Do NOT use Gorilla Glue for blades and foot pockets

    Pretty much sums it up. I tried it based on what the guy at the hardware store told me, "it's better than Crazy Glue".


    But it takes on air as it cures. Weird. This morning I grabbed the tendons I had glued and pretty easily pulled them off. I'll get some Loctite in Hawaii.


    I went for the Gorilla Glue partly because Gorilla Tape is so badass. I could probably use THAT to hold the tendons on. What do you think, Dan? <img src= " class="smiley" srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x" height="23" width="23" loading="eager" data-tooltip="biggrin" aria-label="biggrin">^^

    Gorilla glue is great for wood. Like you said it takes on air and expands to fill gaps. But it's useless for fins. Which may make cleanup easier, you'll need to clean the tendons out carefully.


    I don't remember if these f/p require rails or if they glue directly to the blade. Hank, is the slot inside the tendons straight or in the shape of a T?

    Hey Hank,
    I think the "industry standard" is to use cyano glue. AKA super glue. There should be a few vids on youtube. Perhaps one from Pathos.
    That said, it's not as easy as they make it look. Well, not that easy to make it look pretty. Even f you have the acetone ready, cyano glue doesn't give you much time to clean up a spill or realign if needed.
    I did glue one set of fins and while the second one looks alright, the first one is a mess. Purely cosmetical, though.


    I propose two things.
    If you use super glue, then tape the fin blade to protect it from excess glue. And try to get one of the gel and slower super glues.
    If I had to do this again, I would probably use Sikaflex or 3M marine sealant. I can't recall which 3M is the permanent one (5200?) but go with the non-permanent one. The hold should be sufficient and would buy yourself a lot more time.

    Quote from Dan

    Gorilla glue is great for wood. Like you said it takes on air and expands to fill gaps. But it's useless for fins. Which may make cleanup easier, you'll need to clean the tendons out carefully.


    I don't remember if these f/p require rails or if they glue directly to the blade. Hank, is the slot inside the tendons straight or in the shape of a T?


    It's not just a slit. It does look like a T inside the tendon. I think I screwed up and was supposed to use the rails to mount the tendons on. I thought the rails were to replace the old rails on the swimming end of the fin. :S


    oops. <img src= " class="smiley" srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x" height="23" width="23" loading="eager" data-tooltip="biggrin" aria-label="biggrin">

    The foot pocket rails are glued on the blade using Cyanoacrylate glue only. You need to make sure the blade is clean with no residue. Insert the blade fully in the f/p and measure where the rails should start (tip of the f/p tendon) and end (end of the T slot inside the f/p tendon). Once the rails are installed on the blade you insert the blade in the f/p, make the holes for the installation kit if any, install the kit, then simply snap the f/p tendons over the rails you glued on. There is no gluing between the f/p and any part of the blade.

    I wet my surfaces with water to get the Curing process activated.


    It does expand with air adsorption. Lighter amount of glue was my method. Un-Clamped parts will move with this expansion.


    I can't recall using it on plastics, So many different types out there and glue types can get confusing.

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