I wasn't really sure where else to ask this, but does anyone have any suggestions about what kind of glue to use to glue bone on bone? I have some animal skulls and I need to glue the jaws to the skull with the mouth open. I have tried Gorilla Glue and a hot glue gun, but neither are seeming to hold. Any suggestions? Thanks, guys!
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Superglues (cyanoacralates) were developed originally by 3M for medical uses, and one of the first uses was for orthopedic surgeons to bond bone to bone. Buy a good quality one at your local home center, or one of the chains that cater to woodworkers. Woodworkers Supply, etc.
Thanks guys. I also heard somewhere that the super glue for acrylic nails from the beauty salon would work. Does anyone know about that?
Robert Wallis > Taylor Branson-YoungSeptember 8, 2011 at 9:38pm
Can't say much about the glue for acrylic nails, but the problem with a small contact area needs to be revisited. If the contact area is small and may have stress applied on it, then you've got to go in another direction. If the glue joint isn't going to be visible, then a 2-Mix epoxy may be the answer. I used to make molded wire connectors using that type of epoxy and making a mold around the part with a couple of layers of tape and poring in the mixed epoxy. You've got about 3-5 minutes before the stuff sets. It'll heat up by itself and be cured within minutes. You can create an epoxy bridge between the parts and they will hold together with a larger contact area. You can get the epoxy at Radio Shack or electronics supply house, possibly Lowes or Home Depot. It's usually packaged in a double-barreled syringe and you mix it up in a small plastic cup, and then apply it on what you plan to attach together.
This same question came up a few months ago. As I recall, the choices would be bone glue which would allow plenty of time to set and not cause discoloration. My choice would be gel-type superglue which is good for porous surfaces. The only use for glue guns is LHT crafts or filling in voids. The only application I found them to be worth a damn at was sealing wood cleat joints in speaker cabinets to make them air tight after the edges were glued with a real glue.
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No choice for bone to bone on this site but it's a great site for sticking things together and also reviewing glues: http://www.thistothat.com/