At Dollar General they sell super glue in little dropper bottles 2 for a dollar I believe. They have 50% more glue in them than the standard tubes (3 grams vs. 2 grams)
I tie flies a lot, and one day I left the top off of one of them. A few days later, I cringed thinking it would be dried out. It was FINE.
So for the sake of science, I decided to leave the top off until it DID dry out.
It took over a month! A great way to avoid clogs and that sticky goo & crust that forms on the outside of the neck of the bottle. I only put the cap on now if I'm not going to use it for several days.
I did notice that if there was glue inside the tip, it started to gum a little, so now I just make sure I can see clearly down inside the bottle after each use. Problem solved. No more clogs, no more struggling with caps, just grab & use.
This has saved me a lot of time when I tie dozens at a time for my store. Plus at 50 cents a bottle, I won't really care if it does finally dry out.
As for 2 year shelf life, I've never owned a bottle that long, I use it up.
Also, get some really cheap q-tip knock offs, the ones with less cotton that is tightly wound on the tip. Touch this to the fly behind and to the side of your whip finish as you apply the super glue. It will instantly soak up any excess glue before it gets all over the fly, while getting just the right amount onto the head. (Regular q-tips are too 'fuzzy' and tend to leave cotton stuck to the fly sometimes)
I still haven't seen the 'brush bottle' super glue, but I'm definitely going to try it when I do.
Bill
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