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26th July 2014, 10:42 PM #1Novice
- Join Date
- Jun 2012
- Location
- Southern River, Perth
- Posts
- 21
Woodglue vs epoxy for glueing up lemon scented gum slabs for dining table
Hi
I am about to glue up 3 very heavy lemon scented gumtree slabs for a dining table. Initially I was going to use titebond woodglue then someone talked me out of it into using west system epoxy. Now I'm being told that the epoxy might not cure properly as the temperature is low etc. I'm confused out of my mind.
Any sugessions guys as to what's best for this timber. They will be joined together with dominos.
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26th July 2014, 11:01 PM #2
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27th July 2014, 04:54 PM #3
comments
by "slabs" do you mean that the boards are very thick, rough sawn with sap wood on each edge? or are you just referring to thick dressed boards?
dominos aid with aligning the boards so the top of your glue up finishes level. In practical terms they do not strengthen the joint.
are your joints clean, straight and at right angles to the face of each board? if yes -- you don't need the gap filling properties of epoxy.
(A little spring along the joint is even better)
will your table live in a marine environment? If no -- you don't need epoxy.
IMO too many spend too much time looking for the "strongest", when in most cases "strong enough" is all that is required.Last edited by ian; 27th July 2014 at 04:55 PM. Reason: spelling
regards from Alberta, Canada
ian
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28th July 2014, 05:47 PM #4Novice
- Join Date
- Jun 2012
- Location
- Southern River, Perth
- Posts
- 21
Hi Thanks for that..
Ive attached pics. I thought these were called slabs but is probably thick boards. They are only around 45mm thick. The joining edges are fairly square (done by a ts55 as I dont have a jointer). Not sure I have the skill or the tools required to do a spring joint.
I have decided to use titebond 3 for this.
Unfortunately I hit a few problems last night when I was gluing up.
On my first panel, I did all domino slots on the tight width setting. Then I poured some glue into it and when I tried inserting the dominos, I got this hydraulic lock effect thing.
The next problem was after I finally slammed all them dominos into the slots (after a lot of effort) the blimmin dominos in the middle were out by a millimeter or so and as they were all on the tight setting, there was no room for wiggles.
Decided to take a step back, make a new edge and start making wide dominos and this time not pouring glue into the domino slot.
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28th July 2014, 08:02 PM #5
for what it's worth
check that the dominos line up before applying any glue
insert all the dominos for one side of the joint in their slots without using glue
use a paint brush to spread glue on both sides of the joint sides of the joint -- don't be fussed if little if any glue goes into the domino hole
clamp up
I suggest you do one long joint at a timeregards from Alberta, Canada
ian
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28th July 2014, 09:06 PM #6
imo,
Guessing the species you have doesn't glue well. oily. so I'd particularly do my best to help the glue lines.
I'd, before beginning, leave them out in the sun for a bit. See if the joints remain gapless. Rejoint them after.
Then, to combat the oiliness, acetone the edges…and run, say 180grit, on a sanding block evenly in one pass along each edge to beat any planing glaze problems if there are any. glue will stick better to grit marks, especially if the timber is a dense oily gum species... then do your glue up immediately after. Apparently the oil taken by the acetone will come back if you don't glue up immediately. I don't know if this last point carrys any worth or not.
If your forcing the timber with your clamps to close gaps, then the timber will fight back somewhere down the track and pop the glue line eventually, in my opinion. So make sure the glue joints sit gapless with just a little hand pressure only that closes a centre gap (springing)
just issues I consider. Not necessarily the best way. I'm not a glue up expert. 2 cents worth. good luck.