Another Question

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brooks
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Dec 15, 2013 2:11 pm

Another Question

Post by brooks »

I have just dry fit my stems. What I am wondering is that most of you builders out there are I'm assuming,are using some kind of white glue on the stripping process. I am using titebond 3 and i am very happy with the result. While all the stripping is going to be encapsulated in the cloth and resin, why not use the titebond 3 for gluing up the stems and the gunwales. They too will be encapsulated. Titebond 3 has been tested and deemed water proof and its strength is phenomenal. I also bent my stems using T3. Can someone give me a reason not to use T3 to attach my stems to the stripping and inner stem.
KenC
Posts: 190
Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2004 10:42 pm
Location: Oakville, ON

Re: Another Question

Post by KenC »

I used ordinary (non-waterproof) carpenters glue to laminate the stems for my kayak, because the outer stem is well protected behind glass & epoxy, and the inner stem has a generous epoxy coating & isn't exposed to any rough treatment or abrasion.

But to attach the outer stem, I used thickened epoxy for its gap-filling capability. The fit was good, but not perfect, so carpenter's glue would have left some unfilled gaps for air bubbles to form under the glass.

I use Titebond 3 in making laminated kayak paddles. These are oiled & varnished, but no epoxy or glass. So far so good, none have disintegrated in the middle of a 10 km crossing yet.
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Patricks Dad
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Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:11 pm
Location: Warrenville, Illinois

Re: Another Question

Post by Patricks Dad »

I'm not familiar with T3 but the questions you should consider are:

Assuming you will have some small gaps between the outer stem and inner stem/strips, the gap will need to be filled (as Ken notes). Will T3 fill the gaps? And will epoxy stick to it when you glass the hull?
Randy Pfeifer
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Cruiser
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Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 10:21 am
Location: Bowmanville, Ontario

Re: Another Question

Post by Cruiser »

I read some posts on using Gorilla Glue and subsequently decided to look into using something else other than epoxy for some of the canoe build. I came to the conclusion that wood glue is fine for anything that won't have ANY gaps.
None of the wood glues (even gorilla) are recommended when gaps are present. That doesn't mean they won't glue, just that they won't be as strong as they should be.
I just built a solo seat with steam bent strips laminated together with wood glue, but to actually join the pieces together to form the seat, was a strictly epoxy choice ... parallel strips off of a saw is fine for wood glue, fitted pieces are off limits for me.

Just my $.02


Brian
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