BSI Epoxies – QUIK-CURE, MID-CURE & SLOW-CURE

When your project needs a strong, dependable bond, Bob Smith Industries (BSI) Epoxies give you the flexibility to choose the working time that fits the job. Available in 5-minute, 15-minute, and 30-minute formulas, these versatile two-part epoxies are excellent for pen turning, woodworking, project kits, brass tube installation, repairs, fiberglass, metal, and other shop projects.

Whether you need a fast bond so you can keep working, extra positioning time for careful assembly, or maximum strength for demanding applications, there's a BSI epoxy for the job.

Choose from QUIK-CURE™ 5 Minute, MID-CURE™ 15 Minute, or SLOW-CURE™ 30 Minute Epoxy, with 4.5 oz. and 9 oz. combined sizes available.

Features & Highlights

• Two-part epoxy adhesive from Bob Smith Industries
• Choose from 5, 15, or 30-minute working times
• Excellent for woodturning and pen-making applications
• Bonds a wide variety of materials including wood, metal, glass, foam, and fiberglass
• Great for gluing brass pen tubes into blanks
• Useful for project-kit hardware, inserts, repairs, and general woodworking
• Different cure speeds let you match the adhesive to the project
• Resin and hardener supplied together
• Available in 4.5 oz. or 9 oz. combined net weight

QUIK-CURE™ – 5 Minute Epoxy

Need to get back to work quickly? QUIK-CURE 5 Minute Epoxy is the fastest option and an excellent choice for smaller projects and everyday shop use.

Once cured, QUIK-CURE remains slightly flexible rather than becoming excessively brittle, helping it maintain a durable bond in applications exposed to vibration or stress.

• Working Time: Approximately 5 minutes
• Handling Time: Approximately 15 minutes
• Full Strength: Approximately 1 hour
• Cures with a slightly flexible consistency
• Good choice for quick repairs and smaller bonding jobs
• Can be mixed with microballoons to create a quick-setting putty
• Compatible with polyester resin applied over the cured epoxy
• Not recommended for long-term water immersion

For pen makers, the short working time makes QUIK-CURE especially convenient when you're gluing a small number of tubes and want to move on to the next step quickly.

MID-CURE™ – 15 Minute Epoxy

MID-CURE 15 Minute Epoxy provides additional working time for larger projects or situations where parts need to be carefully positioned before the adhesive begins to set.

It is BSI's most flexible epoxy and offers greater water resistance than QUIK-CURE, making it an excellent all-around choice for the workshop.

• Working Time: Approximately 15 minutes
• Handling Time: Approximately 45 minutes
• Full Strength: Approximately 2 hours
• Provides more time for positioning and alignment
• More water resistant than QUIK-CURE
• BSI's most flexible epoxy formula
• Particularly well suited for fiberglass surfaces
• Excellent general-purpose choice for pen tubes and project-kit components

For many pen and project turners, 15 minutes provides a comfortable middle ground—enough time to thoroughly coat and position components without waiting all day for the adhesive to cure.

SLOW-CURE™ – 30 Minute Epoxy

When maximum strength and plenty of working time matter more than speed, choose SLOW-CURE 30 Minute Epoxy.

SLOW-CURE offers the highest strength of these BSI epoxy formulas and provides increased heat and water resistance. The extended working time also allows epoxy to be carefully distributed throughout larger or more complicated assemblies.

• Working Time: Approximately 30 minutes
• Handling Time: Approximately 8 hours
• Full Strength: Within approximately 24 hours
• Highest-strength option of the three formulas
• Waterproof
• Greater heat resistance
• Excellent for demanding bonds and larger assemblies
• Particularly useful for creating reinforcing fillets
• Can be combined with fillers such as microballoons to create a putty-like consistency

Note: Adding fillers may shorten the available working time by approximately 25%.

Which BSI Epoxy Should I Choose?

Choose 5-Minute QUIK-CURE when speed is the priority and you're working on smaller jobs or only a few pen tubes.

Choose 15-Minute MID-CURE when you want a little more time for coating, positioning, and alignment. This is an excellent general-purpose option for pen and project turning.

Choose 30-Minute SLOW-CURE when you need plenty of positioning time, maximum bond strength, or greater resistance to water and heat.

Great for Pen Turning & Project Kits

Epoxy is an excellent choice when installing brass tubes into wood, acrylic, stabilized wood, antler, and many other turning blanks. The additional gap-filling ability of epoxy can be especially helpful with blanks that have an irregular drilled hole or materials where you want more working time than a fast-setting CA glue provides.

It is also an excellent adhesive for many bottle stopper inserts, handles, project-kit hardware, threaded inserts, and other woodturning projects where a strong adhesive bond is required.

Available Options

Cure Times:

• QUIK-CURE – 5 Minute
• MID-CURE – 15 Minute
• SLOW-CURE – 30 Minute

Available Sizes:

• 4.5 oz. combined net weight (128 g)
• 9 oz. combined net weight (256 g)

Tips for Success

• Make sure bonding surfaces are clean, dry, and free of oil or dust.
• Mix the resin and hardener thoroughly before application.
• Prepare all parts before mixing—especially when using 5-minute epoxy.
• For pen tubes, lightly scuffing the outside of the brass tube can provide additional surface area for the adhesive.
• Apply enough epoxy to provide complete coverage before inserting the tube.
• Whenever possible, allow the epoxy to reach its recommended cure strength before machining or putting the joint under stress.