Glue and Birds and Why I Owe Billy Mays an Apology
Hi all,
Yup, the photo above is the result of our last post's test. That was the post where I inferred that Billy May's "Mighty Putty" would never patch a broken tripod. Mea Culpa goes out to Billy Mays.
The fix worked like a dream, and has the heft to suggest that it will continue to do so for some time to come. But that got me to thinking... What adhesives should the backyard birder consider in the construction and maintenance of stuff like feeders, bird houses, roosts, camera tripods, etc. Being a "glue nut" I thought I might toss in my $.02...
But before we explore glue, let's give a quick nod to the issue of safety... Obviously, follow all manufacturer's directions and keep all chemicals away from both the birds and you. It's really a "no brainer". Now, let's take a look at sticky glop...
- First up is stuff like "Mighty Putty"... MP is really just an epoxy-based adhesive, and as such has significant physical properties. (Mighty Putty's compression strength is 12,000 pounds per square inch.) Other products of similar ilk include "J-B Stik", and "A + B". The list just goes on and on. So where to use this wonder "peanut butter"? The putty shines wherever you have a gap in any number of materials and need real strength. The tripod is a good example.
- The kissing cousin of MP et al is the supermarket syringe-type 5-minute or 30-minute liquid epoxy. And it's not bad. Because of cost, I don't think I'd use it to build a bird house, but it's plenty strong.
- And then there's plain epoxy from folks like West, Mas, U.S. Composites, System Three... When used with the right thickening agents, these products are wildly strong and have good gap-filling properties. Just brace yourself for the cost.
- Taking a large step backwards is the old faithful, white Elmer's glue. Elmer's is fine for indoors light-duty work, but that's about it.
- Next up is the new "yellow glue" such as TiteBond III. This is probably the best bet for that backyard project. It's weatherproof, relatively cheap, and holds well so long as your joint isn't too shabby.
- The ubiquitous "Crazy Glue" (a cyanoacrylate) is fine for inside hobby applications.
- Construction adhesive has its place - it's moderately gap filling and quite strong.
- I'm not really crazy about silicon or vinyl products, though Phenoseal is pretty good and has a low "volatile organic compound" rating. (That is, it's pretty benign.)
- WeldWood is a powder that when mixed with water makes for a decent, cheap, strong, waterproof adhesive. I used to build boats with the stuff, and it ain't bad.
- Rounding out the list is the new Gorilla Glue. This is a polyurethane glue that when "misted" with water forms a strong waterproof joint. It's a good adhesive, but not cheap.
- Check to make sure that the glue you are buying is appropriate for the materials at hand
- Always test on scrap
- 95% of the time, Titebond III will handle outdoor projects involving wood
- When in doubt, use both fasteners and the proper adhesive
Still stuck by the feeders,
CapeCodAlan
eBirdseed.com photo library
