best strong glue??

L

lenten

Well-Known Member
Joined
20 Feb 2010
Messages
819
Visit site
my iroka gunnel capping (2x1/2 inch) has a large gaping split---i want to glue and clamp it back in place----need a sturdy repair as damage was caused by outboard clamps when fitting outboard and it might get bashed again in future------best glue???---thanks
 
VicS said:
A polyurethane wood glue.
Click to expand...

++1 particularly on Iroko. The glued joint ends up stronger than the timber provided it is not used for gap filling. The glued faces must be a good fit before gluing, and clamped properly while setting If you need the glue to fill voids in the repair use an epoxy, particularly if the repair is not load bearing. Mix matching sawdust into the epoxy to get a better cosmetic finish, but not on load bearing joints!
 
lenten said:
thanks vics----is that a 1 or 2 pack----any special make?
Click to expand...

Single pack........ cures by reaction with moisture. Foams therefore needs good clamping

Well known one is Gorilla glue ....... (but not Gorilla Wood Glue as that is just PVA) ....... available from Screwfix and all DIY stores etc and in small ( 60 and 115ml) bottles, and other larger sizes

Cartridges from all the well known adhesive and sealant manufacturers also available. Nick Gates, I am told, uses one .... but I forget which one :(
 
JumbleDuck said:
I'd recommend a urea-formaldehyde powdered resin glue, like Cascamite.
Click to expand...

Sorry but Cascamite the one I have had least success with.
Done better with Aerolite 306 although just another urea- formaldehyde but with a separate hardener ( formic acid)
 
Last edited:
VicS said:
Single pack........ cures by reaction with moisture. Foams therefore needs good clamping
Click to expand...

As Vic will know well, lenten, it is in effect a two-pack, the second "pack" being moisture in the air and in the wood. In particularly dry atmospheric conditions (rare in the UK, I'll grant you ;)) the wood is often slightly dampened to promote the reaction. As said, it foams and thus gap-fills, but any gaps bridged are not especially strong: for the strongest bond, the faces should meet evenly over their full length and be well-clamped.
 
Aldi has little bottles of Gorilla Polyurethane recently at half the price of Screwfix. There's quite a lot left in stock in our store.

The little bottles are quite handy as partially opened bottles don't have a very long storage life and at this price it's about the same price per mls as the bigger bottles.
 
For Iroko I have always used resorcinol glue, a purple syrup with a powder hardener. It is similar to what is used in marine ply. It is totally waterproof and dinghy rudders that I built over 20 years ago using no other fasteners (except for the pintles) are still in use with no problems, even with the hot sunny weather of Mediterranean summers. It is also excellent for laminating such things as beams, rubbing strakes, tillers, etc.
The brand that I used to use was Cascophen but, since this is no longer available in Malta I have turned to a similar product from Germany; just as good but a bit more expensive.
Last year I used it to rebuild the companionway hatch glueing teak strips onto a plywood support. The only time that this hatch is protected from the sun and the water is when it is in its garage.
 
The faces of the split will be dirty and I don't see a glue/clamp solution as likely to be effective/long lasting. I would use a router and insert a spline of say 6mm width. Nice clean faces for a strong glue line and the 'gap fill' issue resolved. OP says its likely to be bashed again. Splining gives a better chance of a sturdy repair.
 
PuffTheMagicDragon said:
For Iroko I have always used resorcinol glue, a purple syrup with a powder hardener. It is similar to what is used in marine ply. It is totally waterproof and dinghy rudders that I built over 20 years ago using no other fasteners (except for the pintles) are still in use with no problems, even with the hot sunny weather of Mediterranean summers. It is also excellent for laminating such things as beams, rubbing strakes, tillers, etc.
The brand that I used to use was Cascophen but, since this is no longer available in Malta I have turned to a similar product from Germany; just as good but a bit more expensive.
Last year I used it to rebuild the companionway hatch glueing teak strips onto a plywood support. The only time that this hatch is protected from the sun and the water is when it is in its garage.
Click to expand...

I well remember having some of this in my youth, left over by boat builders fitting out my old mans Island Plastics IP26 with Iroko gunnels. It had a pungent smell and none of the joints ever failed. I don't think you can now buy it in the UK.
 
ianj99 said:
I well remember having some of this in my youth, left over by boat builders fitting out my old mans Island Plastics IP26 with Iroko gunnels. It had a pungent smell and none of the joints ever failed. I don't think you can now buy it in the UK.
Click to expand...

I don't know about the UK but it has not been available in Malta for a couple of decades. An excellent adhesive. Fortunately, my daughter and her German husband, both Crystallographers/ Structural Chemists, found me a similar product from Germany.
 
I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned West System epoxy Unless I'm missing something here?

I made up a set of strakes for my old 23' Puma. I scarfed them 12" and acetoned the surfaces a couple of times and used West epoxy. Eight years later, the joints have held without having steamed the Iroko. I just pulled them around.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top