Glue for firework tubes?

[Stinger]

Hey

 

As I am trying to get heavy duty tubes, meaning I roll all of them myself,

I need a glue which is super strong and cheap.

I gave wheatpaste two other tries, but I still had fails.

 

Does anyone here know what the common firework industries use as a glue for tube rolling?

I really take care how my device looks, everything has to look perfect, with no shrinks

or even airgaps, otherwise the tube is going to be discarded

I also tried the alcohol method, where you first apply a thin line of PVA glue on a sheet of paper, letting it cure

and then take a brush and wetting it down with a 50/50 Alcohol/Water solution.

 

Then the tube is rolled immediately.

It didn´t perform well though.

 

Stinger

[Pretty green flame]

Keep it cheap and simple....PVA (Diluted with water, 70/30 PVA/Water for example) is probably the best glue to use for paper tubes as it's very cheap and makes strong tubes.

[Miech]

Diluted and well spread Elmers glue (or similar) produces rock hard tubes when using thin (60 to 90 grams/meter) kraft paper. When you are able to roll in a decent manner you can roll very strong tubes without airgaps with it. Try to roll them as short as possible for your application, this will reduce the effects from shrinkage and drying.

 

Another possibility is using the type of cardboard used in China. It is basically very raw processed thick paper, which makes it absorb glue very well. The fibers aren't aligned in a certain direction, so it is strong in all directions.

[Stinger]

Hey

 

I am sorry but I didn´t get your point.

 

What is a varilope and what is it used for?

 

Many thanks

 

Stinger

[Mumbles]

Some of the best tubes around are made with dextrin. However you should realize what works for industry may not work for you.

[Pyrohawk]

I always seemed to have trouble with getting the dextrin to thick or to thin to be of much use... As everyone else said just use some good old Elmers Wood Glue. I like it better then the school glue...dunno why, probabaly in my head, but it just seems to make stronger tubes. More likely if your using this glue and having trouble still...its your technique not your glue.

[Pretty green flame]

Some of the best tubes around are made with dextrin. However you should realize what works for industry may not work for you.

 

I should mention, yellow dextrin (homemade stuff) is a pretty poor glue, doesn't stick at all, which can be pretty frustrating when rolling with heavier types of paper, on the other hand, white dextrine (commercially available stuff) is pretty darn good, very sticky and really does make some very strong tubes, though if you live in a humid climate the tubes get weak after a while.

[Stinger]

Hey

 

I made dextrin glue today, and I have to say: WOW!

This glue is absolutely strong, I rolled a couple of tubes with it ( 8mm ID) with craftpaper,

let them dry and they turned ROCK hard.

They are the hardest tubes I have ever made.

 

With PVA glue the tubes are hard but a bit elastic when you squeeze them, when using dextrine glue, they are

rockhard and it is impossible to compress them with your fingers, even with a plier its very hard.

 

But 10 tubes were trash, they stuck to the dowel ;(

They had the folowing measurements:

 

1/2"x1/8"x3"

 

What can be done to prevent them from sticking to the dowel?

The dowel doesn´t come in contact with the glue.

 

The dextrine glue consisted of:

 

36g Dextrin ( homemade)

50ml water

 

Everything was stirred in a cup to prevent forming of lumps.

It´s all fine with this glue, except that some of the tubes stuck to the dowel, I absolutely don´t know why

[Richtee]

Everything was stirred in a cup to prevent forming of lumps.

It´s all fine with this glue, except that some of the tubes stuck to the dowel, I absolutely don´t know why

Dex shrinks when it dries. And wood swells when it gets damp. Try varnishing your dowels, couple coats, wet sanding between.

[Swede]

Or, if you can get ahold of some aluminum round stock, they make awesome tube formers. Polish them with steel wool (0000, the fine stuff) then with some metal polish, and that will help the release. You could also lube the dowel or Al rod with a bit of silicone.

 

One last thought with Al, if you can cool it, it will contract. Put it in the freezer after the tube is totally dry. Just a thought. Good luck, I don't have the patience to roll my own tubes!

[JS92]

Ive gotten myself a hot glue gun, just make sure that if you do get one, not to apply directly to BP, or a source of it, just incase it sets off

[Mumbles]

Hot glue has it's uses in pyro, but not for rolling tubes. I've heard some people have been moving to wireless hot glue guns to decrease the spark hazard after hearing a few horror stories. They heat up on a base and can then be used remotely.

[kcnkickthecat]

What can be done to prevent them from sticking to the dowel?

The dowel doesn´t come in contact with the glue.

 

I had the same thing happen to me, now I wrap some Al foil around the dowel and it comes off no problems.

[50AE]

I paste my tubes with dextrin and then I put them in the oven for some minutes. They become very hard, but the dextrin is kind of brittle too.

[Swede]

I wonder if Estes rolls their own tubes... those tubes are SO strong. If they buy them from a supplier, it sure would be nice to find out who that is, so we can buy just the tubes from them.

 

I still haven't given up vacuuming some rocket tubes. I think it holds promise for truly saturating the fibers of a tube, and displacing as much air as possible, filling those voids with glue. But that will be for a future project.

[oskarchem]

I wonder if Estes rolls their own tubes... those tubes are SO strong. If they buy them from a supplier, it sure would be nice to find out who that is, so we can buy just the tubes from them.

 

I still haven't given up vacuuming some rocket tubes. I think it holds promise for truly saturating the fibers of a tube, and displacing as much air as possible, filling those voids with glue. But that will be for a future project.

 

 

What about NEPT?

[Frozentech]

I wonder if Estes rolls their own tubes... those tubes are SO strong. If they buy them from a supplier, it sure would be nice to find out who that is, so we can buy just the tubes from them.

 

I've heard from a couple sources that Estes uses tubes from Sonoco. (same company that makes the big 'sonotube' concrete form tubes.) I bought a box full of 1# and 3# sonoco tubes from a guy who was going out of business, they are good tubes, but NEPT are better IMO.

Edited November 2, 2008 by Frozentech

[Mumbles]

It was reported that estes used to use NEPT stuff. I heard that they recently switch suppliers though to someone I'm not sure. I've also heard that they used Sonoco tubes too though. Hard to know for sure.