I'll ditto Chris on his choice of brands. Barge can be hard to get a hold of at times so DAP brand is a great runner up for choice of brands.

I have searched this site on many occasions and have gotten some great info but i am struggling right now with this and have been reading this thread. i have started the construction of the Avenue Q puppets for one of our local Community Theaters.  I have in the trial run of these had difficulty with the glue.   I currently have six heads cut and glued up. until the Dap Weldwood contact cement didnt work.. Then I tried the 3M 77 spray adhesive, which didnt hold. then I went back to rubber cement...which did not hold either. I believe the problem is not the glue alone but the thickness of the foam. These are larger, sturdier puppets and require thicker foam.  I think to glue up the darts and create the round shapes needed, it puts too much torque on the joints. I am going to try the Crafters Pick Ultimate mentioned in posts from quite a while back but frankly am skeptical of 1) if it will hold and 2) if it will hold on top of all the glue already tried and should I start from the beginning.  Your thoughts would be much appreciated!

Honestly, I still use mostly hot glue with both 1/2 and 1 inch foam an have never had an issue...no smell either!

Quick question about the weldwood...are you applying glue to both pieces of foam? Allowing it to become tacky then attaching?

Julie

Yes, i applied to both sides. may have left it too long this time around, so it was no longer tacky enough...however, it has happened to me before when i have tried to use it. it just doesn't hold this thick foam. I have finally finished it up with hot glue. hate that i usually end up with blisters though. The next ones i will try the CP Ultimate.

How thick is the foam? We use weldwood on all of our puppets large and small.  It need to be tacky, but not wet.  Also, if yu are gluing outside and it it to hot..to cold or extremely humid that can effect it as well.  We are in texas...lately close to 100, but still sticks as long as you work quick enough.

You can also bevel the inside edge which will take some of the presser off.

Julie

hmmm....though it has been very humid, not sure thats it.  guess i will try it again.   Thanks so much for the insight!

Letting it dry too long makes a weaker bond, you can apply a tiny bit more to reactivate it sometimes.  Too much can make a rigid line that is not as smooth as thinner application.  I have to make sure I push it hard enough together without smashing the seam. "Contact" is part of the process and it needs to be held together hard enough to make a strong long lasting bond.  There have been times that I was in a hurry and I basted the foam seams with long looping stiches when I did not have time to glue, I used a long doll needle. I don't recommend stitching all the time, it is not as smooth as glue. It seems to me if your larger pieces need more reinforcement maybe you could make a few looping stiches on the inside of the seam to take some of the pressure off.  The application of tight covering fabric also adds some pressure to hold the seam together too.  Have not tried this but if the foam is very think maybe you could so something like the bisquit join that they use on wood.  They make a slit halfway down the side of the wood horizontally and glue in a small flat piece of wood

I hear often the people have problems with using contact cement not holding but not really sure why. Like Julie I use it on everything including thick pieces of foam and have never had much of an issue. You do have to apply it to both sides and you do have to let it get tacky. Snail is right that pressure is the key to finishing off the bond.  Maybe it is the fact that my first experiences with contact cement was in use with shoe repair and counter tops. When you "rubber" a shoe (apply a rubber sole to the bottom) you put cement on both the rubber and the bottom of the shoe. You then let it set up. Once it is set you put it on a shoe anvil and bound it with a rubber mallet to make the bond. Kind of the same thing with applying a counter top lament. That is a lot of pressure to get the bond to hold so I realized the same has to apply to when making the puppet. Don't know if that is the issue that folks have but thought it may be worth pointing out.

In regards to using glue gun. I've never been a big fan of the method but it works great for many folks. I think the bond it just as good as contact cement but hate the blister effect. Also when you apply hot glue to foam the foam insulates and keeps the hot glue hot longer then when you use it with other things. I was working with another artist and they came up with the trick of using the compressed air in a can to cool down the hot glue once applied to the foam and joint made so it would bond faster. So they applied the glue, pressed the two pieces together and then hit it with a blast of the cold compressed air. Cooled it right down and made the bond set right away instead of having to hold the two pieces together why the glue slowly cooled down.

It really must be me...letting it dry too long, or not long enough. I better figure it out or its going to be much more frustrating than necessary   Again. thank you all so much!