# Uhmw



## RayHeinrich (May 26, 2007)

I am making some jigs out of UHMW and I need to cut long strips to size and stack them one on top of the other. What would be the best glue to use on UHMW thank for any help you can give me


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Ray

Nothing will stick to UHMW  it's *Self-lubricating 

You can try
Double Sided Tape - OK, we know you didn't want to hear this, but for some of you, laying down a few strips may do the job. 
They offer 2 kinds of tape. Double Sided Foam Tape is a permanent adhesive good for non-smooth surfaces. "Killer Red Tape" is a thin 0.015" thick acrylic adhesive transfer tape perfect for SMOOTH surface applications. 
Thicker tape is available such as the line of 3M VHB tape.

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RayHeinrich said:


> I am making some jigs out of UHMW and I need to cut long strips to size and stack them one on top of the other. What would be the best glue to use on UHMW thank for any help you can give me


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## Noob (Apr 18, 2009)

We've used the VHB tape at work on a few projects and that is some strong stuff, like tape on steroids. VHB tape LINK

As for using an adhesive on UHMW, several sites say you have to use the blue flame of a torch on the UHMW before applying the adhesive.



> *Bonding Gar-Dur® UHMW*
> *
> Criteria for Adhesive Selection*
> 
> ...


Garland MFG LINK


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

HI Paulo

Have you tryed gluing up UHMW ,,,??????? not to say anything about the cost of the adhesive..


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## Noob (Apr 18, 2009)

bobj3 said:


> HI Paulo
> 
> Have you tryed gluing up UHMW ,,,??????? not to say anything about the cost of the adhesive..
> 
> ...


Only tried epoxy but was unsuccessful; never tried putting a torch to it before using adhesive though. At a previous job we bought 4" thick sheets of it for various projects and instead of bonding it with an adhesive we use nuts and bolts to put parts together.


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## gregW (Mar 14, 2007)

same here...flat head screws and we also used dowel pins if the alignment was critical.



Noob said:


> At a previous job we bought 4" thick sheets of it for various projects and instead of bonding it with an adhesive we use nuts and bolts to put parts together.


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## FatFreddysCat (Apr 5, 2009)

Best "glue" I've ever found is steel screws......... That's the only "glue" I've ever found which works with the stuff


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## garybaritone (Feb 21, 2009)

As the old saying goes: "If you can't weld it or glue it ... screw it!"


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

RayHeinrich said:


> I am making some jigs out of UHMW and I need to cut long strips to size and stack them one on top of the other. What would be the best glue to use on UHMW thank for any help you can give me


This thread picqued my interest, so I googled it. Here's some info on UHMW adhesive:

ADHESIVES for UHMW

Jim


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## Noob (Apr 18, 2009)

BigJimAK said:


> This thread picqued my interest, so I googled it. Here's some info on UHMW adhesive:
> 
> ADHESIVES for UHMW
> 
> Jim


That site also mentioned using a flame to pre-treat it:


> Corona or flame (plasma) etch is occasionally used to prepare the UHMW surface which strengthens the bond by reacting surface chains with oxygen to form oxane bonds, significantly increasing the bond strength.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

HI Noob 

The heat must be like what they do to Marble to make if ruff ( blister it ) it pops the air bubble in the material 


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Noob said:


> That site also mentioned using a flame to pre-treat it:


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Yep.. to put it in context, "Corona or flame (plasma) etch is occasionally used to prepare the UHMW surface which strengthens the bond by reacting surface chains with oxygen to form oxane bonds, significantly increasing the bond strength. BONDiT B-4x series epoxies readily form high strength bonds to the oxide rich substrate. Chemical etching with sulfur trioxide in Freon has also been successfully employed to increase the surface energy of the UHMW, but is a much more complex process compared to flame etching.

Most application do not need such enhancement and work well with just the 
B-45TH adhesive on a lightly abraded (#100-120 grit) surface. The need to pretreat the UHMW by etching occurs in about 15% of the applications. If abrasion is not possible the BONDiT B-46TH has the capability of adhering to the unabraded UHMW surface. It will even bond similarly to untreated Teflon and Delrin. "


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## westend (Mar 31, 2009)

Jim,
Nice piece of "bird-dogging" on that adhesive. Thank you! I have an email off to them inquiring about adhesives and purchasing.


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## westend (Mar 31, 2009)

Holy Hannah! The Bondit B45 is an investment grade adhesive, $70/1.7 oz.. That 1.7 oz. does cover 2-4 square feet of surface, though. It is available at McMaster-Carr for those with a special project.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

westend said:


> Holy Hannah! The Bondit B45 is an investment grade adhesive, $70/1.7 oz.. That 1.7 oz. does cover 2-4 square feet of surface, though. It is available at McMaster-Carr for those with a special project.


Screws are sounding better every minute.........:blink:

James


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

westend said:


> Holy Hannah! The Bondit B45 is an investment grade adhesive, $70/1.7 oz.. That 1.7 oz. does cover 2-4 square feet of surface, though. It is available at McMaster-Carr for those with a special project.


Did you ask them if they kiss their customers as they rape 'em? :dirol:


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