of glue do you use?

I use Quick-Grab. I swear by it. It dries fast (hence the name). Most importantly, it stays pliable over months/years. Plus it cleans up really easy. I think superglue is too brittle plus it's a pain in the *** to re-wire.

I heard fletcher glue works well, never used it though.

[neevel]

If you're cleaning the blade groove properly, just about any reasonable choice of glue or cement will work fine. I've never seen brittleness to be a problem with cynaoacrylates (superglues). Any issues with wires popping out are almost always due to a less-than-clean groove when the blade was glued, or not having the wire securely down in the groove when glueing.

I and many of the other national armorers I know use hobby-grade cyanoacrylates, particularly Zap CA and Zap-a-Gap (or equivalent brands). I've come to use Zap CA almost exclusively-- it's the super-thin variant that cures the most rapidly (10-15 seconds to set, maybe 5-10 minutes or so if you want to be sure it's fully cured). Especially when you've got a lot of weapons to work on, it's really nice to be able to get them all wired and assembled in one sitting, rather than waiting overnight for the glue to cure. There's a little skill needed when using it to ensure that it doesn't run down into the barrel or glue the wire to the tang, but once you've got that down it's so clean and fast that I prefer it to anything else.

Since I've got both an acetone bath and Dremel too, removal isn't an issue. Fact of the matter is, the CA can be used so sparingly that it often can be removed without resorting to either. Just grip the end of the wire in a pair of needle-nose pliers and then pull the wire from the groove by rolling it up around the pliers. Wrapping the wire around the pliers reduces the amount of stress placed on the wire and makes it less likely to break while pulling it out.

There is a Flex Zap cyanoacrylate that retains more flexiblity when cured-- it's thicker and cures a bit more slowly (20 secs to set, ~30 minutes for a full cure). You can buy spray on accelerants (Zip-Kicker, e.g.) to cure c.a.'s instantly.

I've tried Fletch-Tite in the past. It's a bit thinner than general cements like Duco, so it flows into the groove a little more easily, but it's still much more viscous than c.a.'s(meaning you have to bottom-glue and it's messier) and requires an overnight cure. The big down side is the copious, noxious-smelling fumes the stuff gives off. For the small dabs you'd be using in it's intended purpose (fletching) this wouldn't be much of an issue, but for the amount needed to wire a blade (or several blades), you'll want a very well ventilated space. On that basis alone, if you're happy with Quick-Grab or Duco then stay with it.

-Dave