Glue to attach pine to metal?

[Mark Gibney]

My metalworker buddy took on a job to make and install a 7' x 12' sliding gate. The problem is he agreed to sheath both sides in wood. He knows nothing about working with wood, but he's also intent on doing the woodwork part himself.

He has decided on using pine boards, and he wants to glue the boards onto doug fir battens that will run vertically and will be captured within the metal frame of the gate. The glue will also need to work to adhere the pine to the metal frame.

What kind of glue should he use?

This is in Los Angeles, so the gate will be baked by the sun, but it will get some rain too.
I advised him against using pine, but he's set on it.

All advice welcome. Thanks.

[Steve Fish]

Sounds like trouble if there’s any warranty involved. Nonetheless, if he’s bent on the look of pine he may want to strongly consider yellow cedar decking. Not sure where the glue comes in but if it’s for the edges I would weld some “c” channel to the right, left, and bottom to capture the wood. You will want some spacers and weep holes along the bottom. Counter sink SS self tapping screws along the top A boarder trim could then be applied to hide all that. No glue and replacing the wood is not such a nightmare in the future. Good luck with the project, curious on how it turns out

[Matthew Curtis]

How about attaching to metal frame with some carriage bolts instead of glue.

[David Buchhauser]

++ for both of these suggestions. Mechanical fasteners will most likely be far superior to gluing the boards.
David

[Mike Cutler]

It's not going to stay glued for long, and pine is a terrible choice for outside, unless it is completely sealed and painted. My house is rough cut, pine/spruce, barn board and batten. I have a pretty good insight into how it weathers.;)
Have him look at horse stall sliding doors for construction ideas. If it can survive a horse, it will survive a human.

[Edward Dyas]

My metalworker buddy took on a job to make and install a 7' x 12' sliding gate. The problem is he agreed to sheath both sides in wood. He knows nothing about working with wood, but he's also intent on doing the woodwork part himself.

He has decided on using pine boards, and he wants to glue the boards onto doug fir battens that will run vertically and will be captured within the metal frame of the gate. The glue will also need to work to adhere the pine to the metal frame.

What kind of glue should he use?

This is in Los Angeles, so the gate will be baked by the sun, but it will get some rain too.
I advised him against using pine, but he's set on it.

All advice welcome. Thanks.Epoxy would probably be the best bet however with wood movement I don't think you can expect very much permanency. I would recommend some kind of fasteners along with the epoxy.

Pine could be about as good as any wood but the type of pine, one could be better than another. It's the sap content you would need to worry about. Southern yellow pine has a higher concentration of sap where most white pine has a lot less. Still you can pick up a white pine board bleeding with sap so a person needs to be selective.

[Art Mann]

My thinking is you should avoid giving advice to someone who doesn't know what he is doing and has already made up his mind to use a poor methodology. My view is that any kind of glue is going to be an utter failure after a while. You don't want to be blamed for that.

[Mark Gibney]

Thanks for the advice guys. I would screw whatever wood onto the frame, but the maker and his client don't want to see screw heads.
I don't see this ending pretty.

[Jim Becker]

Flexible construction adhesive...if he must use "glue", but it's going to fall apart at some point in the recent future due to exposure and weather. Mechanical fasteners are pretty much the only way to reduce that from happening and also allow for reasonable effort at replacing the wood when it goes back to its maker.

[Andrew Hughes]

I agree with everyone. Relying on glue and will power will not work.
Stainless steel fasteners can be quite attractive.

[Günter VögelBerg]

Could you use a hanger bolt screwed into the blind side of the wood?

My welding instructor once told me I would never be good at working with metal until I broke habits I brought in from the wood shop. That goes both ways.

[justin sherriff]

How about a sliding dovetail.
grove in the wood and make the tail out of metal. Have a loose fit so you could slide all the wood down the line.

[Dan Jansen]

How about a sliding dovetail.
grove in the wood and make the tail out of metal. Have a loose fit so you could slide all the wood down the line.

I think this is great out of the box thinking and gave me a few ideas of my own. A “T” Groove or “T” channel might be an option. Maybe a dado at the top and bottom and insert a piece of strapping. Drill holes and screw from the inside. Weld/bolt this strapping to the metal frame. Repeat on the other side. There’s got to be a few ways to skin this cat. I don’t think it’s going to be as simple as gluing wood to metal though.

[Thomas McCurnin]

Dan beat me to it, but I was thinking a steel "C" Channel for the perimeter of the sliding gate. Then mill up the wood to fit within that "Channel." The problems are many although because pine is terrible and will rot with sun, heat and moisture. I would pick cedar or redwood, and stain the heck out of it.

Also taking a cue from Dan, if the wood was thick enough, say 1.5 inches, bolt the wood onto the frame and plug the holes.

I would not glue any wood to this wooden frame.

[Davis Young]

He needs to run a frame the same thickness as the battens along the perimeter of the metal. Screw the frame into the metal. Then pocket hole the battens to the frame and attach the show boards to the frame/batten with stainless steel 15 or 16 ga finish nails if he doesn’t want screw heads showing.

[Mark Gibney]

Well he has seen the light and will be using screws. Thanks all.

[justin sherriff]

What about using a hidden deck fasteners that way you do not see the screws.

[Tom Bender]

A save for the creek!

[Derek Arita]

$.02...Use screws into the metal frame, from the wood side. Recess the heads in the wood, then plug the recessed holes. Easy and you'll never see the screws. Oh...some exterior construction adhesive would hurt as well.