It’s a Pox on your Epoxy ! You need a good Gypsy to fix it ! I’m bringing back POX ‘cuz it’s scientific and contains no vile language.
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It’s a Pox on your Epoxy ! You need a good Gypsy to fix it ! I’m bringing back POX ‘cuz it’s scientific and contains no vile language.
[OP]
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I'm going with John TenEyck and John Lanciani - rip and reglue.
I'm wary now of using epoxy again - might Titebond III work on this tropical wood?
To John Kananis - it was clamped up very tight, and the mating edges were perhaps too smooth for epoxy (thanks Larry, sandpapering the edge might help). I bought the glue in a place that does a roaring trade so I'm confident the batch was fairly recent. And I made sure to mix it thoroughly.
Mel, I looked on ebay and craigslist but there's no Pox for sale right now. Maybe more available closer to Halloween?
Thanks for the good advice everyone. Mark
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Never had a problem with Epoxy. On porous wood I do nothing to the edge, otherwise a little 120gr scuff is enough. I've even glued up thermally modified wood without issue. And excessive pressure on the clamps = bad. Epoxy doesn't need a lot of pressure. One thing to realize is that epoxy takes 3-5 days to fully cure depending on hardener, but IMHO, clearly the wood shrunk. I personally would never let something sit in the sun until at least a week after, but that's just me and how I've always done outdoor furniture. Good idea to let it sit in the sun beforehand and do final milling/gluing after since wood will do what wood will do in any kind of direct sun.
Before I ripped again, I'd try to repair using a mixture of light and dark sawdust. The top is beautiful and with enough grain patterning I think you can hide it...or at least give it a try.
Last edited by Michael Burnside; 04-24-2024 at 11:49 AM.
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Titebond 3 Will probably work , if you remove the oil in the pieces.
And here’s a tip , never use mayonnaise as glue. Yes , it will stick two pieces of bread together….but NOT wood.
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MarkOriginally Posted by Mark Gibney
I don't know what type of epoxy you used, but there are many different formulations for different purposes. I prefer the West Systems product line. It's what I know from repairing boats. I've also used the System Three products, but they're not as easy for me to buy as the West products.
From your writeup and response, it seems that the joint may have been over prepared, and the clamping pressure enough to starve the joint. With epoxy only apply enough pressure to bring the material pieces in contact with each other.
Don't be afraid to use epoxy, thousands of gallons of epoxy are poured every year in the marine boat industry, and it works. These are tropical woods exposed to harsh environments. However, for a piece that is destined to remain inside the house, Titebond III would work just fine.
To fix it, yeah, you have to redo the joint. You'll kick yourself in the behind for not redoing it completely.
"The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)
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I would use Tibebond 1 or 2 unless this table is planned for outdoors.
Bumbling forward into the unknown.
[OP]
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Yes indeed, and now I'm regretting now using Titebond for this tabletop. I've made tops with salvaged ipe with Titebond I and they held perfectly.
I had figured epoxy was more fool and fail proof!
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Epoxy generally is easier, but like anything, there are application rules and guidelines that if you don't follow, results will be less predictable.
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and .. epoxy is an adhesive , not a glue, don’t use pressure , or you will have ‘a POX’ on your project.
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