Hey everyone. I’m a newer Glowforge owner and I’m loving it. I am however having trouble finding the right adhesive for both acrylic to wood and acrylic to acrylic. I was using a 4m backing on the acrylic to wood but they fall off during shipping. As for the acrylic to acrylic I was using a type of super glue but too wet and drippy. Any advice would be welcome!!! Thank you
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I use Hardman two-part epoxies for just about everything. I would recommend that you try a Blue one-shot pack to see if it works for your application. I’ve never had any problems with separation with Hardman products. If you decide to continue using it for your projects, you can get it much cheaper in bulk.
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Thank you! I will give this a try. I just had to replace a $45 piece because a letter fell off during shipping. I can’t afford to keep doing that nor do I want that reputation.
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I love working with acrylic but for that one reason 
The best glues for acrylic are all drippy and will evaporate away if you turn your head, and set in moments before you can close the lid on the glue.
When gluing edge to edge I set the edges at the lowest point and have something to catch any drips. I keep the acrylic welding material in the freezer to lower its vapor pressure as it feels like it is near boiling at room temperatures. That glue will not connect the acrylic to anything else, but where the faces exactly match the glue will be filled in by capillary action and there will not be a seam.
In any other situation, I use the E-6000 glue that will bond to both wood and acrylic, and while thicker than the solvent glue it is not by much. What I do is to put out a blob of it on a bit of scrap and use a bamboo skewer to roll some on that I can then slide on to the edge that I want to bond, that way it does not apply more than will work and is reasonably fast. If I have to go back for another dose the top surface will already be setting on the top but underneath will still be usable usually.
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I was lost in the first half of your response- way above my skill and knowledge. But, E-600 I get. I’ll give a try too and see what works best for my application. Thank you!
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Just be ready…E-6000 works great, but it’s ‘stringy’…little filaments floating around.
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What I keep in the freezer…
https://www.amazon.com/Weld-Acrylic-Plastic-Cement-Applicator/dp/B0149IG548/ref=sr_1_19?crid=9R2QCNFCNNZ2&dchild=1&keywords=solvent+glue+for+acrylic&qid=1631978837&sprefix=solvent+glue+%2Cindustrial%2C465&sr=8-19
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Part of why I use the skewer. rolling it to catch that sort of thing. 
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I also use the Weld-On for acrylic to acrylic. It works fabulous!
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I bought a can once, never opened it, lent it to someone, never saw it again. Found out they couldn’t even get it open. I spent 20 dollars on that can.
I like E6000. I use it to apply stud earring backs to wood and acrylic stud earrings. It spills over alot, so I let it sit about an hour or two. When it turns rubbery, I hold the earring post down, and you can pull the excess E6000 off like a solid piece of rubber. If you wait longer than that, it becomes hard as a rock and impossible to remove, but there is a period of time after application that it has super easy clean up.
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You’ve got good info here but it’s worth mentioning that a quick search of the forum can find lots of discussions about this topic already:
https://community.glowforge.com/search?q=Glue%20acrylic%20wood
Search rules! Much faster than making a new thread.
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i’m always surprised when i hear people’s weld-on gives them problems. i’ve had a big can of weld-on 4 for 3+ years. i’ve used a little over half of it and it’s still perfectly fine and hasn’t evaporated away or sealed the lid or anything. you just have to make sure you very carefully seal the cap properly (it can easily get a little twisted). it sits in my attic studio which when i’m not running the portable AC up there can get well into the upper 80s. just used some last week and it was perfect.
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Same here
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That is great to know! I was afraid it might be too thick and ooze out but to know I can pull it off if I get the timing right makes it a good option to try.
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That is why I use a vice grip to get leverage. If the can is frozen cold and the lid warmed a bit in your hand that helps too! 
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It would’ve been nice if they returned it though, so I could try. I lent it out a year ago. I should just buy another.
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Weld-on for acrylic. I’ve had mine for years before I even got a GF. Still functions just fine.
I will say, however, that I only punched a small hole in the metal seal under the cap, and what I do is tilt the can and use one of those needle-capped bottles or a syringe to suck up as much as I need, and let the rest drip down into the can. Put the lid back on tightly.
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