Wood glue

[H March]

Hi. I am going to start La Niña by Artesania Latina soon. My dad was a Lancaster pilot in WWII and over the last four years I built plastic models of four of the planes he flew starting with the Tiger Moth and ending with the Lancaster. I built a wooden ship a few years ago and now I am going to build another. I apologize for this dumb question. I bought some yellow wood glue but I’m not convinced it’s the right kind for the main construction of the model. Any ideas out there?

 

[Canute]

H, that should be a good glue. You'll find you may at times also use white glue. And sometimes super glue/CA. They all have their uses in wooden models. Read the various logs and see what others are using for a given situation. Ask them why they do what they do in a given situation. We all learn a lot by participation in these logs.

[Old Collingwood]

On 10/23/2020 at 12:24 AM, Canute said:

H, that should be a good glue. You'll find you may at times also use white glue. And sometimes super glue/CA. They all have their uses in wooden models. Read the various logs and see what others are using for a given situation. Ask them why they do what they do in a given situation. We all learn a lot by participation in these logs.

Good advice Ken -  you have covered all there  is realy.

 

OC.

[H March]

Hi, thanks for the glue advice. I used super glue to attach the first planking.
Now I need to use some kind of putty to fill the gaps and sand it nice and smooth before adding the second layer of planking. Can someone advise me on what kind of putty to use? I have looked at other comments on this website and I have seen many different kinds of putty have been used. Too many!

Thanks

Harry

[Jaager]

12 minutes ago, H March said:

the first planking.
Now I need to use some kind of putty to fill the gaps and sand it nice and smooth before adding the second layer

1) Are you flushing out dips between the moulds? 

2) Are you filling gaps between the planks of the first layer?

If it is the first, a yellow PVA glued piece of wood veneer that is then sanded to a smooth run would be a sure way to go.

If it is the second, why bother?  It will all be hidden by the outer planking layer.  I can't imagine that it is going to float, so what is the problem with there being gaps?

 

For the real planking, a mistake or two is fixed using wood flour from the actual planking species mixed with PVA.  In this case, white PVA cures clear and not the amber of yellow, so if maybe being a tad darker is a problem, use white PVA.

[H March]

Well, it was my first time planking and yes it will be covered by a thin veneer second planking. Because it was my first time it isn’t perfect so I’ll need to smooth it out and fill some cracks with something.

[GuntherMT]

On 1/9/2021 at 10:48 AM, H March said:

Well, it was my first time planking and yes it will be covered by a thin veneer second planking. Because it was my first time it isn’t perfect so I’ll need to smooth it out and fill some cracks with something.

 

Since it won't be visible, pretty much any sort of wood filler/putty will work fine.  I've seen some people even use bondo like is used on repairing bodywork on cars.  

 

I would just go down to your local Home Depot/Lowes/Hardware store of choice and pick up a small container of whatever sort of wood putty / filler they have on the shelf and you should be fine.  This is only for getting a smooth surface, and as mentioned above, if it's just gaps between the planks, as long as the overall surface shape is correct and smooth, you can just ignore those on a first planking of a double planked hull.

[cmgam]

Hi

Just a question. How to make PVC glue more liquid/thin? 

Thanks 

Regards 

[GuntherMT]

30 minutes ago, cmgam said:

Hi

Just a question. How to make PVC glue more liquid/thin? 

Thanks 

Regards 

 

Add water.  I use distilled water since my local groundwater is extremely hard, but it would probably be fine.

[Don Case]

If I can tack this on here. I've read that Isopropyl Alcohol will dissolve PVA. Will it also work on Tight Bond and yellow carpenters glue? 

[Canute]

Yes it will, Don.

[cmgam]

13 minutes ago, Don Case said:

If I can tack this on here. I've read that Isopropyl Alcohol will dissolve PVA. Will it also work on Tight Bond and yellow carpenters glue? 

 

Hi

I have also heard about the use of Acetone and other products which is why I wanted to know what the most experienced ones do. 

Regards 

[Don Case]

15 minutes ago, Canute said:

Yes it will, Don.

Perfect, I'll go out and buy a quart😉

[Chuck Seiler]

1 hour ago, cmgam said:

1 hour ago, Don Case said:

If I can tack this on here. I've read that Isopropyl Alcohol will dissolve PVA. Will it also work on Tight Bond and yellow carpenters glue? 

 

Hi

I have also heard about the use of Acetone and other products which is why I wanted to know what the most experienced ones do. 

Regards 

    I would have to put myself in the "experienced ones" category; not because I am a good modeler but because I do alot of un-gluing.  I use the 70% isopropyl.  It is less stinky than the 90% and MUCH safer than acetone.

[GuntherMT]

2 hours ago, cmgam said:

 

Hi

I have also heard about the use of Acetone and other products which is why I wanted to know what the most experienced ones do. 

Regards 

 

Acetone is nasty and toxic stuff.  I have it, but only use it when absolutely necessary, which is definitely not the case with PVA glues.  Water or alcohol should handle most PVA.  Note that I've never used Titebond III which is waterproof, so I'm not sure if alcohol will work on it or not.

[Maury S]

I've used Titebond forever and 91% Iso works just fine.

Maury

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

Titebond (or any yellow 'carpenter's glue) is time proven, but there is a cure time - and parts that don't stay by themselves need to be clamped or otherwise secured (like tying).  CA (the 'medium' viscosity type) is quick, but it can stick to fingers like crazy, and still penetrates wood and 'seals' it - leading to the staining and surface appearance problems noted by many in the forum.  For holding down planking (pre-conditioned for a place on a hull) with the 'finger clamp' method, I have used 1-minute (or 3-minute) epoxy successfully.  Just a wee dab of part A and part B from their respective tubes are placed near the end of a wooden door shim (available in packs at hardware stores) and mixed by finger tip. (It wipes right off on a rag or the lower part of the wood shim.)  Applied to the wood to be secured (either by finger, dental tool or matchstick), I held it in place until set (1 to 3 minutes, and that is a 'soft' set), and the piece would stay put.  Any getting onto the surface by accident or 'squeeze out' came off (after setting or curing) with a x-acto knife or a light sanding - and there was no significant penetration or staining of the wood the way CA can do.

[Chuck Seiler]

    Sometimes I will use a small dot of CA to hold the end of the plank in the rabbet (CA clamp) before using wood glue for the rest.  One day while demonstrating ship modeling at the county fair, I used a wee bit too much CA and when I finger clamped the plank, I glued the model to my finger.  When I told a group of observers what I had done, they thought I was kidding.  I extended my arm and pointed...with a model dangling from my finger.

😁

[Don Case]

I was gluing the inner and outer sternpost together using Tightbond and immediately after clamping I noticed they were slightly misaligned. I took the clamps off and I couldn't move the parts. I had to pry them apart with my knife. I'm guessing that if the wood is porous enough(Hazel in this case) it sucks the water out and makes a fast joint. I wouldn't depend on it but it did surprise me.  

[philski]

Just to point out, there is a difference between wood putty and wood filler. Filler dries and is typically sandable and stainable. Putty, on the other hand, does not dry. It is use to patch over nail holes and such. Use filler vs putty. I just finished planking the first layer on bulkhead on the San Francisco II (AL) and filled and sanded smooth. Just starting mahogany veneering. I use Titebond CA.