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The original was posted on /r/lifeprotips by /u/action_lawyer_comics on 2023-11-06 16:15:34.

Super glue is a decent glue but it won’t work in all situations. Without diving too much into the theory behind it, here’s a quick question to ask yourself before fixing something with super glue:

Did this break during normal use? If the answer is yes, don’t try fixing it with super glue.

For example, say you had a container with a handle. If one day you lifted the container by the handle one too many times and the handle snapped off, don’t use super glue to reattach the handle. However if you’re carrying the container and you hit it against something and the corner chips off, you could glue the corner back and have a reasonably good chance of the repair holding up.

Super glue isn’t as strong as the name implies. It generally leaves whatever you fixed weaker than it was originally and it’s not good for sustained stress. If you’re fixing something that broke under a normal level of stress like the handle in the above example, that same normal stress will break super glue almost instantly. Either use epoxy, add something that will reinforce the handle and add Mass and strength to it, or replace the handle entirely. But if the repair isn’t expected to normally take a lot of weight or stress, like something that broke under an unexpected blow, then super glue might hold up better.

There’s generally something better than super glue for repairs but it has its uses and it seems like it’s always around. It’s easier to keep a tube of super glue around than epoxy that needs a new mixing tip every time you use it. But know its limitations and you’ll be less likely to have to repair something twice.