your favorite epoxy!

[andy Needles]

Hello all,

I use alot of expoy in my wierd corner of the WWW (woodworking world). I use wide slabs of claro wanut and other local woods for platters and console tables for a local gallery.

I was wondering what other people use in terms of epoxy- and why they favor them??

Thanks for your repsonse!!

Andy

[Mike Cutler]

Andy

I've been using the System 3 Epoxy for the past few years. I like them. Easy to mix,and adjust the pot life and working time.
I use the T-88 for small batches. It seems to be a little more forgiving on the mix ratio, 50/50.

Bob Smalser had a thread topic, or an article, a year of so back concerning the repairability of glued joints after they failed, and they all will, it was a very informative thread. if you get a chance check it out. I haven't used PVA since then. I pretty much use epoxy only now.

[Syd Lorandeau]

Hi Andy,
I use the West System, love it as you just let the hardner and epoxy sit on the shelf and when you need some you just walk over and one pump of the hardner and one epoxy, stir and you are ready to go, bigger job, two or three pumps. Love it, no opening, measuring, just pump and go.
Syd

[Vic Damone]

+1 with Mike and Syd

I still use PVA's but the West Marine System epoxy is excellent for a wide variety of uses. It's packaged in individual foil packets, pumps, quarts, and gallons.

Vic

[dale rex]

I use alot of System Three 5 minute epoxy. Its great for small repairs and glue-ups that require a fast dry, or for exterior glue joints. I sometimes use T-88 for a slower setting glue.........never tried the standard System Three components, although I really want to get the setup with the pumps. Whats the shelf life of the System Three resins and hardeners? I would hate to buy a large quantity and have it go bad from not using it fast enough.

[Tom Henderson2]

Ditto the WEST system products. Crazy strong & easy to use.

-Tom H.

[Doug Shepard]

...I use the West System, love it as you just let the hardner and epoxy sit on the shelf and when you need some you just walk over and one pump of the hardner and one epoxy, stir and you are ready to go, bigger job, two or three pumps. Love it, no opening, measuring, just pump and go.
Syd

Gotta agree with that. Up til about 6 months ago, my epoxy experience was with the el cheapo 5 minute stuff that never seems to work all that well. Took the plunge with some West epoxy and I'll never go back to that 5-min stuff. I've had great results with both the fast and slow hardeners. The only one that's got me a bit puzzled is the thinner hardener for use as a finish. It seems to take a fair bit longer to harden and cure than I think it's supposed to, but otherwise no complaints.

[dale rex]

I get my 5 minute epoxy from Woodcraft.......in 8 ounce bottles. Its far superior (IMHO) to the cheap Borg stuff in the little injector mixers.

[Wayne Cannon]

I use System Three's "Silver Tip GelMagic" epoxy. It's specifically formulated as an adhesive for wood, e.g., for the expansion and contraction of wood and its porosity, while general-purpose epoxy tends to be more brittle and less tolerant of movement unless modified with fillers. The GelMagic formulation is also non-sagging and won't run, even if upside down.

I've never had a known failure using general-purpose epoxies, but since most are made for other purposes (e.g., coatings) unless modified, I've started using the GelMagic product exclusively since reading about it.

System Three's T-88 is also formulated specifically for use as an adhesive (e.g., tough and non-brittle), but isn't as convenient for woodworking as the GelMagic (e.g., sagging and running).

http://www.systemthree.com/p_st_gelmagic.asp
http://www.systemthree.com/members/tds/Silvertip_GelMagic_TDS.pdf

[Wayne Cannon]

Where do you get the foil packets? I used to use them at work and haven't found them since. They are the most convenient packaging form for epoxy that I've ever used.

For those who haven't used them, resin and hardener are packaged like side-by-side ketchup packets. You just tear off the ends, squeeze all the contents out with a popsicle stick like a squeegee, and mix. It's much more convenient (and a better/smaller size) than the double-plunger scheme.