Hi Ken,

I have used the HiPURformer glue extensively and have a few comments.

Plusses: This stuff glues and sets quickly. Holds like a bear and allows incredibly fast fixturing of parts so you can move on to the next setup. Can be used for a wide variety of materials and has some degree of forgiveness in placement depending on the cure speed of the tube you select for your work.

Minuses: It's expensive. It doesn't sand for crap. Has a real differential of hardness versus typical boat building materials. Because it's urethane it can kick off any allergic reactions you may have to that family of chemicals.

Conclusions: I have used the stuff to build stacked laminations of tooling foam that I post shape prior to glassing. Tooling foam is way softer than the glue and it tends to leave a slightly proud glue line when shaped. This requires a little post shaping surgery to relieve the glue line. Then you have to fill with fairing compound and do a final sanding for surface.

If you use the product for this application carefully note your likely final shape and don't glue the layers any closer than 1/2" from that spot. That will give you a clean seam that can be glassed right away.

All the above also applies to WRC construction in strips. I tried it for that application as well and found the same type of, do-over, process necessary. For that reason I don't see it as an advantage when stripping. If you have the notion to use it to temp glue your strips to the forms; hold that thought. This stuff is tenacious and will cause real problems when trying to "gently whack" the forms from your finished deck or hull. As in, removal of material from areas where you'd like it to stay. I did some extensive tests on end grain as well as side grain joining before I ever put the glue on one of my boats. Many hammer blows later the test pieces finally parted, taking large chunks of wood with them.

I have also used it to fasten single piece decks to sheer strips when building S&G boats and it kicks big booty for that task. No nail holes, simple band strapping around the hull and in two minutes it's done. Shape to final edge and start glassing.

Like any tool in our quiver, this glue has some real advantages along with the need for planning about when and where to use it to best advantage. I'll continue to use the stuff as I think it's real plus for certain jobs.

Chris Ostlind