where to get good CA?

[Ryan Mazzocco]

I've been using the CA from stewmac and like it just fine. But those bottles are kind of small. If I run out I have to order, pay shipping and wait for a couple days to get it. But if I were to need some CA in a pinch to use on a guitar and my only choice would be to go to the hardware store or the big box store, what stuff is okay to use? I only ask because I'm assuming not all CAs are created equal. I know I can get like 10 tubes of it for 2 bucks at harbor freight, but I kinda figure there's a reason it's so cheap. So, what other easily accessible CAs are good for use in lutherie besides the stewmac brand?

[Mario Proulx]

The cheap little tubes work just fine, and hey, they're so small, the CA is always fresh...

Honestly.

I tried the bottled stuff a couple times. Went back to the little tubes...

[Ryan Mazzocco]

Really? Wow that is very surprising to learn. and very good to know!

[David King]

I use Smiths which is repackaged by every hobby store in America in 1/2, 1 & 2 oz bottles. I like it a lot for speed. I also use Starbond which is available directly off their website in various sizes including 8oz. Starbond has many specific formulations to accommodate different bonding and finishing tasks.
Loctite also makes some specialty CAs that can be very handy to have around but they are pricy.
The shelf life of any CA is about 6 mos so unless you are using lots of it, the little tubes can be handy.

[Michael Lewis]

Keep your stash of CA in the fridge. Any industrial supply outlet (MSC, McMaster, etc.) will have a variety of CA adhesives. LocTite is a very good brand as is Star Bond. I get the gel in little tubes at the Dollar Store, usually 3 for a buck in a resealable pouch. Use baking soda as an accelerator, dust it on the surface to be glued and blow it off, then apply the glue and fit the parts together.

I find a 2 oz. bottle of CA will last me about a year if moisture is kept away from it. I refill a pipette several times from the bottle, and toss it when it loses it's fine tip. To make the fine tip pull it with a pair of pliers. It can help a bit if you warm the pipette.

[Randy Roberts]

I'd recommend "Hot Stuff" made by Satellite City. They manufacture it, and it's their stuff that a lot of the suppliers re-lable. I order it direct from them 6 two ounce bottles at a time.
I talked with them several years ago and the best way to store it is in the freezer, at least before it's opened. They keep samples of various batches and I was told their oldest frozen sample was from 17 years prior and was still perfectly fine when they tested it.
Once opened, the thing that will make it gradually go bad is it absorbing moisture from the air, which gradually sets it hardening, and is why thin CA will gradually get more gel like in the bottle.

Once opened, I use 3 cc syringes to draw out what I'm going to use and screw the cap back on, rather than snipping the point off. It stays good in the syringe for several days, (usually it's the needle getting clogged but being too securely glued to the syringe to get it off and put on a new needle that causes me to have to pitch the syringe of glue). I don't refill a used syringe again, as I don't want to contaminate my bulk 2 oz. bottle with any CA on the syringe that may have started to set up.
I figure that keeps the moisture out better than the snap on caps do after opening the tip. Once I've started using a bottle, I leave it at room temperature rather than refrigerating, as I figure it's less likely to condense moisture out of the air during the short time I have the cap unscrewed to fill the syringe. It seems to stay good for 3 to 6 months on the shelf doing it this way unless I forget to screw the top back on. (there are far worse consequences to forgetting to screw the cap back on a 2 oz. bottle of CA than just the glue going bad <g>). If I'm not going to be using it for quite a while, I'll put the bottle back in the freezer.

This thread brings to mind something I've always wondered about. How much of a nightmare must trying to manufacture and bottle a product like CA be...." Uh boss, I think there's a leak in the 50,000 gallon thin CA tank..."

[Jason Rodgers]

I 2nd the Hot Stuff. I only buy the very thin.

[Ryan Mazzocco]

I didn't know about refrigerating. But I have been keeping them in the little ziplock bags that they come in and I've only lost one bottle. It was #10 from stewmac. The cap got glued onto the nozzle and I twisted and beat and pulled but the bottle started to break before the cap ever started to think about coming off. I think the variable though was that bottle got left out and not sealed in the bag.
Also, since then I always be sure to wipe off the tip before putting the cap back on. I rarely have problems now.
about putting it in the freezer... does CA freeze? (I guess most everything freezes, but not in a residential grade freezer.) do you have to thaw it out or can you just take it out and use it?
Michael- very interesting about using baking soda for accelerator. now, I'm guessing that it's only for hidden joints, right? So, you can't sprinkle a little baking soda on a finish and drop fill; that would show, right? It makes sense though, since you can fill a nut slot with baking soda, drop some CA in and it pretty much instantly hardens. Do you put the baking soda on the one surface and CA on the other and then fit them?

[Bob Gramann]

I've been storing mine in the freezer for years. I buy enough at once from StewMac to get the quantity discount. It keeps indefinitely in the freezer. (I store my shellac flakes there, too).

[Ryan Mazzocco]

And to think, I've just been keeping meat in there this whole time. What a waste.

[ben gruber]

What kind of viscosity do you fellas use? What kind of joints do you use it for? I usually buy it by the pound for rebuilding speakers and the accelerator by the gallon or in aerosol cans(these rock by the way). I use a lot of rubber toughened(black) CA, but also use a clear version as well. I usually go through it at a pretty good clip, so I don't really need to refrigerate it.
I am new to guitar building and am trying to read and learn as much as i can.

[Jason Rodgers]

This thread brings to mind something I've always wondered about. How much of a nightmare must trying to manufacture and bottle a product like CA be...." Uh boss, I think there's a leak in the 50,000 gallon thin CA tank..."

I'm late coming to the punchline: The boss says, "Eh, shoot some accelerator on it."

(Running for cover... )

[Michael Lewis]

Ryan, I wouldn't be using CA for filling any finish but catalyzed stuff or UV cured.

A tiny amount of baking soda in CA generally doesn't show too much, but the more you add the more it shows.

[Ryan Mazzocco]

Thanks Michael. I tried the baking soda method the other day when gluing a heel cap back on. worked great! just like you said

[Nate Scott]

So, how do you tell if CA has gone off? I think I've had one or two bottles for several years and haven't noticed any obvious issues.

[David King]

It gradually thickens up over time in my experience.

[Chuck Tweedy]

I just take the labels off the bottles and judge its suitability to a task by how it flows in the bottle.
"Thin" becomes "medium" over time, and I just use it if I need "medium". Maybe that it wrong, but it thickens pretty quickly so it really not that old.