[TheForge] Stuh-hooopid question time...

[Ron Childers]

Cyanoacrylate should penetrate better as the surface tension of the water
based glue might keep it from penetrating into very fine cracks without a
surfactant, even under a vacuum. Be sure to degrease the wood. 
Ron C 

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Bruce Freeman
Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2008 6:33 AM
To: Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Stuh-hooopid question time...

Andy,
By cyanoacrylate, do you mean commercial crazy glue?  That stuff is
usually watery already, unless you get a gel-thickened one.

My experience in repairing cracked wood is limited to carpentry type
repairs, nothing this fine.  However, I've had excellent luck with
ordinary white glue or Elmer's carpenter's glue.  Takes overnight to
set, but never lets go after that.

The way I've approached this sort of problem when fixing things like
chair legs or broken shelves and the like is to expand the crack
enough to get the glue into it.  For such jobs, it may be necessary to
break the wood further, counting on the fact that the repaired wood
will be stronger than the original.

White glue can be thinned with water, and since the wood absorbs the
excess water this is not necessarily a bad thing to do.  You can
inject thin glue into a crack with a hypodermic syringe and fine gauge
needle.  If you were still in Newark or Philly you could just pick
these up off the street, but in WV you may have to know someone.  :^)
This same idea might work with other glues, but I wouldn't know.  Some
glues will screw up a plastic syringe.

Another trick used for finishes, that may work for glues, is to pull a
vacuum on the wood.  When  you release the vacuum, the finish
penetrates deeply into the wood pores.  Don't know whether it would
pull glue far enough into a split.

Bruce





 
 
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