# What y'all using to glue loose tube bases?



## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

Read about people using everything from specialized tube glues, Elmer's, CA (Crazy Glue/Superglue), hi-temp silicone products, acetone/fingernail polish remover to reactivate the old glue, JB Weld, etc, etc. for this job.

What's everybody here using for this sorta thing, btw? More importantly, how does it last over the long haul?


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

chirp...chirp...chirp....


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## Wild Bill (May 3, 2006)

gtone said:


> chirp...chirp...chirp....



I just use Superglues, the type that smell funny and can stick your fingers together!

I believe in the Golden Years they used simple contact cement, perhaps cut with thinner a bit. Takes longer to dry but might have better life.

Home Depot! Green and Yellow can!

There's nothing special about the application. You need a glue that bonds glass and plastic, that doesn't mind the heat.

If the tube is REALLY loose, try to squirt some inside the base, rather than just depend on an outside bond. If you break a dead tube apart you will see what I mean.

Wild Bill Busen Amps


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

Thanks for weighing in Wild Bill.

Just before you responded, I tried some Elmer's on a pair of old 6SL7GT's I had here in my stash. An older gent I've bought some esoteric type tubes (ones more common in radio applications, for instance) from in the past swears by the Elmers, so I based my decision on that. Only time will, I guess. My first instinct was that Elmers would be prone to drying out with the heat produced by an operating tube. Fortunately, these are pre/PI tubes and won't see too much heat in those applications, so perhaps it might work for a few years.


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