Epoxy resin

[Heatercathodeshort]

Originally Posted by MotorBikeLes

True Araldite is hard, strong and very rigid. I still have a green tube of traditional araldite from the '60s, and recently acquired some more 20+ year old tubes of both rapid and traditional. Les.

Similar to this April 1964 packet Les? It still sets rock hard after 51 years but these days I use fibreglass resin for building up or potting. 6/- [30p] was a lot of money for a 'tube of glue' back in 1964. John.

[David G4EBT]

I'm only talking about filling holes up to say 6mm or so, and it seems to adhere very well to die-cast alloy, as it does to any material. You can put some duct tape or whatever on the underside of the hole till the 'Super Steel' has set, to prevent it simply dribbling through the hole. It isn't like car body filler resin, which is much thicker in consistency. Because it's a Plastic Padding product, it may cause misconceptions about what it is - it certainly isn't like Plastic Padding car body filler. Super Steel is a two-part epoxy like Araldite and has a similar consistency until set. There the similarity ends - Super Steel sets rock hard - in my experience Araldite does not, and I don't think I'm alone in that view, (which takes us back to the original poster's query!).

[Goldieoldie]

Hi All
Thanks for all your help
Cheers Pete

How do you stop the set adhesive - which, presumably, is then flush with each side of the box - from simply falling out of the now-filled holes? It sticks to the sides of the holes.

[fetteler]

In my experience 'ordinary' Araldite (these days called Araldite 2011) sets rock hard if it is cured at a high temperature, somewhere around 60 degrees: if you cure it at room temperature not only does it take a long time but the cured adhesive, whilst not soft has a plastic quality.

Steve.

[camtechman]

Believe it or not, to make the general use Araldite set harder (& quicker), only use half the amount of the hardner to the resin ! But it'll have to be left to dry for at least a day or more.

[Humber888]

If it's of any use, Lidl was selling 29mg dual syringe applicator packs of both 'fast' and 'slow' Araldite clones recently for about half the price of the real stuff IIRC. I bought some 'slow', but haven't tried it yet.

[G6Tanuki]

Originally Posted by mole42uk

ISTR that Araldite was the stuff that English Electric used to glue the wings on Lightning aircraft. I think they may have used it in a controlled environment.

Yes, the stuff was first developed by Aero Research Ltd, Duxford - hence the name ARaLDite.

http://www.iom3.org/society-adhesion...-and-adhesives

[The company was taken over by CIBA-Geigy some time after WWII]

[ITAM805]

Yes, the stuff was first developed by Aero Research Ltd, Duxford - hence the name ARaLDite.

I'm sure that back in the 60's I had some Araldite that had a Mosquito or something silhouetted on the packaging - or maybe I imagined it

[emeritus]

I have a couple of power supplies that I made when I was at Plessey's in the early 1970's that used scrap aluminium boxes where the holes (1/2" or so) were filled with Araldite, and they have remained in place with no problems. The instructions at the time were that the bond would be stronger if cured at high temperature, so I finish off repairs to metal objects in the oven at 200 deg C once the Araldite has hardener enough to be handled where practical.

I first used Araldite circa 1961 having seen its use suggested in the "Railway Modeller" for making steel 3-rail Hornby Dublo wheels suitable for use on 2 rail systems by cutting and gluing alternate spokes in two passes, or by cutting an annular groove in the steel wagon wheels in two stages. It was too much hard work for me, but I did use it for crockery repairs and later for electrical insulation,. The 1960's stuff had a room temperature curing time of 4 hours and was specifically recommended for use in repairing crockery, something which the current production says you should not use it for. I don't know if the modern stuff is actually weaker than the 1960's stuff, or whether it's just a "Health & Safety" precaution. After I had repaired the broken lid of my mother's casserole dish with the original Araldite, and she dropped it again a few years later, it broke across the line of the original repair. I don't remember any aircraft silhouette, but I remember that Araldite was often advertised in my dad's DIY magazine in the same panel as woodworking adhesives such as Aerolite 306, and Aerolite adverts did generally feature an image of an aircraft. Araldite ads of the 1950's showed an 8 wheel lorry suspended by a crane via a one square inch overlap joint of two pieces of strip steel to demonstrate its shear strength.

I might try the "50% hardener" method for my next crockery repair.

[dseymo1]

If a flexible potting compound is required, try 'PU18'.
Comes in a cartridge (like silicone), but sets into a polyurethane 'rubber' of similar consistency, but extremely tough. It's highly adhesive to most materials, and is an excellent sealant.
Ideal, I should think, for replicating or repairing moulded connectors, and for insulating and protecting cable joints. The dielectric strength isn't specified, but I'd expect it to be pretty high; probably best to avoid the black version, though, as it might contain carbon.

[ColinTheAmpMan1]

Originally Posted by ITAM805

I'm sure that back in the 60's I had some Araldite that had a Mosquito or something silhouetted on the packaging - or maybe I imagined it

Hmm, that could well have been advertising guff to suggest that de Havilland Mosquitos were assembled using Araldite. The "Mossie" was constructed almost totally from wood and I don't think Araldite is such a great adhesive for wood. I reckon that "Cascamite" was most likely used.
Colin.

[Bazz4CQJ]

Originally Posted by G6Tanuki

Yes, the stuff was first developed by Aero Research Ltd, Duxford - hence the name ARaLDite.

And...for Redux adhesive (REsearch DUXford) as used on the Comet and still widely used in defence applications until the 1990's (and beyond?).

B