I am trying to attach wood stingers for a large trestle to the bottom of the ties of the bridge track.. Had no luck with several glues. What is the best type of glue for this application? Thanks in advance for your answers.
Either white glue or cyanoacrylate (CA) should work. If you're only attaching the narrow end of the wood, so that there is only a very small amount of surface contact, then go with the CA.
I prefer the thicker, "gap filling" CA to the thin stuff.
When using this with wood, sometimes the wood will absorb the glue very quickly. If this is happening, it helps to "paint" on one layer of glue, let it dry, and then use a second application to actually fasten it to the track.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Well, you didn't say what you had used for glues or how you used them. So, it is very difficult to offer suggestions. Now, that said, I will offer carpenters glue. That's the yellow stuff that looks like Elmer's white glue. Once stuck, it just doesn't come unstuck. It is permanent.
Just be sure that you weight the ties in place for about 24 hours. After that, if you've used the glue correctly it will remain stuck.
Roger Hensley= ECI Railroad - http://madisonrails.railfan.net/eci/eci_new.html == Railroads of Madison County - http://madisonrails.railfan.net/ =
I used G-S HYPO Cement & Testor metal to wood glue. The trestle is a curved structure and each stringer is three pieces of wood glued together. I did not think the White glue or Carpenter glue binds well to Plastic. I guess I forgot to mention that the bride track is Micro Eng track with plastic ties.
Yellow glue will bond with plastic, I glued my test track down with yellow glue and it seems to be sturdy. If I actually try to pull it off I suspect it will pop loose. Probably the best option is what MisterBeaseley said. Use CA, but on the wood side you need to put some CA on the ends and the let it dry, then go back and add more glue and attach the plastic track. If you just put a drop of CA on bare wood and attach a plastic part, it probably won't stay attached as the wood sucks up the moisture and the bond doesn't cure properly. Also if there is residue on the wood or the track from previous attempts with other adhesives, this will probably cause trouble as well.
Another one that will probably work is latex caulk. A tiny bit goes a long way and it seems to bond just about anything. Plastic to wood, plastic to extruded foam, extruded foam to wood.. it all seems to work well.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
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I'd use Goop,Walthers Goo or contact cement for wood to plastic.
On a side note, how does that GS Hypo work? I've been thinking about getting some for gluing in windows. I have the Testors for Clear Plastic and it's basically just white glue and doesn't hold very well. Is the GS just white glue too?
Had pretty good results on small projects. This is the first time I tryed it on something big.
The ties are a slippery plastic. Clear latex caulk is the best for bonding to the plastic. The white glues and yellow carpenter's glues will sorta stick to the plastic but the bond is no where near as strong as the latex caulk. Phenoseal is one good brand name. It bonded 10 feet of Micro engineering bridge track to an elevated section for us. We build the bridge and then stuck the track down onto the finished bridge with the Phenoseal. Books and cans of paint weighted the track down until the Phenoseal hardened.
I would avoid Walther's Goo or Pliobond on plastic, it's solvent based and will eat thru the plastic after a few years.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
dstarr I would avoid Walther's Goo or Pliobond on plastic, it's solvent based and will eat thru the plastic after a few years.
Ummm, plastic glue IS a solvent. Isn't the whole point to use something on plastic that does eat into the surface a bit for a better bond?? Doesn't the solvent evaporate out after a short time stopping the melting process?
it depends on the strength of the solvent as to how long it takes for it to evaporate and stop the eating/melting process
Properly used, most of the solvent in contact cement is gone before the two pieces are joined together. The solvents in contact cement, though, which are similar to lacquer thinner, won't affect the ME ties at all, as they can't even be cemented to a plastic bridge with solvent cement. Ca will probably hold things together for a while, but it works best when there's also a mechanical "fit" between parts. You could drill some of the ties from the bottom, then insert short lengths of music wire, held in place with ca, then press the pins into the wood stringers, but the latex caulk sounds simpler.
Wayne
Gorilla Glue might do the the job, too. I don't know how well it holds up over time, though.
loathar dstarr I would avoid Walther's Goo or Pliobond on plastic, it's solvent based and will eat thru the plastic after a few years. Ummm, plastic glue IS a solvent. Isn't the whole point to use something on plastic that does eat into the surface a bit for a better bond?? Doesn't the solvent evaporate out after a short time stopping the melting process?
Yes, Testors or Tenax are also solvent-based. They are meant to melt the plastic to create a bond. Once the solvent evaporates, they stop "eating" the plastic.
Goo has been used on plastics for decades, as has Pliobond, with no ill effects.
MisterBeasleyGorilla Glue might do the the job, too. I don't know how well it holds up over time, though.
Gorilla glue holds up very well - I have a chair I repaired a few years ago with it and it has held up well.
But, and it's a BIG but, Gorilla Glue foams and expands when it cures. I would not use it for any model application. I had to clean up the chair with a chisel where it foamed out of the joint.
Enjoy
Paul