A Simple ACC Applicator

By John Socha-Leialoha/photo by the author

When adding grab irons and other very small parts, I wanted to apply miniscule amounts of ACC glue. The best tool I’ve found for this is a piece of .010” diameter phosphor bronze wire. When the wire is clean, you can pick up a very tiny drop from a puddle of glue. The trick, however, is holding onto the piece of wire, and not losing it on your workbench.

Fortunately, you can easily make a handle. Start with a short length of wood dowel and drill a #76 hole in one end. This hole is about twice the size of the wire, but it allows room for ACC inside the hole to improve the strength of the joint. Add a puddle of ACC to the hole, and then insert the wire. After the ACC has had plenty of time to harden, cut the phosphor bronze wire to length (I use about 3/4 inch). You can easily scrape off any dried glue with tweezers, which you should do often to keep the tip clean.