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Post by DarthTaco18 on Sept 27, 2014 17:31:10 GMT
Ok, so here's my problem. I recently checked out DMG's techniques and felt very confident that some of my dungeon furnishing need to be made from wood. So I started using the craft sticks.
Here's my problem: No matter what I do, I can not seem to get craft sticks to bond to one another unless i'm laying flat on top of each other.(granted I'm using cheap wal mart craft sticks). I've used both glue all from elmors, and hot glue techniques, and after setting a while they appear to be glued together but when handling (often while painting), the accursed thng seperate. Upon closely inspecting I tend to notice that the glue has left a nice mold in the shape of the craft stick edge while it is completely bonded to the other stick.
So here's my question: Have any of you had this sort of issue? What do you do to make this sort of thing simpler on you?
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Post by commsnake on Sept 27, 2014 18:16:53 GMT
With the hot glue it could be a number of things, time between glueing and sticking together, hot gun not being fully heated. What I like to do is glue things together then run the tip of the gun over the glued area for a little extra heat. With white glue I always add a bit of water and washing up liquid so it soaks in to the wood. Hope this helps
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Post by adamantinedragon on Sept 27, 2014 18:19:29 GMT
I've made lots of things with wooden craft sticks. In fact I use these ulta-cheap wooden coffee stirrer sticks a lot too. In my experience regular Aileen's tacky glue or even Elmer's white glue has worked fine.
If you are trying to glue an edge of a wooden craft stick to another stck, that might be the problem. There just isn't enough surface area for them to withstand the stress of handling if you glue edges down. I always have some reinforcing technique to give the glue more surface area to hold onto. Even something like a matchstick glued at the join between two sticks shoul be enough to withstand most normal handling.
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Post by onethatwas on Sept 27, 2014 22:03:44 GMT
Surface area is likely the biggest problem. I would recomend a few things to remedy:
1) likely the most straightforward and best option: use a securing cross beam to add reinforcement, and also more gluing surface. This adds durability, gluably surface, ease of construction, AND visual appeal to things like doors.
However, sometimes this just doesn't word (desks sometimes create problems in construction, for instance).
2) use a different glue medium, and use saturation methods. Using presoaked craft sticks can help absorb the glue into the porous wood grain, and using liberal glue over thr surface near the seam of your two craft sticks will also promote sticking together.
3) using a craft knife or a very rough sand paper, score up the glued edge, so the glue has extra cracks to seep into, and creating a better bond.
Hope that helps
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Post by DMScotty on Sept 28, 2014 2:53:10 GMT
I like to glue the sticks together with white glue for sticks that are laying next to each other like a table top or a door. It seems to give a stronger bond. than hot glue and won't leave glue blobs.
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Post by DMScotty on Sept 28, 2014 2:54:05 GMT
Glue the sticks parallel on a no stick surface like a plastic cutting board.
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Post by beetlewing on Sept 30, 2014 15:03:16 GMT
For tabletops, I glue the sticks onto a slightly smaller piece of cardboard. Viewers will never see it unless they flip the table over, and even then it's not that noticeable, as it's painted.
For most of my wood projects I use superglue because it dries very quickly and has a strong bond. Superglue can sometimes cause hazing on the paint, but a quick brushing of brown wash takes care of that. I think the hazing is caused by remaining glue fumes working their way to the surface, as I usually stain/paint right after gluing.
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Post by Erasmas on Sept 30, 2014 15:37:57 GMT
I second the recommendation of superglue. It is fantastic for both wood and MDF. If you are working fast, you can get away with using the liquid (as it absorbs into the wood very quickly); otherwise, I would use the gel.
Even with these, however, I would still follow the reinforcement suggestions from those above. Over time I have learned that if it can be reinforced... do it (pin those mini's separated limbs, make tab and slot things where you can, etc.). Too many times have I had something snap off on a finished project and had to reattach and then patch up the paint job on it - which is incredibly frustrating.
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Post by skunkape on Sept 30, 2014 15:47:54 GMT
I use wood glue when I'm gluing most of my smaller parts, due to the problems mentioned earlier with hot glue. My issue with super glue is that if you get to much on the piece and it is exposed, it doesn't paint well. When I'm putting a table or door or chair, I just run a thin bead along the edge, and lay it flat, bringing the other piece up in contact and wait till the glue dries.
Reason I prefer wood glue is that it contains a slightly lower water content than white glue.
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Post by DnDPaladin on Oct 1, 2014 2:22:33 GMT
Inverse the process !
instead of starting with the glueing of all the sticks together. start with the horizontal ones.
like put the sticks on the table all lined up. glue a horizontal stick to all of them at once. then put white glue or hot glue in the seam of the sticks on both sides. make sure your hot glue is pressed against both sticks otherwise it will leave globs you will need to remove later.
thats what i do. way easier that way then having to glue little sticks with next to no surfaces.
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Post by rane on Oct 1, 2014 17:42:57 GMT
if you're using hot glue, make sure to let it heat up a bit before applying - it should be quite liquidy when you put it onto the stick. This will allow you to push the contact points together - and although there isn't much contact surface, it will push into the hot glue easier when it's heated up, allowing for a strong bond between the sticks.
Just be careful to not burn yourself and if you have a smaller more precise glue gun, use that.
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Post by DnDPaladin on Oct 1, 2014 20:22:46 GMT
DMG has a technique that goes really well. unfortunately he must be burning himself a lot. he stick em, wait a second. then rub the too much with his fingers. which actually pushes the glue to the side of the seem making it even more glued together.
so basically, you have glue it not just on sides. but push the glue toward the inside of the sticks as well. adding up on their strenght.
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Post by DarthTaco18 on Oct 2, 2014 16:19:09 GMT
DMG has a technique that goes really well. unfortunately he must be burning himself a lot. he stick em, wait a second. then rub the too much with his fingers. which actually pushes the glue to the side of the seem making it even more glued together. so basically, you have glue it not just on sides. but push the glue toward the inside of the sticks as well. adding up on their strenght. that's what i was trying before. the glue is pretty hot but it doesn't burn. my problem is usually, I get two stuck then when I start to add a third bonds start breaking down. I opted to use wider craft sticks so I only had to use two for my wood surfaces. And since I'm using wood for the base, making a nice wood texture wasn't so hard. I really need to get my camera working so I can post pics of this stuff...crafting seems to have led to me procrastinating in the electronics repair department lol.
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