Recorcinol glue

[John Bush]

I am building playground structures that will have constant Pacific NW weather exposure and, as suggested here many times, recorcinol is the best for wet, then dry, then wet and cold, then wet, then dry, then wetter...........conditions. Of biggest concern is a coopered pipe 33" in dia. and 13-15 ft. long. It will be used as a slide tube 30 to 40 deg. off horizontal so water shouldn't puddle. Stave bevel angles will be 12 deg. and I may use biscuits to maintain alignment during assembly. I will use 14 regular framing hem/fir 2x8s---cedar was 6X the cost------and assembly time could be a problem. I haven't used it before and am concerned I could get mid-way into assembly and loose the ability to fit all the staves accurately before I lose workablity of the glue. Others here have mentioned Tightbond III as an option but I don't want to take chances of failure for many years, or at all. Any experience with this application out there??? Suggestions????

I also plan on using standard deck sealer to protect the fir. Annual applications should protect the wood, I think. Any suggestions? This is for our small community playground and as you can imagine there is limited funding available. Should we step up and use cedar??

Thanks. John.

[M Toupin]

I'd skip the glue and use mechanical fasteners. If you rely on glue to hold this together you're just asking for problems. Think deck here, would you glue a deck together?

Mike

[Gordon Harner]

I know that this response will be considered as sacreligious by some (many) but I don't think that any wood, in particular doug fir, should be used in this application. I can't think of any way that you can eliminate splinters unless, you coat the interior with fiberglas, as in boats. Even then I would still be concerned with splinters. I have helped on some playground equipment builds and in those cases the slides, whether tubes or flat, were always polyethylene to prevent splinters. Be aware that wooden playgrounds need regular maintenance to prevent splinters on railings etc. This is just based on my experience. Good Luck.

[John Bush]

I thought about that too. I was considering pocket screws but this is soft wood and there would be lots of screw holes to seal. From an engineering perspective, I would think being a tube would add lots of strenght and help resist flexion. I will band it every 16-18 inches as well so that will help keep it all together. Good point relative to wood expansion shrinkage. Keep those suggestions coming!!!

What kind of fasters were you thinking of?

[Mark Koury]

Resorcinol is a superior outdoor glue. It’s my default glue for White Oak outdoors. But, read the instructions carefully. The ambient temp when you mix and apply the glue really matters. It doesn’t like it below 70 degrees and letting it sit longer will not overcome this problem. Also as you’re probably aware it leaves dark glue lines.

Mark

[John Bush]

Thanks ,
Gordon, I was concerned about butt splinters as well and I have an HVAC "tin man" in the wings to make a liner. SS would be costly and a good galvanized material would last a long time. I had considered lining the bottom 2/3rds and sanding the upper exposed non contact surface. I thought about laying in some fiberglass but thought it may lose it's bond over time due to moisture exposure thru the uncoated outside surface of the tube. The town name is Woodway so the residents think the extra work will be worth it.

Mark, what range of working time do you have and can you modifiy it with ratio changes or additives?

[Mark Koury]

According to DAP, which makes it, resorcinol has an open-time of 30 Min at 70 degrees and 10 Min at 100 degrees. They say don’t use below 70 degrees. The other thing that I forgot to mention - you are not supposed to use this on wet wood. So, treated wood from the Borg is probably out (I have done it and it worked OK in a non critical situation). I do know gluing white oak for outdoor use is a crap-shoot at best. I’ve had good luck with resorcinol.

I don’t know of anything you can add to it to modify characteristics. Maybe there is something but I’ve never used it. It’s obviously sensitive somewhat to moisture. DAP notes wood should be between 8-12% moisture content. Perhaps you could dampen overly dry wood :confused: similar to Gorilla Glue.

Mark

[Erik Frederiksen]

Epoxy is used extensively in boatbuilding, laminated beams for example. It stands up to maritime environments and does not need fasteners for added strength. If you test joints that have been properly glued the failure is never at the glue joint. Make sure to use a good quality epoxy like the WEST system, and use a slow hardener to give you time to put it all together.

[Dewey Torres]

According to David Marks there is no better outdoor glue!!!

Take it for what you will.

[Bill White]

about 15 yrs ago on a porch project. Worked like a champ. AFAIK the job is still holding together. Other than the purple color it was easy to use.
Bill

[Larry Edgerton]

I built a two story round victorian gazebo and used resorcinol glue for all of the bent laminations for headers/facia/railings and after 20 years it is still standing proud on the side of the lake, in very bad conditions here in Northern Michigan. There is a reason that it was used on boats.

Cheaper on large surfaces than epoxy, but I still prefer West Systen for most applications. In this case it was thousands cheaper, so I used resourcinol. Cleanup with water is a plus as well.

I too would not consider a slide with a wood surface, especially Douglas Fir, quite possibly the source of the worlds longest splinters! Keep in mind too that pressure treated splinters can be a problem. I would check with your insurance company before proceding and see if you have coverage for such a project.

In this nanny age, if a little angel gets a splinter it is most certianly someones fault, and compensation is due!

I recently backed out of a grattis Christmas sleigh project because my insurance company would not cover it, and I carry a 2 mill liability policy.

If they want wood consider lining the slide with plastic, here is an awesome source.

Norva Plastics, www.norvaplastics.com (http://www.norvaplastics.com), Ph. 757 622 9281

[lowell holmes]

I used resorcinal glue 20 years ago. It is an excellent outdoor glue. It does require higher clamping pressure than modern adhesives and it does not bridge at all. Once the joint is suceesfully made, it should last a very long time. I used it on boats in a salt water environment.