9 ms·

This to That

512 points by robin_reala 4y ago

SomewhatLikely 4y ago
I couldn't find the specific combo I spent quite some time researching last year so I tried ChatGPT. Within seconds it recommended the exact solution I ended up using based on my searches back then. "What adhesive would work well for affixing a mylar sheet to foam board?" > A good adhesive for affixing a mylar sheet to foam board would be a spray adhesive, such as 3M Super 77. This type of adhesive can provide a strong bond between the mylar and foam board, and it dries clear, so it won't be visible once the mylar is attached. You could also use a glue stick, but it may not provide as strong of a bond. It's important to use an adhesive that is compatible with both the mylar and the foam board, so be sure to read the labels carefully before making a purchase.
- throwaway290 4y ago
  Interesting how the very first sentence went for a brand name. Naively I thought it would at least start with compounds, even if give a few examples of products in the end.
taldo 4y ago
It's great design, straight to the point, but I have 2 big issues with it: - It's VERY US centric: I can't get even half of the recommended products where I live. - I'd love to see recommendations for more specific materials, e.g. different types of plastic: it's not the same trying to stick 2 pieces of acrylic (PMMA / Plexiglass, you'd just use a solvent like Chloroform), or ABS (many common adhesives work fine), but gluing PE or PP is nearly impossible for all practical purposes.
anigbrowl 4y ago
I am pleased that this is about materials rather than microservices.
- layer8 4y ago
  Much easier than glueing microservices together.
ggm 4y ago
An absolutely brilliant idea. I frequently use the wrong glue. A little more info about what qualities each choice has would be interesting. Remembering to let glues which "cure" have stress free time, and glues which are "apply to each surface, wait, and then contact press" dog my attempts too.
Mistletoe 4y ago
Bookmarked forever, thank you!
jakear 4y ago
Couldn’t not surface this gem from their primary plastic to plastic recommendation: > If you live in the U.S. there is a different formula for Goop than in Canada. The Canadian formula contains perchloroethylene which is a known carcinogenic. The U.S. Goop formula contains toluene, which although is a dangerous solvent, it is not carcinogenic. It is however more flammable. Because the Canadian standards are quite rigid regarding flammables and explosive, Eclectic manufactures a formula for Canada, replacing the toluene with perchloroethylene. Apparently, the people who set these standards in Canada are more concerned with the dangers of fires than cancer! https://www.thistothat.com/glue/hgoop.shtml https://www.thistothat.com/glue/hgoop.shtml For what it’s worth, my experience has proven “Lexel” solid. Strong enough to keep the top window panel on my roof top tent locked down across countless thousands of miles, and it sticks to wet surfaces. Meaning when you’re caught lacking in a PNW rainstorm getting soaked in the middle of the night, you can apply the glue then and there to resolve the issue immediately. Of course you and your stuff will still be soaked. For that I recommend Mexico.
- akiselev 4y ago
  Perchloroethylene is used by almost every dry cleaner in the United States.
  - justinator 4y ago
    Good thing we don't use toluene in dry cleaning then!
  - LeifCarrotson 4y ago
    Who still uses a dry cleaner?
    - thaneross 4y ago
      I dry clean my suits. I thought that was the only way to clean them... am I missing something?
    - luckman212 4y ago
3guk 4y ago
I love simple sites like this - it's a shame that google seems to punish sites like this that contain information that is not often updated (because it does not need to be).
- nomel 4y ago
  This really explains so much. The it was much easier to find random facts on the "old" internet. Now, to get to a random fact, it needs to be wrapped in a life story explaining why they have a deep personal connection with that fact.
- rvense 4y ago
  It's weird, right? A wordpress blog that wrapped each combination of materials in a separate five page article and republished them every week with slight changes would do better.
  - gberger 4y ago
    And with ChatGPT, it would be really easy to generate...
  - blowski 4y ago
    Within engineering, there is this weird dominant culture that fresher information is more likely to be accurate. Sometimes, that's right, because a lot of tech changes so quickly that a three year old article about is now hopelessly out of date since v5 deprecated v3 syntax. For a lot of other articles, I'd rather read an authoritative, well-written article that was published 40 years ago. Nothing material has changed in the intervening period, so it doesn't matter. Google just doesn't seem to know when I value quality over freshness, so it defaults to the latter most of the time.
    - swader999 4y ago
      Sheldon Brown's bike tuning comes to mind after reading your comment. https://www.sheldonbrown.com/articles.html https://www.sheldonbrown.com/articles.html (look at that, an html page!!!)
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
- blowski 4y ago
  The site has existed in this format since the late 90s, when CGI was how you did these things. That it hasn't really needed to change in 20 years speaks to the quality of websites built like this, not their "shittiness". Compare it to a site built 2 years ago with APIs and CDN-hosted assets that no longer exist.
into_infinity 4y ago
It's an ancient website, although it's both a bit too specific and not specific enough. An example of insufficient specificity: "rubber". Both silicone rubber and SBR are rubbers, but they behave very differently (and almost nothing bonds silicone). Another example: "plastic". Again, this spans both easily-glued materials such as ABS, and hard-to-glue commodity plastics such as HDPE or PP, where almost nothing sticks. An example of excessive specificity: pretty much everything else. Low surface energy materials aside, gluing ceramic to plastic isn't hugely different from gluing metal to ABS. The real question for most gluing projects is whether the joint needs to be flexible, how much of a gap you need to fill, and how good it needs to look.
- thayne 4y ago
  Well, I think the target population is the general population. And most people probably don't know what kind of plastic they are using, and wouldn't know that gluing metal to ABS is similar to gluing ceramic to plastic. I certainly wouldn't have known that.
nxpnsv 4y ago
I first used that site in the 90s... amazing it is still there
mdrzn 4y ago
Hug of death from HN?
ekianjo 4y ago
I find it distasteful that the answer is a brand name instead of an active ingredient. not all brands are available worldwide, and it's better to know what it is made of to check for actual options. It also makes people think happen by magic instead of letting them learn about what makes the glue work.
- lucideer 4y ago
  Not only are many brands not universally available, even those that are more often than not have different recipes in different regions.
- wartijn_ 4y ago
  I think calling this “distasteful” is pretty dumb. it’s a website that has offered a free service for decades. If I wanted to glue some glass to metal, I wouldn’t want to which ratio of certain ingredients I’d need. That would just result in me having to check the description of dozens of packages in a shop, while I would forget the names of those ingredients as soon as I’d bought the glue and I have no idea what the effect of a different ratio will be. I’d be just a bunch of useless information, while knowing which product I need to buy is providing a service people actually use. Too bad that it’s not super useful for people who don’t live in the US, but you can’t make everyone happy.
  - ekianjo 4y ago
    > I wouldn’t want to which ratio of certain ingredients I’d need. That would just result in me having to check the description of dozens of packages in a shop, Glues are not a long list of ingredients like a recipe or something. There's only a few ingredients that actually matter in making things stick. > That would just result in me having to check the description of dozens of packages in a shop, Checking ingredients is a good thing in a store. Not sure why people find this kind of thing a problem. Aren't you curious with what things are made?
    - akanet 4y ago
      Sometimes I'm curious, sometimes I just want to glue two things together to finish my project. Do you meet many people who mix their own glues?
lzaaz 4y ago
I can't believe that a website that is practically static goes down like this.
kellyharsh 4y ago
[flagged]
agotterer 4y ago
Thank you! One of the items on my todo list today was to find a glue suitable to attach plastic to glass. I’ve tried 4 different glues and non have held. Here’s hoping!
- someweirdperson 4y ago
  Try double-sided tape (there's many different kinds). Unfortunately, the site only recommends glues.
- canadianfella 4y ago
Amorymeltzer 4y ago
Discussion from a few years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21110712 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21110712
DeathArrow 4y ago
And if you want to know whether the recommended glue is any good, watch a video from Project Farm https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectFarm/search?query=glue https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectFarm/search?query=glue
- dfc 4y ago
  I like his videos but adhesives are tough to test quickly. Strength over time is important for a lot of applications. It's also really strange that he used end grain glue joints when testing wood glues. No woodworker would use wood glue for that application.
DeathArrow 4y ago
This is a so pre 2000 behaving website. They could turned the glue recommendation engine to a SaaS so you can pay mothly for glue related advices. And they have no heavy JS front-end, I mean it's 2022, right?
vfinn 4y ago
Maybe you don't mind me asking. I have a small hole in my top-loading washing machine's rubber seal and I have been wondering whether it could be fixed (a new seal costs 100$ and it'd feel nuts to throw it away for environmental reasons alone). I know there are rubber glues, and I have made tests with one, but the question is can they be used inside a washing machine. Does anyone know (a solution to this problem)? The hole is 4cm x 1cm. Edit: As a side note I have wondered also whether I could use two pieces (of metal, let's say) that I'd screw/press together tightly to prevent the leak. Does that make any sense?
- blamazon 4y ago
  How about a bicycle inner tube patch? Those are generally resilient to the elements. Or an air mattress patch, or a pool liner patch, or a jetski seat repair patch...
  - vfinn 4y ago
    I was thinking of a truck wheel patch, but I'd like to be sure there won't be any stains, and that the glue won't react with the detergent, for example. I don't know if it's possible.
    - blamazon 4y ago
      In that case I think you want something that will 'vulcanize' with the material in the gasket, rather than being adhered... I don't know if that's feasible for your exact material but I know there are methods of rubber patching that are more akin to welding than glueing.
      - vfinn 4y ago
        Yes, something like that crossed my mind also, but it could be that it's not feasible in small diy work. Have to check.
- doctorwho42 4y ago
  Depending on the size and shape of this seal(gasket), you can go one of two paths; (1) use a gasket compound, it comes out liquidish and then sets into a rubber. (2) buy sheet gasket material similar to your gasket, and trace and cut the gasket out. Depending on size the sheet cost could very between a few dollars to like $10-15.
themodelplumber 4y ago
This reminded me of a recent experience. I ordered a budget, homage Scout Knife, based on the Aitor Gran Capitan "Spanish Army Knife" pattern (produced sans corkscrew of course, which made me chuckle since I'd been a bit of a rebellious scout myself). The knife arrived and the scales promptly began to detach after some vigorous sharpening. I was surprised to remove the scales and discover they were glued on, smooth plastic to smooth metal. (The factory glue was amber colored, bubbly, and rubbery, with a pizza-cheese effect when pulled cold) I knew it was a budget tool, but somehow expected at least basic friction-fastening at the metal rivet points. Instead, there was this glue on the scales' inner plastic lattice work, plus some friction pressure around the scale edges. I mixed up some epoxy, which as I was raised is something of a knife hobbyist's friend. I still have a zero-tang carving knife my dad made by epoxying a Victorinox blade into antler. Just as I was getting materials ready to sand plastic and metal, I noticed the epoxy mix was already in the advanced stages of setting! Turns out I had purchased "4 minute set time" epoxy from PC Epoxy. And it had been nearly that long since the mixing. Instead of my usual dilemma of waiting for things to set, the situation was suddenly more urgently coming together. Usually I prepare surfaces with plenty of time left in the curing, so personal experience had led me astray on account of not typically needing to read the epoxy product label closely. I'd never seen 4-minute epoxy at the store before. So, I really hope my unsanded but hastily- and liberally-coated surfaces hold together OK for a while.
- dfc 4y ago
  I think it's a good idea to always do surface prep before mixing epoxy (regardless of the working time).
sabujp 4y ago
cgi-bin : What year is it?!
canadianfella 4y ago
NelsonMinar 4y ago
One of the original microsites, dating to 1999!
mauvehaus 4y ago
A little surprised to see that the recommendation for wood to wood isn't the ubiquitous Titebond line of wood glues. I've never seen a bottle of Elmer's carpenter's glue in any shop I've ever set foot in. There are other adhesives used to glue wood together depending on the application (epoxy is big in the boat world AIUI), but for everyday wood gluing, Titebond is pretty much king in the US.
- michaelcampbell 4y ago
  I use Elmer's normal white glue all the time for wood. It has a MUCH longer open time (I am not fast), and is still as strong or stronger than the wood. My home-made bench made of southern yellow pine boards ripped and laminated is exclusively that and will outlive me, and my son if he decides to not throw it out. NB: I also use Titebond, but not because it's better at holding, just cures/dries quicker. And is better for wet/damp applications.
- tupshin 4y ago
  From a brand popularity and professional use point of view, you are 100% correct. The various Titebond formulations are, I believe, the most widely used by carpenters in the US. However, all PVA glues are going to have extremely similar strength and overall properties, and they do have an excellent summary here: https://www.thistothat.com/glue/pva.shtml https://www.thistothat.com/glue/pva.shtml "Be wary of over priced PVAs that claim to be for a specific use. There is very little difference from one PVA to the other, and nothing that should increase the cost." Titebond does have range of products, well described here: https://thewoodwhisperer.com/articles/differences-between-titebond-glues/ https://thewoodwhisperer.com/articles/differences-between-ti... but Titebond original would be considered to be nearly identical to the Elmers that they recommend
- steve_adams_86 4y ago
  Titebond III creates bonds stronger than the hardest woods I use and they’re even highly water resistant. It’s also easy to apply, clean, store, etc. Maybe Elmer’s is good but in 15+ years of gluing wood, I’ve never seen it recommended or used, either.
bxparks 4y ago
I've been using superglue (cyanoacrylate) to attach a small metal L-bracket to some IP65-rated ABS plastic boxes, then hanging them on a nail or screw using the metal bracket. The boxes contain battery-powered temperature sensors. This has worked great for several years for the attic and crawlspace. But the outside boxes fall off every winter. I think the metal and plastic expand and contract at different rates through the temperature swings (40C/104F summer, -10C/14F winter) causing the bond to break. Amusingly, superglue is NOT one of the recommendations given on this website (LePage's Metal Epoxy, J-B Weld, Faststeel Epoxy Putty) for Metal to Plastic.
Waterluvian 4y ago
My dishwasher tub is made of a kind of plastic that’s very good for not absorbing foods/liquids but therefore is very bad at having anything adhere to it. This is a problem as a tiny hole was burned through it. I’ve had a hard time finding something that plugs the hole. Various epoxies. Silicone caulk. JB weld for plastics. Everything peels off in weeks or months.
- bagels 4y ago
  You can use mechanical fasteners (rivets) and a rubber gasket possibly? Or, make the hole uniform to accept a plug (again, mechanical attachment)

512 points by robin_reala 4y ago

I couldn't find the specific combo I spent quite some time researching last year so I tried ChatGPT. Within seconds it recommended the exact solution I ended up using based on my searches back then. "What adhesive would work well for affixing a mylar sheet to foam board?" > A good adhesive for affixing a mylar sheet to foam board would be a spray adhesive, such as 3M Super 77. This type of adhesive can provide a strong bond between the mylar and foam board, and it dries clear, so it won't be visible once the mylar is attached. You could also use a glue stick, but it may not provide as strong of a bond. It's important to use an adhesive that is compatible with both the mylar and the foam board, so be sure to read the labels carefully before making a purchase.

throwaway290 4y ago
Interesting how the very first sentence went for a brand name. Naively I thought it would at least start with compounds, even if give a few examples of products in the end.

taldo 4y ago

It's great design, straight to the point, but I have 2 big issues with it: - It's VERY US centric: I can't get even half of the recommended products where I live. - I'd love to see recommendations for more specific materials, e.g. different types of plastic: it's not the same trying to stick 2 pieces of acrylic (PMMA / Plexiglass, you'd just use a solvent like Chloroform), or ABS (many common adhesives work fine), but gluing PE or PP is nearly impossible for all practical purposes.

anigbrowl 4y ago

I am pleased that this is about materials rather than microservices.

layer8 4y ago
Much easier than glueing microservices together.

ggm 4y ago

An absolutely brilliant idea. I frequently use the wrong glue. A little more info about what qualities each choice has would be interesting. Remembering to let glues which "cure" have stress free time, and glues which are "apply to each surface, wait, and then contact press" dog my attempts too.

Mistletoe 4y ago

Bookmarked forever, thank you!

jakear 4y ago

Couldn’t not surface this gem from their primary plastic to plastic recommendation: > If you live in the U.S. there is a different formula for Goop than in Canada. The Canadian formula contains perchloroethylene which is a known carcinogenic. The U.S. Goop formula contains toluene, which although is a dangerous solvent, it is not carcinogenic. It is however more flammable. Because the Canadian standards are quite rigid regarding flammables and explosive, Eclectic manufactures a formula for Canada, replacing the toluene with perchloroethylene. Apparently, the people who set these standards in Canada are more concerned with the dangers of fires than cancer! https://www.thistothat.com/glue/hgoop.shtml https://www.thistothat.com/glue/hgoop.shtml For what it’s worth, my experience has proven “Lexel” solid. Strong enough to keep the top window panel on my roof top tent locked down across countless thousands of miles, and it sticks to wet surfaces. Meaning when you’re caught lacking in a PNW rainstorm getting soaked in the middle of the night, you can apply the glue then and there to resolve the issue immediately. Of course you and your stuff will still be soaked. For that I recommend Mexico.

akiselev 4y ago
Perchloroethylene is used by almost every dry cleaner in the United States.
- justinator 4y ago
  Good thing we don't use toluene in dry cleaning then!
- LeifCarrotson 4y ago
  Who still uses a dry cleaner?
  - thaneross 4y ago
    I dry clean my suits. I thought that was the only way to clean them... am I missing something?
  - luckman212 4y ago

3guk 4y ago

I love simple sites like this - it's a shame that google seems to punish sites like this that contain information that is not often updated (because it does not need to be).

nomel 4y ago
This really explains so much. The it was much easier to find random facts on the "old" internet. Now, to get to a random fact, it needs to be wrapped in a life story explaining why they have a deep personal connection with that fact.
rvense 4y ago
It's weird, right? A wordpress blog that wrapped each combination of materials in a separate five page article and republished them every week with slight changes would do better.
- gberger 4y ago
  And with ChatGPT, it would be really easy to generate...
- blowski 4y ago
  Within engineering, there is this weird dominant culture that fresher information is more likely to be accurate. Sometimes, that's right, because a lot of tech changes so quickly that a three year old article about is now hopelessly out of date since v5 deprecated v3 syntax. For a lot of other articles, I'd rather read an authoritative, well-written article that was published 40 years ago. Nothing material has changed in the intervening period, so it doesn't matter. Google just doesn't seem to know when I value quality over freshness, so it defaults to the latter most of the time.
  - swader999 4y ago
    Sheldon Brown's bike tuning comes to mind after reading your comment. https://www.sheldonbrown.com/articles.html https://www.sheldonbrown.com/articles.html (look at that, an html page!!!)

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

blowski 4y ago
The site has existed in this format since the late 90s, when CGI was how you did these things. That it hasn't really needed to change in 20 years speaks to the quality of websites built like this, not their "shittiness". Compare it to a site built 2 years ago with APIs and CDN-hosted assets that no longer exist.

into_infinity 4y ago

It's an ancient website, although it's both a bit too specific and not specific enough. An example of insufficient specificity: "rubber". Both silicone rubber and SBR are rubbers, but they behave very differently (and almost nothing bonds silicone). Another example: "plastic". Again, this spans both easily-glued materials such as ABS, and hard-to-glue commodity plastics such as HDPE or PP, where almost nothing sticks. An example of excessive specificity: pretty much everything else. Low surface energy materials aside, gluing ceramic to plastic isn't hugely different from gluing metal to ABS. The real question for most gluing projects is whether the joint needs to be flexible, how much of a gap you need to fill, and how good it needs to look.

thayne 4y ago
Well, I think the target population is the general population. And most people probably don't know what kind of plastic they are using, and wouldn't know that gluing metal to ABS is similar to gluing ceramic to plastic. I certainly wouldn't have known that.

nxpnsv 4y ago

I first used that site in the 90s... amazing it is still there

mdrzn 4y ago

Hug of death from HN?

ekianjo 4y ago

I find it distasteful that the answer is a brand name instead of an active ingredient. not all brands are available worldwide, and it's better to know what it is made of to check for actual options. It also makes people think happen by magic instead of letting them learn about what makes the glue work.

lucideer 4y ago
Not only are many brands not universally available, even those that are more often than not have different recipes in different regions.
wartijn_ 4y ago
I think calling this “distasteful” is pretty dumb. it’s a website that has offered a free service for decades. If I wanted to glue some glass to metal, I wouldn’t want to which ratio of certain ingredients I’d need. That would just result in me having to check the description of dozens of packages in a shop, while I would forget the names of those ingredients as soon as I’d bought the glue and I have no idea what the effect of a different ratio will be. I’d be just a bunch of useless information, while knowing which product I need to buy is providing a service people actually use. Too bad that it’s not super useful for people who don’t live in the US, but you can’t make everyone happy.
- ekianjo 4y ago
  > I wouldn’t want to which ratio of certain ingredients I’d need. That would just result in me having to check the description of dozens of packages in a shop, Glues are not a long list of ingredients like a recipe or something. There's only a few ingredients that actually matter in making things stick. > That would just result in me having to check the description of dozens of packages in a shop, Checking ingredients is a good thing in a store. Not sure why people find this kind of thing a problem. Aren't you curious with what things are made?
  - akanet 4y ago
    Sometimes I'm curious, sometimes I just want to glue two things together to finish my project. Do you meet many people who mix their own glues?

lzaaz 4y ago

I can't believe that a website that is practically static goes down like this.

kellyharsh 4y ago

[flagged]

agotterer 4y ago

Thank you! One of the items on my todo list today was to find a glue suitable to attach plastic to glass. I’ve tried 4 different glues and non have held. Here’s hoping!

someweirdperson 4y ago
Try double-sided tape (there's many different kinds). Unfortunately, the site only recommends glues.
canadianfella 4y ago

Amorymeltzer 4y ago

Discussion from a few years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21110712 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21110712

DeathArrow 4y ago

And if you want to know whether the recommended glue is any good, watch a video from Project Farm https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectFarm/search?query=glue https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectFarm/search?query=glue

dfc 4y ago
I like his videos but adhesives are tough to test quickly. Strength over time is important for a lot of applications. It's also really strange that he used end grain glue joints when testing wood glues. No woodworker would use wood glue for that application.

DeathArrow 4y ago

This is a so pre 2000 behaving website. They could turned the glue recommendation engine to a SaaS so you can pay mothly for glue related advices. And they have no heavy JS front-end, I mean it's 2022, right?

vfinn 4y ago

Maybe you don't mind me asking. I have a small hole in my top-loading washing machine's rubber seal and I have been wondering whether it could be fixed (a new seal costs 100$ and it'd feel nuts to throw it away for environmental reasons alone). I know there are rubber glues, and I have made tests with one, but the question is can they be used inside a washing machine. Does anyone know (a solution to this problem)? The hole is 4cm x 1cm. Edit: As a side note I have wondered also whether I could use two pieces (of metal, let's say) that I'd screw/press together tightly to prevent the leak. Does that make any sense?

blamazon 4y ago
How about a bicycle inner tube patch? Those are generally resilient to the elements. Or an air mattress patch, or a pool liner patch, or a jetski seat repair patch...
- vfinn 4y ago
  I was thinking of a truck wheel patch, but I'd like to be sure there won't be any stains, and that the glue won't react with the detergent, for example. I don't know if it's possible.
  - blamazon 4y ago
    In that case I think you want something that will 'vulcanize' with the material in the gasket, rather than being adhered... I don't know if that's feasible for your exact material but I know there are methods of rubber patching that are more akin to welding than glueing.
    - vfinn 4y ago
      Yes, something like that crossed my mind also, but it could be that it's not feasible in small diy work. Have to check.
doctorwho42 4y ago
Depending on the size and shape of this seal(gasket), you can go one of two paths; (1) use a gasket compound, it comes out liquidish and then sets into a rubber. (2) buy sheet gasket material similar to your gasket, and trace and cut the gasket out. Depending on size the sheet cost could very between a few dollars to like $10-15.

themodelplumber 4y ago

This reminded me of a recent experience. I ordered a budget, homage Scout Knife, based on the Aitor Gran Capitan "Spanish Army Knife" pattern (produced sans corkscrew of course, which made me chuckle since I'd been a bit of a rebellious scout myself). The knife arrived and the scales promptly began to detach after some vigorous sharpening. I was surprised to remove the scales and discover they were glued on, smooth plastic to smooth metal. (The factory glue was amber colored, bubbly, and rubbery, with a pizza-cheese effect when pulled cold) I knew it was a budget tool, but somehow expected at least basic friction-fastening at the metal rivet points. Instead, there was this glue on the scales' inner plastic lattice work, plus some friction pressure around the scale edges. I mixed up some epoxy, which as I was raised is something of a knife hobbyist's friend. I still have a zero-tang carving knife my dad made by epoxying a Victorinox blade into antler. Just as I was getting materials ready to sand plastic and metal, I noticed the epoxy mix was already in the advanced stages of setting! Turns out I had purchased "4 minute set time" epoxy from PC Epoxy. And it had been nearly that long since the mixing. Instead of my usual dilemma of waiting for things to set, the situation was suddenly more urgently coming together. Usually I prepare surfaces with plenty of time left in the curing, so personal experience had led me astray on account of not typically needing to read the epoxy product label closely. I'd never seen 4-minute epoxy at the store before. So, I really hope my unsanded but hastily- and liberally-coated surfaces hold together OK for a while.

dfc 4y ago
I think it's a good idea to always do surface prep before mixing epoxy (regardless of the working time).

sabujp 4y ago

cgi-bin : What year is it?!

canadianfella 4y ago

NelsonMinar 4y ago

One of the original microsites, dating to 1999!

mauvehaus 4y ago

A little surprised to see that the recommendation for wood to wood isn't the ubiquitous Titebond line of wood glues. I've never seen a bottle of Elmer's carpenter's glue in any shop I've ever set foot in. There are other adhesives used to glue wood together depending on the application (epoxy is big in the boat world AIUI), but for everyday wood gluing, Titebond is pretty much king in the US.

michaelcampbell 4y ago
I use Elmer's normal white glue all the time for wood. It has a MUCH longer open time (I am not fast), and is still as strong or stronger than the wood. My home-made bench made of southern yellow pine boards ripped and laminated is exclusively that and will outlive me, and my son if he decides to not throw it out. NB: I also use Titebond, but not because it's better at holding, just cures/dries quicker. And is better for wet/damp applications.
tupshin 4y ago
From a brand popularity and professional use point of view, you are 100% correct. The various Titebond formulations are, I believe, the most widely used by carpenters in the US. However, all PVA glues are going to have extremely similar strength and overall properties, and they do have an excellent summary here: https://www.thistothat.com/glue/pva.shtml https://www.thistothat.com/glue/pva.shtml "Be wary of over priced PVAs that claim to be for a specific use. There is very little difference from one PVA to the other, and nothing that should increase the cost." Titebond does have range of products, well described here: https://thewoodwhisperer.com/articles/differences-between-titebond-glues/ https://thewoodwhisperer.com/articles/differences-between-ti... but Titebond original would be considered to be nearly identical to the Elmers that they recommend
steve_adams_86 4y ago
Titebond III creates bonds stronger than the hardest woods I use and they’re even highly water resistant. It’s also easy to apply, clean, store, etc. Maybe Elmer’s is good but in 15+ years of gluing wood, I’ve never seen it recommended or used, either.

bxparks 4y ago

I've been using superglue (cyanoacrylate) to attach a small metal L-bracket to some IP65-rated ABS plastic boxes, then hanging them on a nail or screw using the metal bracket. The boxes contain battery-powered temperature sensors. This has worked great for several years for the attic and crawlspace. But the outside boxes fall off every winter. I think the metal and plastic expand and contract at different rates through the temperature swings (40C/104F summer, -10C/14F winter) causing the bond to break. Amusingly, superglue is NOT one of the recommendations given on this website (LePage's Metal Epoxy, J-B Weld, Faststeel Epoxy Putty) for Metal to Plastic.

Waterluvian 4y ago

My dishwasher tub is made of a kind of plastic that’s very good for not absorbing foods/liquids but therefore is very bad at having anything adhere to it. This is a problem as a tiny hole was burned through it. I’ve had a hard time finding something that plugs the hole. Various epoxies. Silicone caulk. JB weld for plastics. Everything peels off in weeks or months.

bagels 4y ago
You can use mechanical fasteners (rivets) and a rubber gasket possibly? Or, make the hole uniform to accept a plug (again, mechanical attachment)