747

I had a minor crash landing. Have to glue some balsa inside the Fuse. Not a big repair...
But just in general - When does one use Epoxy VS CA on balsa wood?
Can I just use CA for minor fixes? Which is stronger?

hillbille

On balsa wood the CA is by far the better choice as it is quicker, lighter, and penetrates and strengthens. Epoxy in and of itself is strong but has little penetration unless very long time hardning mixture is used. Epoxy is at least 10 times heavier than CA. Use epoxy on all load bearing joints around motor mounts and wing saddles/joiners/dowels and CA just about everywhere else.


Hillbille

proffcharlie

For the most part epoxy is stronger than CA in high stress areas. CA usually requires a tight fit because it does not fill well whereas epoxy will fill quite well. Because of the slower curing time epoxy will seep into the pores of the wood better than CA. CA tends to make a brittle area around the joint and epoxy has more flex even when it is fully cured. I know it does not seem to have any flex but it does. The slower setting time epoxy is usually stronger than the fast setting epoxy. Epoxy will allow you time to place broken parts in place and properly aligned. CA will set just about as soon as the two surfaces touch and you may not get proper alingment. CA sets better when it is used on fresh wood. Many times repairs done with CA will separate at the glue joint later because the CA was not able to penetrate into the wood during the repair. CA is great for original construction where speed is required. Epoxy is best for high stress areas and where hard woods or plywoods are used. I will admit the CA Gels and slow set formulas have expanded the use for CA but I still trust epoxy more.

Charlie

Liquidity

If it is non load bearing, us CA. If it carries a load, Epoxy.

powerlines

I CA Everything.. It does make it a little brittle though..

LATER

CHELLIE

I Agree with Liquidity, thats what I do too, take care, Chellie