Will CA glue bond brass casings to spray varnished wood?

[christopheralan]

I am putting the finishing touches on a 1911 display case and the customer wants 45cal's attached to the plaque. Hot melt glue didn't hold, as expected, so I tried Gorilla Brand CA glue. So far so good, but will this hold?

Thanks!

 

[Glennbear]

I have not used the Gorilla brand but it has been my experience that CA glue will stick two pieces of dang near anything together. Where I have run into a problem is when I have used it on a surface with a finish on it. The adhesive strength to the film finish is fine but it is greater than the adherence of the finish to the project hence the finish comes off with the glued object. :wsmile:

 

[stave]

It is kind of a hit or miss. The smoother the surfaces and the more subject to jolts or bangs the less reliable the bond. What I have done is rough up the surface and if possible drill a couple of small holes for the glue to penetrate, this helps but instead of CA use an epoxy. The epoxy has a little more grip and has more sheer strength.

Stave

 

[ScottM]

IMHO CA glue will weaken over time. I would also go with epoxy.

 

[Ozzie-x]

How about cutting the casings down, drilling holes and epoxy them in place so that the casing head stamps show??

 

[merrill77]

How about cutting the casings down, drilling holes and epoxy them in place so that the casing head stamps show??

This doesn't help the OP, but I think for a gun case, it would be quite in line with the style to do pinned M&Ts - using the casing as the dowel :>