Popular Woodworking 2007-04 № 161, страница 14

Tricks of the Trade

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More Super Glue Tips

After reading Clark Lang's "Super Glue Tips" in the December 2006 issue (#159), I thought I'd share another way to deal with the problem of cyanoacrylate glue (also known as CA, or "super glue") drying up and clogging the bottle tips.

You can buy inexpensive polyethylene pipettes for applying CA glue. These handy little disposable squeeze droppers provide great application control due to their long, slender tubes. You simply suction up the amount of glue you need from the bottle, then squeeze it onto the work-piece. Afterward, you can clean the dropper by squeezing the bulb rapidly to blow out most of the remaining liquid. If any tiny droplets adhere to the inside of the tube, they can usually be removed by slapping the pipette on the inside of a trash can.

In my experience, one of these pipettes lasts about five times longer than the nozzles

Trim polyethylene pipette if glue hardens in tip

The long tip of the polyethylene pipette can reach down into the bottom of the glue bottle

that come with the glue. You'll also find that you can leave glue in one for days without it setting up. After much use they will clog, but usually near the tip. When that happens, you can trim off that part and continue to use the pipette until it's too short to reach in the bottle. (You can get a pack of 10 for $2.87 from Stewart-MacDonald, 800-848-2273 or stewmac.com.)

Russ Merz Cincinnati, Ohio

White Marks the Spot

As my eyes mature, some previously simple tasks are becoming quite tricky. For example, I was recently trying to drill a number of holes at precise locations marked with fine pencil lines on a piece of dark wood. However, even in good light, I had great difficulty seeing the layout lines. In frustration I decided to start over, but tried a different approach.

I first covered the area to be marked with white correction fluid - the kind sold for correcting typing errors. Layout lines drawn on the white area were then clearly visible, and I could work accurately. The correction fluid works great because it dries almost instantaneously, doesn't soak into the surface, and can easily be scraped off afterward. It's commonly available and has a long shelf life. I suppose you could use white correction tape for the same purpose. PW

Frank Penicka Mount Pearl, Newfoundland