E6000 glue, 2015 update

[Leo Nguyen]

Okay folks, since I have nothing in the fishing arena to share (well..that's not true), I'll share with you what I've found.

Now, Carl introduced me to this glue last year. Did plenty of test on it. However, a reformulation just go released for E6000 glue. This time around, rather than "Do not expose to high heat source", now, you can literally toss it into the washer and dryer.

Fix wife's various clothing types (yep..no duct tape). So far, it has been 4 months of washing and drying. No problem yet. No fray, crack, break, or even loss of glue after a full 5 days of curing (just in case). Fixed our snowboarding overall clothing. Same deal.

Now, for the heavy impact stuff. Got back into archery for hunting. Took a few carbon shaft arrows, and used various glue types. Each arrow has 3 polyvinyl fletch vanes (Blazer). This is not about archery's component test. Rather, it's about the glue. Primary glues:

Cheap $0.99 acrylic cyanoacrylate (gel)

Some Chinese knock-off acrylic cyanoacrylate (gel)

Some off-brand acrylic cyanoacrylate made in Mexico (gel)

Krazy glue

Super Glue

Loctite acrylic cyanoacrylate (gel)

Gorilla's acrylic cyanoacrylate (gel), 2014 reformulated

E6000, 2014 reformulated

Arrow's combo:

$0.99 glue - Chinese's glue - Mexico's glue

Krazy glue - Super Glue - Loctite glue

E600 glue - Gorilla's glue - Loctite glue

E600 glue - E600 glue - E600 glue

Gorilla's glue - Gorilla's glue - Gorilla's glue

Loctite glue - Loctite glue - Loctite glue

* Yep..not having enough confident in the cheapo glues. Not bothering to fletch too many arrows with the cheapo glues.

All arrows were fletched the same day, with proper front and back of vane sealing. Total cure time was 3 days. Fletched with Bitzenburger Dial-o-Fletch, extreme right helical (adding as much spin as possible for centrifugal test during mid flight)

Impact test, at 30-ft, for maximum impact force:

Arrows were allowed to pass through a 11 layers modified target block (2 layers of carpet, 4 layers of thick cardboard, 4 layers of linoleum, and 1/4-in chicken fencing) to represent all the possible rough element of hunting. The chicken fencing is the roughest part of the test, since the vane (also being under test) will be ripped, stripped, and stress-test. Vanes' results during test

1st firing test:

Cheap $0.99 acrylic cyanoacrylate (gel): peeled off at 1st layer.

Some Chinese knock-off acrylic cyanoacrylate (gel): peeled off at 1st layer

Some off-brand acrylic cyanoacrylate made in Mexico (gel): : peeled off at 1st layer

4th firing test:

Krazy Glue: peeled right off at 1st layer.

Super Glue: peel right off at 2nd layer.

16th firing test:

Gorilla's acrylic cyanoacrylate (gel): Pretty darn strong. Still on.

Loctite acrylic cyanoacrylate (gel): Finally came off at the chicken wire fencing.

E600: Pretty darn strong. Still on.

40th and final firing test (my bow arm gotten pretty spent, shaking like a leaf):

Arrows broke after the Muzzy 3X broadheads pierced the testing block, going through 3 layers of hay bails, and 1/2 wood fencing. Result, vanes still in tack, and fully glued onto the broken shafts.

Lesson learned:

Reformulated Gorilla gel glue and E6000 will be my only glue in the household. Giving the rest of my useless glues away.

[Andy is OptiMystic]

We have a big Y program called Y Guides; it's huge here (~12,000 I think). It's a father child program kind of like scouts. We had tribes and big camps and whatnot. You earn patches for meeting certain goals or attending events and put them on a cowhide vest. E6000 was always the glue for the patches. Nothing else was nearly as reliable. It was like a running joke if you found a patch on the ground - "should have used E6000". People tried other stuff they had or that was cheaper or more kid friendly. Nothing was as good.

[Leo Nguyen]

Great to know. It may be a great glue to use, but just be careful about the glue's vapor during the first 2 hours before curing period kicks in. It may not be acid based, but don't expose too much of the glue's content on the skin for prolong contact. Not a good thing. It's cancerous-loaded glue before curing. Once cure, it's harmless as eating putty.

[Andy is OptiMystic]

That's one reason a lot of dads tried other stuff. We tried to involve the kids in every activity, but that is a very nasty formulation. One of the reason it works well on cowhide is penetration; I imagine it does the same to our skin.

[Andy is OptiMystic]

There's probably a few pounds of the stuff in this picture:

[Leo Nguyen]

Well, that's pretty much for any highly adhesive glue. Gorilla's glues are the same. Nasty stuff, but super strong. I used aluminum lid cover to prevent air exposure to the glue (for long storage), and the metal appeared to be eaten after 3 months of exposure to the VOC from the glues. For the Gorilla's glues, I switched glass beads instead. For E6000, I create a sealing bead from itself, and seal the needle head off. Perfect seal to prevent air exposure, and prolong shelf life.

[jim cosgrove]

gorilla super glue ha sbeen my choice since i first discovered it..i tie a lot of foam poppers and spiders and a bottle lasts a long time.it is not brittle like other super glues.i have also been messing with solarez UV cure products.way cheaper than the fly tying brands

[Leo Nguyen]

Exactly. Products' hypes for a certain hobby merely a rebranding and slightly tweaked version of a prior product. I go with the cheaper and/or more effective products that actually do the work.

[Andy is OptiMystic]

Does anyone actually buy head cement that says it's head cement?  ;^>

[dick tabbert]

Yes I use a water base fly head cement from Janns Netcraft.

[Andy is OptiMystic]

Interesting; I didn't realize there was a water based one. Probably healthier than the acetone fumes from the dollar store clear nail finish.

[Leo Nguyen]

Water based glue takes longer to cure, easier to clean up, and the bonding sites are not as powerful. But of course, how many flies get decimated before the glue actually gives up in holding the thread's end down? Unfortunately, guys like me like an extreme end on everything. Ultimate hold, or not at all.

[Andy is OptiMystic]

I almost always use 210 thread and a whip finisher and have often wondered if there was really a point to cementing at all. But I do it anyway.