Robin Etherton Posted May 14, 2020 Share Posted May 14, 2020 Being an old time modeller I was brought up on the smell of balsa cement and although I use most of the modern adhesives I still prefer building with balsa cement when I can. Getting a bit low on UHU hart and traditional balsa cements I trawled the Internet to stock up. What a shock! I know I haven’t bought any since the Nationals last year but crickey! Expensive or what! Poundland to the rescue again. 60ml of general purpose adhesive for a quid! Not quite the same as balsa cement but its colourless, dries reasonably quickly and give a very strong bond. Sorted for a fraction of the price. Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Wood 4 Posted May 14, 2020 Share Posted May 14, 2020 Hi Robin, Yes Poundland cyano & 5 min epoxy is all I use these days, but I still buy balsa cement, no real substitute in my mind 😄 damn the expense ! Regards Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jenkins Posted May 14, 2020 Share Posted May 14, 2020 These days balsa cement, if used for some time, irritates my lungs. Cyano is even worse so I only use that wearing a mask. I've just started using aliphatic glue and that is odourless and dries farily fast. Faster than PVA but not as fast as balsa cement. All glues seem to be expensive these days but that's because we need so much of it now with larger models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Etherton Posted May 14, 2020 Author Share Posted May 14, 2020 Never used aliphatic. Must give it a try Ray you are right I guess I am too tight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David perry 1 Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 Not having used balsa cement for a long time I too trawled the web but it seems there are many brands . Is there balsa cement and balsa cement or are all brands much of a muchness? D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Etherton Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 Dave, In my humble opinion much of a muchness. some people swear by Ambroid, my personal preference is UhU hart in a 135g tube. The all purpose glue I mention above is becoming my favourite, but it doesn't have the intoxicating smell of balsa cement. Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Wood 4 Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 Hi David, Like Robin, I have been using UHU Hart balsa cement for years because it comes in big tubes and they have an applicator & cap I also use it for boat building as its waterproof & sands well. Regards Ray Edited By Ray Wood 4 on 15/05/2020 09:29:43 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Etherton Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 David, Exactly, but it's just so expensive and difficult to source at a good price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David perry 1 Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 Thanks guys. I always used to use the stuff but as time went on and the models became bigger, usual story. But having just built a WW Sapphire for RC conversion and I still used cyano and white glue I started wondering why I wasnt building it the old way. I never had structural failures as a kid from my rubber models... I suppose its laziness...I have the pva and cyano, so... I might try some balsa cement ext model on the board though. Thanks again d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Colbourne Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 Not having used UHU Hart balsa cement, can someone please confirm, if I take a used tube and position it over a candle, whether or not I will get a jet of flame from the nozzle and the tube bursting open at the other end with a satisfying bang? Asking for a friend... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Etherton Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 Must try that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Tee Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 Sussex Model Centre do 24 gramme Humrol; at £3.35 or Uhu Hart 35 gramme at £2 .85. not sure how the size tube compares. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Etherton Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 Hi John That's a small tube, sadly doesn't last five minutes and plus the postage comes back to cost again. Thanks for the info though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Wood 4 Posted May 16, 2020 Share Posted May 16, 2020 Hi Robin, This is the 35gram size, I bought a couple of these tubes from TJD models mail order they are fine for small balsa models, I have built a KK Invader sticks & tissue, I would normally use Gorilla pva wood glue for bigger stuff, it's horses for courses at the end of the day 😄 regards Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Etherton Posted May 16, 2020 Author Share Posted May 16, 2020 Ray 35g £3 plus postage for uhu hart. 60ml(g) uhu all purpose £1 local pick up. A no brainer(Except for the lack of that gorgeous Smell) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Wood 4 Posted May 16, 2020 Share Posted May 16, 2020 Hi Robin, Cheap is good, but all purpose is contact glue for £1 never sets hard like balsa cement it stays flexible and sands like rubber 😕 Happy gluing anyway 😄I This won't fall apart balsa cement for all of it only £3 good value + the great smell. Regards Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Etherton Posted May 16, 2020 Author Share Posted May 16, 2020 Point taken Ray but it works for me. To be honest not noticed its rubberyness. I just cannot bring myself to pay over £14 for 135g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Etherton Posted May 17, 2020 Author Share Posted May 17, 2020 After having slept on it Ray’s comments in the above post have made me change my mind. Hang the cost have ordered 2 tubes of 35g uhu hart on Amazon for £7.83 delivered. Thanks guys for preventing me going over to the dark side. Will still use the all purpose glue for parts where sanding is not involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David perry 1 Posted May 17, 2020 Share Posted May 17, 2020 Posted by Robin Etherton on 17/05/2020 10:29:19: After having slept on it Ray’s comments in the above post have made me change my mind. Hang the cost have ordered 2 tubes of 35g uhu hart on Amazon for £7.83 delivered. Thanks guys for preventing me going over to the dark side. Will still use the all purpose glue for parts where sanding is not involved. Its cheap compared to cyano Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Etherton Posted May 17, 2020 Author Share Posted May 17, 2020 Ah Dave there I must disagree. Poundland cyano four or five 20g packs for a pound has got to be the best buy going. Doesn't seem to go off as quick as some and over many models performs just as good if not better. Just wish they did balsa cement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brokenenglish Posted May 17, 2020 Share Posted May 17, 2020 Strange how we all differ. I still use balsa cement for a few jobs, but I always think that the single change that made the greatest improvement to my building was when I stopped using balsa cement and switched to PVA, around 1960. For me, PVA is the certainty of never using too much or too little. Applying plenty and then wiping off the excess afterwards is perfect. The first action in all my builds is to make a little chisel-ended balsa spatula, for wiping the joint angles. I still use balsa cement when I want it to blend with dope afterwards, for example attaching covering to undercamber, or installing little silk or nylon reinforcement patches at dihedral breaks. I only use cyano for installing control surface hinges. It involves too many nozzle clogging and unintentional excess problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Etherton Posted May 17, 2020 Author Share Posted May 17, 2020 So true, I use pva as well, particularly for sheet lamination or covering. In a past life I was an engineering apprentice at Tate & Lyle and pva was used on some of the gluing machines in the packaging departments . Over 50 different grades were used and few of them were any good for aeromodelling purposes. Made me realise that “pva” came with such a variation of properties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brokenenglish Posted May 17, 2020 Share Posted May 17, 2020 Posted by Robin Etherton on 17/05/2020 13:40:50: Made me realise that “pva” came with such a variation of properties. I didn't realise that. In fact, I use white "woodworking glue" from the local DIY store. I sometimes wonder whether any advantage could be gained by using modern "aeromodelling" aliphatics, etc., but I've never tried any, except for the Deluxe canopy glue, which is really excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Etherton Posted May 17, 2020 Author Share Posted May 17, 2020 Yes a lot use aliphatic. Never used it myself. Have used the canopy glue you mention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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