Sticky-icky fingers

[Raleway]

So I've been using thin-medium CA glue for towers, but they always leak and get on my hands. To combat this, I tried using gloves, but then the whole glove would get stuck. Eventually, I just used pliers but those took much longer due to it being way harder to maneuver with. How does everyone else combat this? In addition, CA has a super quick settling time (instantaneously sometimes), so I was wondering how people perfectly aligned their pieces the first time or were able to maneuver the piece while on the glue. Thanks so much!

[Unome]

If you haven't already done so, I'd recommend using a capillary action glue applicator - you can buy commercial ones or make a basic but rather good one pretty easily.

[kinghong1970]

question about those capillary action ones.
once the ca glue dries in the tube, it's kaput?

[Unome]

question about those capillary action ones.
once the ca glue dries in the tube, it's kaput?

No idea, but if you use a homebuilt one you can probably just remove dried glue with a candle or something.

[dholdgreve]

Many store bought applicators slip over the bottle tip and extend out an inch or 2 with a very thin tube. when done, just let the glue harden at the very tip. Next time you use it, clip off the end 1/4" or so, and you are good to go. each applicator can be reused 8 to 10 times.

[Raleway]

question about those capillary action ones.
once the ca glue dries in the tube, it's kaput?

Just knock the tip really hard before you put it away and always cap it. Wipe excess glue with a smooth cloth very quickly before capping (or else your cap glues on to the bottle). At worst, just knife off the excess glue.

[Balsa Man]

So I've been using thin-medium CA glue for towers, but they always leak and get on my hands. To combat this, I tried using gloves, but then the whole glove would get stuck. Eventually, I just used pliers but those took much longer due to it being way harder to maneuver with. How does everyone else combat this? In addition, CA has a super quick settling time (instantaneously sometimes), so I was wondering how people perfectly aligned their pieces the first time or were able to maneuver the piece while on the glue. Thanks so much!

Heh, heh.... I call it 'dragon skin' - the mark of a builder

The capillary action applicator (CAA) can help, but is really only effective with thin CA. 'Micro-tips' (available at Hobbytown, and I'm sure other places) can help with medium and thick CA- a plastic thingy that slides down over the nozzle of a glue bottle, and tapers down to a very thin tube.
The setting time for CA is generally inversely proportional to its viscosity; thin CA (I like to call it 'devil juice') goes off really quickly, and its very difficult to apply just a tiny bit with anything but a CAA; medium gives you a bit more time, and thick/slow gives you the longest time. You can slow things down a bit by keeping the glue bottle cold (refrigerate, while working have a little bottle holder with ice). When/if you do find fingers and wood and glue together/coming together, a twisting/rotating movement of the finger, quickly, before the glue fully goes off can sometimes... save the joint. Not always, and it takes practice (and some dragon skin to peel off)

Getting pieces positioned precisely/correctly is really important. Use alignment marks liberally. You want to be sure not to dent the wood, which with low density wood will happen easily. Using either an ultra fine point Sharpie, lightly dragging the side of the tip along the line you want to mark, or a well sharpened #2 pencil, using the side of the lead, again, lightly dragging along the line to be marked.

Looking at the three types of joints needed in a tower-
The butt joint where upper and lower leg segments join; if you're doing this joint on a jig (the strongly recommended way to be doing it), really easy/straightforward; using medium or slow, micro-tip, a small blob/drop on the lower end of the upper leg piece, move it in to just above the upper end of the lower segment, bring down into contact with the lower leg top and the jig. No need for fingers near where the glue is. If you're using a....template (a drawing on which you lay down a side, and later attach two sides to make a tower- not the recommended way), again, medium or slow, drop on one end, bring together in alignment. This is also a joint where the CAA can work- have the leg ends firmly together and secured in alignment, and hit the joint plane/seam with the applicator. The glue will penetrate in along the joint plane.

Always remember "protection" for all joints-small piece(s) of wax paper, saran wrap, parafilm, so you don't glue the wood to your jig or template! At Regionals last year, a team showed up with a beautiful tower, still sitting on its jig. They went to pull it off for testing. It wouldn't pull off. After some razor blade surgery and major angst, and ...significant repair, they were able to test. What can I say.

The butt joint of ladder ends to legs (with the ladders positioned between the legs- the best way to do ladders); this is where thin, put on with a CAA (or VERY carefully with a micro-tip to not end up with way more glue than you need) is the way to go. Do your fitting, sanding/filing ends till you have a nice 'slip fit'- the ladder holds itself in place, but doesn't push/bow the legs at all, and the ends of the ladder are aligned with the faces of the legs without any visible gaps. With the ladder in place (alignment marks on the legs really help make sure this is done precisely), apply a bit at the joint plane, Ladder to leg joints need very little glue, just enough to hold in place. No need for fingers close to the joint.

The lap joints of X/Z brace pieces to the faces of the legs- these joints are the ones where fingers and glue may get together. A number of ways to approach. Having your partner/a second set of hands can really help.

If you're using 1/16 x 1/16 sticks (common, but not the most efficient way, not recommended), its cake- with alignment marks in place, with micro tip, run a thin line of slow or medium (depending on how fast you can move) on the leg, where the brace will contact; hold near both ends, move into contact, hold in place till the glue goes off (or have your partner squirt a bit of accelerator on the joints). Or have your partner press gently on the brace at the joint with a 'joint pressure tool/stick'- you don't want the piece to be glued in with any bend in it- if you press it against the legs too hard, that can happen. If you use a couple inch long nylon rod, 1/8" diameter, the CA won't stick to it. Being able to put some pressure on the joint will make it stronger- thinner glue film in the joint, a little better glue penetration into the wood.. If the push stick sticks at all, gently twist.

If you're using 1/16 (wide) x 1/32 thick Xs (which most of the 'high performance' towers last year were running, and seems the way to go), the key is putting them on without inducing any bend- very difficult to do if you try to put them on holding near both ends. Cut length for placement so the piece is ...2, 3. 4cm longer than final length. It is really important these strips be put on straight, as in pulled out straight, no slack. They'll see both tension and compression forces. If they have any slack, as tension loading comes on, they'll lengthen till pulled straight, and any movement of the braced point on the leg will lead to leg buckling starting, and when that happens, its all over.

One way is one end at a time; with a piece of masking tape holding one end in position on its alignment mark (with the other end aligned along its alignment mark, and both ends extending out past the legs). Gently (with finger or piece of stick) lift the untaped end away from the leg, with micro tip, run thin line of medium along its alignment mark, let the end fall back into leg contact (making sure it is on the alignment mark), press the joint with nylon push stick. Then for the other end, remove the tape, holding the end (which should extending out past the leg) with tweezers or two fingers, pull the end away from the leg enough to run a thin glue line along the alignment mark on the leg. While gently pulling on the end, to pull the strip straight, move it into leg contact and hold till the glue goes off, or partner hits it w/ accelerator or nylon push stick. Trim the ends that extend past the legs off.

There is a way to do both ends at the same time and keep the strips straight. . You can use a ‘push bar’- a piece of wood, or plastic, or (best) nylon. You’ll actually want 2 or 3, at different lengths; the longest for the Xs located close to the bottom of the tower, perhaps a medium length for Xs near the top of the base, and a short one for the Xs in the chimney section. Cross section, 1/16 x ½” to 1”.

If done in nylon, no need for glue protection (to prevent push bar ending up glued to the tower at the ends of the brace piece). If using wood/plastic, have a piece of wax paper wrapped along the edge that pushes up against the legs; the ‘tower side’ of the bar. Cut so length is a bit longer than the glued ends of the brace piece, and width is such that it doesn’t fully cover the wide faces of the push bar (ex., with 1” wide bar- 3/4 + 1/16 +3/4 = 1 9/16. Then with that in place, pull/wrap the strip to be glued up tight against the tower side of the bar with a piece of paper, the length of which is a bit shorter than the glued length of the brace. With the fingers of two hands holding that paper tight so strip is tight against the bar, have your partner run glue lines on the strip alignment marks. Then carefully move the bar with brace piece on it up against the legs, so strip hits the glue lines/alignment marks, and hold in place till the glue goes off.

When you come back to do the other/crossing X piece, same drill as the first. With the first side of an X put on tightly, when you push the bar with 2nd X strip strip into place, it will push/deflect the center of the already in-place strip slightly (~1/32). Once the push bar is removed, the two strips will ….equilibrate so each is bowed by about 1/64”. For all Xs bracing with 1/32 x 1/16, you need to do a glue spot at the crossover point; CAA applying very small drop.

Hope something in here helps.

[jander14indoor]

If you are getting stuck to things you are using too much glue, and need to improve your gluing practices. While I'm an aircraft builder, not towers, skills are similar. I use mostly CA on my planes and seldom have any on my hands.
Many techniques mentioned above. But overall, use care and attention. Use minimal glue. DON'T apply directly from the bottle. Use those applicators. Frankly the easiest is just two pins stuck through a stick coming to a point. Don't let drips hang on the tip of your bottle, either wipe off immediately, or suck most back and THEN wipe off. Rap the bottle sharply straight down while pointing up to get glue out of the nozzle. etc.
See also this old moldy that I wrote some years back. https://www.soinc.org/sites/default/fil ... weight.pdf

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI

[cheese]

I got a 100 pack 1/16inch disposable pipettes for around $5 on amazon. I can usually go an entire day of building with one of them.

[CVMSAvalacheStudent]

I got a 100 pack 1/16inch disposable pipettes for around $5 on amazon. I can usually go an entire day of building with one of them.

Yeah, can you give me the link? Too lazy to type it or copy paste it.