Snake eyes!

[Skulli]

I'm down to the final prep work of my serpent walking cane and at a local hobby store, found some plastic "animal" eyes meant for dollmaking that would be PERFECT for old snaky stick. They have small plastic stems on the back which I will snip to about 1/4" or so long and glue into pre-drilled holes in the face of my snake.

My question is, I can't spend tons of cash for exotic glues, but have found several at the hobby store that claim to work, from Gorilla, 5-Minute Epoxy, Goop, E-6000, etc....I won't be able to clamp these pieces in place, so what do you all recommend as best choice?

Thanx!Head Bange

[AlArchie]

You could probably use plain old super glue, but I'd recommend the 5 minute epoxy. It bonds fairly fast and if you can hold the eyes in for 2 or three minutes, the stuff sets up stiff enough in that time to hold it's own.

Al

[Skulli]

I was thinking epoxy as well...I just wanna be sure they'll hold forever, since this part of the snake will get hand-bumped for most of it's life in day to day use.

Thanx!

[wade clark]

Any of these glues will probably work. I've use superglue for years and am very impresssed with gorilla Glue.
You might do a search under taxidermy supply for sources of very high quality eyes. They're not expensive and come in every size, shape and color.
Wade

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

"apoxie" is what I used on birds eyes and other projects, fills any gaps around the eyes too. If you have a good fit, about any adhesive will work even elmers carpenters glue

[squbrigg]

There is a two part putty like epoxy that bird carvers use, and I use it on eyes for my canes. Shoot....can't remember the name of it, and the bars don't have the name on them, just A and B and some warnings. Sets up in about an hour, and easy to mix then shape. Drys white and holds paint well, so that may be a factor to consider. Some expoys dry grey, some clear, some white! Comes in two foot long bars and you slice off some from each bar and kneed them together and shape. It may even be the Apoxie that Hi Ho mentioned.

Bob

[Lynn O. Doughty]

There is an overabundance of glue out there and you can get pretty confused sometimes as to which one to use. Here's my opinion on what to grab for when you'e in the glue section of Home Depot or Lowes:

Wood to Wood: Yellow Carpenters glue. This is the best....no question about it!

Wood to anything else: Epoxy. The 5 minute 50/50 mix works well as does the two part Tuf Carve. I think this is the type Squbrigg refers to.

Superglue: Great for strengthening fragile areas of a carving. I buy the thin stuff and soak the area and then spritz on a little accelerator to set it off. Unfortunately, for holding things together Superglue doesn't measure up to the advertisements.

Clamping: If you have two equally flat or parallel surfaces use a wood clamp. On uneven surfaces use strips of old innertubes. I went by the tire shop and ask if they had any old tubes. I cut the strips about 1/2" thick and wrap them around the pieces and tuck in the end. Works great! The tighter you wrap the stronger the clamp!

Gorilla Glue or other urethanes: Strong but very messy and the bottle goes off on you before you've even used half of it! Expensive!

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

A tip about using inner tubes...in case anyone has not heard. If you have strips of rubber and want to attach them to make smaller circles or whatever it is you want to do.....the plain old "crazy glue" from the drug store works excellent on rubber! Not sure why, got that tip from a counter clerk at a parts house when I was having a problem getting the right size "o" ring. just cut the ring took out a section and crazy glued it...better than new! OK Bob...wheres my prize LOLIce Cream

[Skulli]

Thanx for all the help, the innertube idea is brilliant! Now lets hope my tiny ring of treated dry rot doesn't kill my entire stick once everything is finished!