Glue
Moderators: AmyCowen, kgudger, bfinio, MadelineB, Moderators
-
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 12:11 pm
- Occupation: Student
Glue
I am working on a science fair project testing the strength of materials by building a bridge out of those materials then dropping books on top of them till they break. The only problem is I want to use the strongest glue that can connect the materials together best. My question is "What type of glue -- sticks best to Skewers, popsicle stick, and straws and connects them together the strongest?"
-
- Expert
- Posts: 2068
- Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2013 7:00 am
- Occupation: Retired molecular biologist, university researcher and teacher
- Project Question: I wish to join Scibuddies to be able to help students achieve the best science project possible and to understand the science behind it.
- Project Due Date: n/a
- Project Status: Not applicable
Re: Glue
Hi,
That's an interesting test. How large of a 'bridge' are you planning to make and how will you overlap the individual skewers, sticks and straws? When you said skewers did you mean wooden ones or metal?
Wood glue, available at home stores, is best for joining wood to wood. Just follow the directions on the bottle. For the straws, you could use good old Elmers, or you could try the newer 'gorilla' glue.
There's a lot of misinformation about adhesives online because people don't do test them properly and companies are just looking to sell their own products.
It might have been a better idea to choose one material, like popsicle sticks, and make bridges using several different kinds of glue to see which one holds up the most weight. With the experiment as you have it now, you have two variables--the different materials and the different glues. I would just pick one glue that is supposed to be good for everything and test the strength of the materials.
If you have more questions, let me know.
Sybee
That's an interesting test. How large of a 'bridge' are you planning to make and how will you overlap the individual skewers, sticks and straws? When you said skewers did you mean wooden ones or metal?
Wood glue, available at home stores, is best for joining wood to wood. Just follow the directions on the bottle. For the straws, you could use good old Elmers, or you could try the newer 'gorilla' glue.
There's a lot of misinformation about adhesives online because people don't do test them properly and companies are just looking to sell their own products.
It might have been a better idea to choose one material, like popsicle sticks, and make bridges using several different kinds of glue to see which one holds up the most weight. With the experiment as you have it now, you have two variables--the different materials and the different glues. I would just pick one glue that is supposed to be good for everything and test the strength of the materials.
If you have more questions, let me know.
Sybee