> Wallace Venable asked if anyone had ever used "Jell-O" or gelatin
> as glue.  I haven't, but his question reminded me of my days working
> in a donut shop in high school.  We had a small sign on the wall --
> "Please ring bell for service" -- that thwarted all attempts to make
> it stay stuck to the wall.
>
> I finally succeeded in making it stay in place by using the fruit jelly
> filling we used in our jelly-filled donuts.  It worked wonderfully.
> I know it's not terribly relevant, but I hope its at least amusing.

It is, and of considerable interest.

One of the finest books I've ever read was written by J.E. Gordon,
entitled "The New Science of Strong Materials."  Prof. Gordon designed
aircraft in Britain during World War II, and tells stories about
every engineering material there is, including glue.

A glue, he says, is any liquid which will (1) wet the two surfaces
to be joined and then (2) freeze or solidify in some way.  His own
adventures with gluing came in the construction of wooden gliders
used as airborne invasion craft, and in developing wooden aircraft
that wouldn't dissolve in tropical climates.  I believe that he was
mostly in charge of investigating the failures thereof.

One of his investigations revealed that the plywood being used to
construct aircraft had been rendered un-glue-able because it had been
rolled with hot, smooth metal rollers during its manufacture.  This
closed the ends of the cellulose tubes, thus preventing glue from
entering and being soaked into the wood.  The joints seemed strong
at first, but failed under stress.  Only careful sanding fixed the
problem, but Prof. Gordon's general opinion of wood as an aircraft
material under conditions of war production was not a high one.

I cannot recommend this book too highly for anyone who works with tools
and materials.

Mark Kinsler