Clamp with epoxy?

[Mark R Webster]

For those of you who use epoxy to repair rosewood plane totes, do you feel you need to apply clamping pressure the the joint?
Thanks
Mark

[Jim Koepke]

Clamping yes, pressure no.

You do not want to squeeze the epoxy out of the joint. It is good to coat both sides of the item being glued. For rosewood you may want to wipe the surface with some acetone as a degreaser before applying the epoxy.

Often times my totes are smoothed at the break and a small piece of rosewood is used to fill any loss. It also makes it possible to make a tote a touch larger if desired.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

Here is a good source of information for tote repair:

http://www.rexmill.com/planes101/handle_repair/handle.htm

jtk

[Mark R Webster]

Yes I have seen the rexmill site. Thanks. All surfaces are smooth and I am adding an insert.
Mark

[Mike Henderson]

I've glued with epoxy and clamped. If I recall, it's awkward to get a clamp on that pulls the joint together well. It's been quite a while since I repaired a tote so I don't remember exactly how I did it.

Mike

[Mark R Webster]

Thanks Mike!

[James W Glenn]

I've played with Epoxy Rosewood and Lignum Vite. It seemed that when I wiped a surface with acetone I could watch new oil get drawn to the surface. One of the new epoxies " G-Flex " is advertised for oily wood and plastics. I'm not sure what is different about the chemistry but the prep for plastic gluing involved running a propane flame quickly over the piece to flash off any oil on the surface. Makes sense to me and aslong as you keep the flaming quick it's well into the can't hurt part of alchemy.

[Patrick Chase]

I've played with Epoxy Rosewood and Lignum Vite. It seemed that when I wiped a surface with acetone I could watch new oil get drawn to the surface. One of the new epoxies " G-Flex " is advertised for oily wood and plastics. I'm not sure what is different about the chemistry but the prep for plastic gluing involved running a propane flame quickly over the piece to flash off any oil on the surface. Makes sense to me and aslong as you keep the flaming quick it's well into the can't hurt part of alchemy.

G-Flex is a slow-cure epoxy that trades toughness for hardness (and speed of cure). I don't know why it's recommended for oily woods.

As you say West recommends flame-treating plastics (http://www.westsystem.com/ss/g-flex-epoxy-adhesion-data/) before gluing. I've done a fair amount of ski repair and dabbled with construction, so I have experience with this due to the need to attach UHMW polyethylene bases. It isn't done to flash off oils, but rather to chemically activate the surface and thereby create bonding sites for the adhesive. See for example http://www.polymer50.com/feature-articles/pdf/doi.10.1016.j.polymer.2010.05.036.pdf, esp section 6.

I don't think that would do anything for wood. It might actually hurt by charring the fibers left after sanding (which is West's recommended surface preparation for wood).

[Mark R Webster]

Good info thanks guys!!

[Bill Houghton]

If I recall, it's awkward to get a clamp on that pulls the joint together well.
I've repaired a few totes, and have found that those plastic trigger-type bar clamps, like these,
345994
are the answer for me. The plastic jaw covers have good friction grip on the surfaces, and the jaws will flex just enough to send the force through the length of the tote. If you don't have any of these yet, look for the clamps with the softer plastic (some styles have a rather hard plastic that would slip more).

I've used regular yaller carpenter's glue with great success.

[Prashun Patel]

I've only done it once, but I used painters tape to hold it together. I had to sand off the stuck tape, though :(

[Mark R Webster]

Thanks Prashun!

[Mark R Webster]

Thanks Bill for the clamp idea!!
Mark

[Jim Koepke]

Just another 346014 worth of thinking:

If you have saw dust from the handle or other rosewood it can be mixed with clear epoxy for color to match.

Also if you use regular old Scotch tape or similar it will come off the epoxy easier and leave a smooth surface.

jtk

[Frederick Skelly]

I've repaired a few totes, and have found that those plastic trigger-type bar clamps, like these,
345994
are the answer for me. The plastic jaw covers have good friction grip on the surfaces, and the jaws will flex just enough to send the force through the length of the tote.

I've used regular yaller carpenter's glue with great success.

+1. Me too.
Fred

[Stewie Simpson]

I hate to be the odd one out, but I recently made my old plastic trigger clamps redundant by purchasing some Bessey Revo's. The direction of clamping pressure is by far superior.

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/_DSC0238_zpstqw4n53o.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/_DSC0238_zpstqw4n53o.jpg.html)

[Mark R Webster]

Looks like some serious clamping going on!