Gluing Brass To Wood.

[Dale Osowski]

Yet another failure of bonding brass to Ebony. This is the third and final strike. The first attempt was with using Gorilla Glue clear to bond .005" brass to Ebony. The second attempt was using System Three 15 minute epoxy and .010" brass and curing for 6 hours. The third and final attempt was the same System Three 15 minute on .016" brass and 24 hours of cure time, same failure.

All attempts were made sanding both the Ebony & the brass to 150 grit and cleaning all surfaces with acetone or denatured alcohol. There is no problem with either the Gorilla Glue or System Three bonding to the Ebony but with only light to moderate pressure the brass pulls off easily. I won't attempt a fourth time but curious as to what others have used for a successful bond.

476999

[Andrew Hughes]

I also have found ebony difficult to glue.
I’ve tried to glue ebony to ebony and eventually see a glue line.
All the pva glues creeped epoxy was the best but very brittle.
I have not tried old brown glue or hide.
Good Luck

[Dennis Jarchow]

Have you tried superglue? Yesterday I accidently glued a cutoff from some baseboard to my mitersaw talble with a drop of Fastcap thick CA glue and didn't notice it until today. When I pulled off the wood off, the wood gave way, not the superglue stuck to the aluminum.

[Kurt Wyberanec]

I tend to agree, ca glue may work...I know in the guitar industry we use it to glue all sorts of inlay materials including metals to ebony and it works well...I don't know about hide glue... probably good wood to wood but I don't know about metal. Can't hurt to try

[Joe Wood]

I think a polyurethane glue, like the original gorilla glue, would stick to anything?

[Jim Becker]

DId you score/crosshatch the brass with an awl or something prior to gluing? Just sanding may not give the resin enough to hang onto. Ben Crowe from Crimson Guitars in the UK often incorporates metal into builds using epoxy resin adhesives and always scores the metal as I described. For this project, you may need to "pin" the components together laterally with some long rivets, but that can be a nice decorative effect if you stick with brass for that, too.

[Rob Luter]

Cyanoacrylate (Super Glue). Use the gel variety as opposed to the thin watery stuff. Make sure you place the brass where you want it because it will be there for keeps.

[Edward Weber]

I would ask the OP what is the application?
I have glued brass and aluminum to ebony on small projects like segmented turnings and pens using CA and have had good results.
I ask about the application, because in my usage, the glue joint in question is supported by surrounding materials and there is little to no stress on the wood to metal joint.
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[Dale Osowski]

CA glue wouldn't give me enough time, I had thought about it. These brass pieces were to be between the main body and the wood sides of a Krenov style plane as a decorative feature. I had the brass on hand so I figured it was worth doing on about 6 planes or so. Now that I'm out of brass I'll go without.

[Jim Becker]

ANother thought...what about perforating the brass in a number of places that will be hidden between the layers. That way, you get a resin to resin bond between the wood on both sides of it.

[andy bessette]

...All attempts were made sanding both the Ebony & the brass to 150 grit...

Way way way too fine a grit.

And I like Jim's suggestion to drill some holes. Also like the polyurethane glue suggestion.

[Larry Edgerton]

West System has a flexible epoxy. Call their tech line.

[Edward Weber]

On a plane, I would definitely go with an epoxy and include some sort of mechanical connection. Adhesive alone may not be strong enough to put up with the type of use a plane is subjected to.

[John TenEyck]

I think there are CA glues that have a couple of minutes of open time. I've used regular CA glue to glue brass to wood several times. It has always stayed stuck.

John

[Jim Barstow]

I’ve glued brass to cocobolo. I roughed up the brass with 120 grit sandpaper and used epoxy. It’s lasted for years.
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[roger wiegand]

Perhaps not relevant, but maybe interesting. In my piano and organ restoration work there is often a need to glue brass or lead tubing to wood. The traditional solution, which to my knowledge has not been improved on, is burnt shellac. To make it you pour old shellac into a pan (outside!) and set it on fire and let it burn down until it becomes a thick, almost paste-like syrup. It can then be stored indefinitely in a tightly sealed container. It takes a couple days to harden in a joint, but becomes rock hard and sticks tenaciously to both wood and metal

[Frank Pratt]

Perhaps not relevant, but maybe interesting. In my piano and organ restoration work there is often a need to glue brass or lead tubing to wood. The traditional solution, which to my knowledge has not been improved on, is burnt shellac. To make it you pour old shellac into a pan (outside!) and set it on fire and let it burn down until it becomes a thick, almost paste-like syrup. It can then be stored indefinitely in a tightly sealed container. It takes a couple days to harden in a joint, but becomes rock hard and sticks tenaciously to both wood and metal

Interesting. No school like old school.

[Dale Osowski]

Thanks for the replies everyone!