
This To That - thunderbong
https://thistothat.com
======
pbhjpbhj
The hard part about getting this sort of advice online is localisation.

If it had a drop down to choose your country, and someone had done the legwork
of localising the answers then it would be really good (for me).

Same thing happens with recipes, when I'm making a carrot cake I might search
for good recipes only to find the highest rated mentions lots of brands
(rather than detailing the product), then it's a bother to try and find
equivalents.

~~~
StavrosK
And it doesn't even tell you the substance. If you say "super glue", I have no
idea what to do. If you say "cyanoacrylate", I can get it for a euro.

~~~
mirimir
I love cyanoacrylate adhesives. With paper/cardboard you get a composite
that's almost fiberglass. With nylon (anything from stockings to ripstop) you
get even closer. Or silk or kevlar. All of them react exothermically with
cyanoacrylate, so they cure very quickly.

~~~
blacksmith_tb
Baking soda (which is to say, sodium bicarbonate) is also handy with
cyanoacrylate glues, as a filler and accelerant, for example[1].

1: [https://www.instructables.com/id/Baking-Soda-Reinforcing-
Glu...](https://www.instructables.com/id/Baking-Soda-Reinforcing-Glue-Repair/)

~~~
mirimir
Thanks. I'd forgotten about that.

Also, bizarrely enough, fine brass wool. I used that to fill a large gap in
the rim of a pottery coffee mug. That repair has lasted over five years.
Including microwaving multiple times daily to warm coffee.

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onion2k
If you go to the "Impartial" page
([https://www.thistothat.com/impartial.shtml](https://www.thistothat.com/impartial.shtml))
there's a little "Best viewed in any browser" gif. Sadly given the
proliferation of Chrome-only web apps, those things really need to make a come
back.

~~~
wildduck
Agreed! I'm a JS developer and SPA is over rated!

All web page should have a mode (or graceful degradation) that work in text
based browser like Lynx, Links2 without JS.

~~~
kungtotte
What bothers me is that if you build from the ground up, you already get all
of that for free.

Use semantic HTML elements, write your content, _then_ you snazz it up with
CSS and JS if you want. It will work everywhere, in every accessibility tool,
with no extra work whatsoever.

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TuringTest
> _Attach Ceramic to Leather [Let 's Glue!]:_

"We won't ask why you would want to glue ceramic and leather together - we
just _give_ gluing info.

If the leather is thick (eg. boot leather), we recommend:..."

~~~
Kye
That sounds like it would be useful for cosplay.

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code_biologist
If you're into adhesives, the Applied Science (Ben Krasnow) youtube channel
has a great video discussing his shortlist of adhesives to keep around and
when/how to use them.

"Tools and Tips #1 from Applied Science":
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBQp04glQqc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBQp04glQqc)

~~~
xbkingx
Also check out Project Farm's channel. It's a little more automotive based,
but the product comparison tests are extensive. If you ever wondered which
type of drywall screw could resist the most sheer force or if you can use
Zippo lighter fuel in an engine, this is a great channel.

My only criticism is sample size is usually small (3-5 samples), and no
checking on variation between product lots. But, it's one guy doing all this
for free, so I can't complain.

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reustle
I was really expecting this to be a well built Amazon Affiliate marketing
site. Pleasantly surprised that it's just purely informational.

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jboggan
"Whenever you are gluing metal it's a good idea to clean it first with steel
wool or sandpaper. (Rust never sleeps.)"

Glad to see a Neil Young nod in an esoteric reference site. That feels very
old-internet to me.

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devwastaken
These kind of sites can be super helpful, they just need more input to them,
would be great if they were a sort of wiki.

For example with plastics, like nylon which I don't believe has a reactive
adhesive, hotglue can work well. Infact hotglue when cured can host hundreds
of pounds in things like wood even.

Also the term 'plastic' is very generalized. Would be great to be able to know
what to test for to see what kind of plastic is what. Different kinds can have
different reacting adhesives that are very strong as the site points out about
PVC

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prook
This site has been online for 20+ years, damn!

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delinka
It's a recommendation engine for adhering [this] item to [that] item. The
adhesives recommended and the advice given appear to be US-centric.

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NelsonMinar
20 years and still going strong! This site was one of the first microsites I
ever encountered. It does exactly one thing with minimal window dressing. That
thing is useful and idiosyncratic. It probably makes them little to no money,
but there it is every year. Sometimes they tweak it.

It's a little funny it's implemented via CGI; this design dates back to the
days before you really could do anything dynamic client-side with
presentation. These days it'd be a single page app with a JSON database
driving it. Best thing about that is the hosting cost goes to near zero, it's
all static files.

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tomgp
So glad this site still exists. I've used it 3 or 4 times over the last 20
years and it just does what i need it to with no fuss.

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obituary_latte
Site appears to be down. Can anyone give an overview?

~~~
spdebbarma
The site helps you figure out what glue works best to attach two items to each
other. It provides links to glues/compounds, and also has helpful tips to help
you better.

\-------------------------------------------------

From their Philosophy page:

"We are here to help you choose the right glue for your bonding requirements.
We are committed to keeping current with the adhesive market, but we don't
claim to know everything about every glue on the market. We recommend the
glues that we have found work best for us. We do know one thing for sure:
there is no such thing as the All Purpose glue. Every glue has its pros and
cons. The secret to a successful bonding challenge is to consider the
following glue philosophy:

The primary principle of glue is much like any relationship in that the
adhesive must fit the adherend. (Kinda Zen, eh?) All glues work best when
aided with a physical attachment. When ever possible the combination of glue
and a screw, nail or staple, a glue and a joint, a glue and stitching or
binding, will guarantee a successful bond.

Any glue is only as strong as the weakest material in the bonding union. There
is no point in using a glue stronger than the materials you are bonding.

The success of a bond is dependent on the amount of surface area. The more
surface area you are able to incorporate, the stronger the bond.

Always use the least toxic material that meets your bonding requirements.

Understanding how a glue works will help you choose the right glue for the
job. The manufacturer knows their glue better than the cashier at the hardware
store. Reading the label thoroughly will help you know if a glue is
appropriate for your needs. Also, many glues have a help line or a website. We
have found some sites for you."

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maweki
About three weeks ago I struggled to glue a tiny acryl/plastics figurine to a
stone. Sadly, stone is missing from the glueable surfaces.

~~~
whenchamenia
Stone is weird, the surface prep varies so widely, as does the grain
structure. Its hard to generalize, and is usually covered under
porous/nonporous. If smooth, lightly abrade any polished surfaces if
practical, and ca should work fine when gaps are <1mm, use baking soda to fill
gaps qnd build up edges. For rough/porus, use a 2-part epoxy of your desired
properties, all major brnds are great. It can be helpful to knock down tall
spots to get better contact of the surfaces to be joined. Making a regular
series of gouges can increase surface area for stronger mechanical bonds.

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zachrose
Is it fair to call this an algebra? The materials are elements in a set and
the adhesive is kind of like a binary operation.

It’s commutative, at least in terms of picking a glue. (Sometimes they
recommend to put the adhesive on one material first.)

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thomasedwards
cgi-bin/glue.cgi – blast from the past!

~~~
52-6F-62
haha I was thinking the same thing. Can't remember the last time I saw that.

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Discere
It reminds me of this sketch on YouTube - Sticko!
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58zzs4hzEIg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58zzs4hzEIg)

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tjchear
I wonder if it makes sense to have something similar for software. E.g glue
react to bootstrap. Answer: reactstrap!

But that's nothing a Google search/stackoverflow search can't do already :)

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johnchristopher
Useful, easy to operate for users, straight to the point. Nice :-)

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sukilot
Useful data, but it's a spreadsheet hidden behind a single-lookup database
that make s 100x slower and harder to use.

All the data should be displayed in a single page, using browser in-page
search to navigate.

~~~
lolsal
Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? I disagree either way. I like the
presentation and didn't find it 100x slower or harder to use. It took me 4
clicks instead of a hand contortion for a keyboard shortcut and then 10-20
keypresses to do my searches, and then on top of that I didn't have to search
with my eyes to make sure I was on the correct row of glass to metal vs glass
to plastic.

The tidbits on the results page would be very difficult to read in a grid.

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gregschlom
I don't see silicone anywhere on that list :)

