From The Lab: The Best Glue Part 3
At the onset of testing I had a few preconceived notions of what I would find. After collecting the data I found I was very surprised, happy and very disappointed.
“Surprise #1”: The true “winner” in all of the testing was not an adhesive but the Arizona Archery Enterprises Max Clean solvent wash. Regardless of what cyno-acrylate adhesive I used, the bond achieved never ranked below a “C”! Even the super glues that had failed using the other prep methods and solvents adhered much better when used in conjunction with the Max Clean solvent wash.
“Surprise#2”: The most expensive adhesives were not always the top performers
“Surprise #3: The adhesive recommended by the Loctite web-site while bonding quite well to the shaft, did not adhere to the plastic vanes well at all. I was able to separate the vane from the adhesive with little or no effort and then spent considerable time scraping the Stik-N-Seal off of the shaft. Labeling says it contains “amines” (epoxy family chemistry) but for all the world it appeared to be related to an RTV (room temperature vulcanizate) silicone sealant.
“Disappointment”: No matter what I did I could not achieve a decent bond using the Bohning Platinum adhesive. The vanes always popped off with little or no trouble leaving the metal shafts virtually clean.
I submitted a copy of this report to Bohning for comment prior to publication. They sent me a four paragraph reply describing different adhesive technologies and optimum conditions for their applications (i.e. water content of the air and ambient temperatures). The reply included three important statements:
“We have taken the recommendation of Platinum away from aluminum arrows since July 2012. But they still work well for carbon shafts.
We here at Bohning are working on making Platinum back to the original standards that people remember. When we come up with a solution that is possible, since our resins were discontinued from us, I’ll keep you in mind for a performance field test if you’d like.”
I can live with that. I have consummate respect for the folks at Bohning and I thank them for their honesty. I look forward to doing further testing whenever Bohning completes their reformulation.
Like I said, I had some preconceived notions about the results I would find and then proceeded to have them dashed upon the rocks. On the other hand, I made significant discoveries that will no doubt pay dividends in the future (many fewer plucked black chickens in front of my targets and much less frustration). After all the hours spent in inquiries, shopping, prepping, gluing, curing, destroying and taking notes I concluded there are some good cyno-acrylate adhesives on the market. Some are more tolerant of shaft prepping procedures than others and that fact is reflected in adhesive cost (i.e. Loctite Super Glue Ultra Gel). There are also some low cost alternatives that provide excellent results for the money (i.e. Loctite Professional and Gorilla Impact Tough Formula) I also learned there is at least one superior shaft prepping solution on the market in the AAE Max Clean.
As with anything else, your results may be different due to variations in local climate conditions, the particular fletching clamp used and other factors. The use of adhesives on carbon shafts will be left to another research project and all of the data that I collected refers only to the Easton Super Slam shafts I used in testing; however, rest assured the information gleaned from these tests will be used when fletching my other Easton Technical alloy shafts (i.e. XX-75 Platinum Plus and XX-78 Eclipse).
Now perhaps I can focus more on my shooting and less on flapping, loose or missing vanes. I hope these trials provided some food for thought and more importantly save valuable time that could be better spent on the range, grilling hamburgers or taking a nap.
Konrad
In The Lab
(From just outside Historic Sedro-Woolley)
The above reprinted with the kind permission of Africa’s Bowhunter magazine 2013.
