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Gluing tiny parts-- metal to wood?


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Is this the right forum for glue questions? If not, moderators please feel free to move this to the right place.

 

I need to glue some TINY, thin wire eyebolts into wood. This particular time, they're going on a masthead, but there are plenty of others on the Pride of Baltimore II!  I'd like to do it neatly, but the joint needs to be fairly strong as rigging blocks will be attached to them. So far I've tried CA, both thick and thin with varying results. The tail of the bolt is too thin to pick up enough glue from a "puddle" of glue, and putting a droplet of glue on the masthead is messy.

How do you folks tackle (pun intended) glue jobs like this? Type of glue? Technique? Thanks.

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I use Smith Industries medium CA, it shouldn’t take much to hold, I can see why thin CA wouldn’t work. Dip the tail in the glue then into the pre-drilled hole or use a straight pin to apply the CA to the shaft of the eyebolt. I’ve used CA to attach hundreds of eyebolts with lines and lines of rigging ands have no failures. Medium CA is all you need. 

Edited by glbarlow

Regards,

Glenn

 

Current Build: HMS Winchelsea
Completed Builds: HM Flirt (paused) HM Cutter CheerfulLady NelsonAmati HMS Vanguard,  
HMS Pegasus, Fair American, HM Granado, HM Pickle, AVS, Pride of Baltimore, Bluenose

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 I put a dab of CA gel on the end of the eyebolt shaft and insert and then wipe away any gel excess with a Q-Tip. After thirty seconds I put a dab of normal CA where the eyebolt and wood meet, wait a couple of seconds and wipe away any excess with a Q-Tip. 

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An older way

Use a screw plate or sharp angle needle file to cut spiral grooves into the long arm

rotate it in using 2 part epoxy as the chemical  bonding agent.   - I think now there are clear versions of epoxy.

It should be thick and viscous enough to stick after the long arm is dripped.

A pin can be used to poke some epoxy into the hole.

the hole should be a tad smaller than the diameter of the long arm before it is cut for mechanical grab as well as chemical.

Do not leave any wet epoxy on an open surface. when set it is difficult to remove.

It does not soak in and effect subsequent clear finishes like CA does. 

You might wish to place a small piece of masking tape- the old crepe paper type as surgical drape.  Epoxy is sneaky about spreading.

NRG member 45 years

 

Current:  

HMS Centurion 1732 - 60-gun 4th rate - Navall Timber framing

HMS Beagle 1831 refiit  10-gun brig with a small mizzen - Navall (ish) Timber framing

The U.S. Ex. Ex. 1838-1842
Flying Fish 1838  pilot schooner -  framed - ready for stern timbers
Porpose II  1836  brigantine/brig - framed - ready for hawse and stern timbers
Vincennes  1825  Sloop-of-War  -  timbers assembled, need shaping
Peacock  1828  Sloop-of -War  -  timbers ready for assembly
Sea Gull  1838  pilot schooner -  timbers ready for assembly
Relief  1835  ship - timbers ready for assembly

Other

Portsmouth  1843  Sloop-of-War  -  timbers ready for assembly
Le Commerce de Marseilles  1788   118 cannons - framed

La Renommee 1744 Frigate - framed - ready for hawse and stern timbers

 

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Brewerpaul,

 

Many people make eyebolts by looping wire over a pin or rod of the correct diameter for the bolt opening, and then twist the ends of the wire around each other to close a tight loop around the rod. There are a couple of threads on the Forum (if you can find them) showing how to make a simple tool for the job.

 

This produces a "screw thread" in the wire that gives glue something to grip. It requires a larger diameter hole than a single strand of wire, but that is a benefit if you are drilling them by hand - fewer broken bits. And it is easier to get glue into the larger hole.

 

I think epoxy is far and away the best glue for this application - especially the thin clear two-part epoxy "paint" that flying model airplane builders use to seal the wood around the engine to prevent fuel from soaking into the wood. Thin epoxy will grip the rough inside surface of the hole in the wood, and it will harden around the "screw" producing a very strong bond.

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What Jaager and PR said above, grooves or scratches (even if tiny) and EPOXY.   CA may be quicker compared to epoxy, but "quick" is not part of wooden ship modeling vernacular and CA is not always the best solution anyway.  

 

Allan

Edited by allanyed

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