ART
BEAUTY & WELLNESS
CRAFT
CULTURE & HISTORY
ENTERTAINMENT
ENVIRONMENT
FOOD & DRINKS
REVERSE ENGINEERING
SCIENCES
SPORTS
TECHNOLOGY
WEARABLES
Cyanoacrylate Adhesive
Harry Coover first met cyanoacrylates in 1942 while looking for a clear plastic for gun sights, and rejected them because they stuck to everything. In 1951 at Eastman Kodak he and Fred Joyner met them again - and this time saw a glue that set in seconds with no heat or pressure. It was sold from 1958.
**US 2,794,788**, "Adhesive compositions containing alkyl esters of cyanoacrylic acid", Coover and Shearer, Eastman Kodak, filed 1. November 1952, granted 4. June 1957, claims the monomeric alkyl α-cyanoacrylate adhesive. **US 2,768,109**, "Alcohol-catalyzed alpha-cyanoacrylate adhesive compositions", Coover, filed 2. June 1954, granted 23. October 1956, claims "strongly bonding wood having an acidic surface character" by first moistening it with an alcohol of 1 to 8 carbon atoms.
**You test that second claim on oak**, an acidic wood: dry, wiped with isopropyl alcohol, and misted with water.
Beginner
1 hour plus 24 h
Instructions
1
1
Cut the strips
Cut the strips
Saw eighteen oak strips 80 x 20 mm, about 5 mm thick. Sand one end face of each with 180 grit and dust off. Pencil-mark three groups: dry, IPA, water.
Materials for this step:
White Oak Board1 piece
Sandpaper1 sheetTools needed:
Hand Saw2
2
Prepare the surfaces
Prepare the surfaces
Leave the first group dry. Wipe the ends of the second with isopropyl alcohol on a towel and use them within a minute. Give the third one light mist of water and blot. Note the room humidity.
Materials for this step:
Isopropyl Alcohol 99%10 ml
Paper Towel2 sheetsTools needed:
Water Spray Bottle
Hygrometer (humidity gauge)3
3
Glue and time
Glue and time
Gloves and glasses on. One drop of CA on one end, overlap a partner strip by 20 mm, press 5 seconds and start the stopwatch. Every 10 seconds hang the spring scale from the free strip and pull to 2 N: record when it first holds. Three joints per group.
Materials for this step:
Super Glue (CA)1 pieceTools needed:
Stopwatch
Force Meter (Spring Scale)
Nitrile Gloves
Clear Safety Glasses4
4
Break them tomorrow
Break them tomorrow
After 24 hours clamp one strip of each joint in the vise and tap the free end sideways with the mallet until it breaks. Estimate how much of the bond area is torn wood.
Tools needed:
Bench Vise
Rubber MalletClear Safety Glasses5
5
Set times and joints
Set times and joints
Loading Jupyter Notebook...
6
6
History & Context
History & Context
**What the patents specify:** a monomeric alkyl α-cyanoacrylate adhesive held liquid by an acid inhibitor, and, for acidic surfaces, a prior wipe with a C1–C8 alcohol. **Modern build (derived):** hardware-store CA glue on oak.
CA spread from industry to every workshop, and in the Vietnam War medics used a CA spray to seal wounds; purpose-made medical grades followed. Its limits: brittle joints that fail in peel and impact, poor gap filling, and it bonds skin instantly - acetone releases it.
Materials
5- 1 piecePlaceholder
- 1 sheetPlaceholder
- Placeholder
- 2 sheetsPlaceholder
- 1 piecePlaceholder
Tools Required
9- Placeholder
- Placeholder
- Placeholder
- Placeholder
- Placeholder
- Placeholder
- Placeholder
- Placeholder
- Placeholder
Related Blueprints
These blueprints share knowledge with this one — techniques, materials, or principles that connect them in the learning graph.
CC0 Public Domain
This blueprint is released under CC0. You are free to copy, modify, distribute, and use this work for any purpose, without asking permission.
Support the Maker by purchasing products through their Blueprint where they earn a Maker Commission set by Vendors, or create a new iteration of this Blueprint and include it as a connection in your own Blueprint to share revenue.