Bonding metal to plastic - bee safe

[3bees]

Hi, can anyone help?

I've been using contact feeders to feed my Nuc's. I accidentally put my finger through the metal mesh on one of the feeder lids. I have bought new mesh, does anyone know the best product for bonding the metal mesh to the plastic contact feeder lid?

Thanks

 

[pargyle]

Hi, can anyone help?

I've been using contact feeders to feed my Nuc's. I accidentally put my finger through the metal mesh on one of the feeder lids. I have bought new mesh, does anyone know the best product for bonding the metal mesh to the plastic contact feeder lid?

Thanks

Isocyanocryalate (Superglue) as long as you give it time to set and wash the surface well ... it's quite safe once it's gone off. But - it would probably have been cheaper to buy a whole new lid than buy the glue ! I use it to glue the rims to my polycarbonate crown boards - no problem whatsoever ... bees fine with it.

 

[thenovice]

we used araldite a lot for zebrafish embryos. if it is safe for fish, I reckon it should be ok for bees.

 

[pargyle]

we used araldite a lot for zebrafish embryos. if it is safe for fish, I reckon it should be ok for bees.

Yes ... it's Epoxy based so, again, completely safe once it has gone off ... just takes a bit longer to set and the initial 'grab' is not as good as Superglue.

 

[enrico]

we used araldite a lot for zebrafish embryos. if it is safe for fish, I reckon it should be ok for bees.

Oh! So you stick the stripes on them then! Often wondered!

E

 

[3bees]

Thanks for the quick response guys. Pargyle, just looked on fleebay, is Isocyanocryalate the same as Cyanoacrylate?

 

[thenovice]

Oh! So you stick the stripes on them then! Often wondered!

E

trust me, there are a lot funkier things that can be done!

 

[Ross]

Araldite is unlikely to bond well to plastic, it will stick to the slight surface roughness and eventually just peel/crack off allowing the syrup to pour out into the hive. You need an adhesive that will key or melt slightly into the surface of the plastic, such as a palstic cement, super glue will probably work well. Or a decent hot melt glue gun should also work, but not if it is a cheap hobby type of gun.

 

[thenovice]

we used araldite a lot for zebrafish embryos. if it is safe for fish, I reckon it should be ok for bees.

if it is made from pvc you can use PVC cement (again, from my aquaculture days, it is safe for fish so probably for bees too). if it is made from PPE/PE, good luck gluing it. I would use a soldering iron or heat gun to melt it in in that case...

 

[pargyle]

Thanks for the quick response guys. Pargyle, just looked on fleebay, is Isocyanocryalate the same as Cyanoacrylate?

Yes ... its often called CA glue ... i use it when woodturning to seal up cracks in the timber - brilliant stuff.

 

[theeggman]

Isocyanocryalate (Superglue) as long as you give it time to set and wash the surface well ... it's quite safe once it's gone off. But - it would probably have been cheaper to buy a whole new lid than buy the glue ! I use it to glue the rims to my polycarbonate crown boards - no problem whatsoever ... bees fine with it.

There is an accelerator spray that reduces setting time with superglue, almost instant, so keep your fingers out of the mix.

When we had our conservatory roof renewed the guys superglued all of the trim in place instantly, no holding whilst it set.

The commercial brand of glue and accelerator was 'Wurth'. We gained some of each at the time and it's great. I would imagine that a commercial brand would be a lot cheaper than the standard little retail packs.

Tim.

 

[pargyle]

This is what I buy ... works very well.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MITRE-KIT...Scrapbooking_Glue_Tape_EH&hash=item20de0f017b

 

[3bees]

This is what I buy ... works very well.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MITRE-KIT...Scrapbooking_Glue_Tape_EH&hash=item20de0f017b

On order. Thanks

 

[pargyle]

On order. Thanks

Does a great job on a lot of things .. spray the accelerator onto one of the surfaces you want to stick together and put the glue on the other - almost instant bond. But keep it off your fingers or they will have to be surgically separated !

It does a fantastic job glueing up the framing on clear polycarbonate clear crownboards.

 

[3bees]

Where do you get your polycarbonate clear boards from?

 

[Hombre]

Grab your Cyanocrylate superglue from a Pound shop. As long as the turnover is good then it should be nice and fresh.

 

[oliver90owner]

Hot-melt glue gun with an appropriate glue stick.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

Where do you get your polycarbonate clear boards from?

I have bought mine off fleabay. There's a firm up in Warrington that sells offcuts and if you're handy with DIY you can frame them up as clear cover boards, adjusting the width of the framing timber to suit the size of the offcut -
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6mm-thick...569?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item27e6453fe9

With these offcuts being 420mm wide, you'd need 25mm framing to give a 5mm rebate for the polycarbonate to sit in.

CVB

 

[fatshark]

Where do you get your polycarbonate clear boards from?

Check your local timber/DIY shop. Mine sell large sheets of 4mm for less per crownboard than the eBay offcuts. A 6x3 ft sheet makes 8 crown boards which can have a thin edge. "Cut" it by scoring with a sharp knife and then snap it over a bench edge.