Goncalo Alves

[stuartpaul]

I'm looking to glue together a box made of goncalo but I'm having trouble getting it to stick properly (I thought i might so I've been carrying out trials!). I suspect this is because of the oil in the wood.

I've heard that a quick wipe over with nail varnish remover (acetone) will remove the oil and allow gluing. Anyone know if this is true? If so is there any special glue to use or will good old PVA or cascamite do the trick?

many thanks

Stuart

 

[sawdustalley]

Yeah, I think that will probably do the trick as I have seen people use acetone before and the like.

Don't quote me on that however

 

[Guest]

I believe most solvents will do the trick,white spirit,cellulose thinners etc

 

[Aragorn]

Yep - acetone should do the trick. Can use normal wood glue after that or polyurethane glue.

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Stuart

Just make sure that there is plenty of ventilation or do it outside.

Cheers
Neil

 

[stuartpaul]

Tried all of the above and nothing has worked. Wonder if it's because I have to use nail varnish remover as acetone and the addatives cause it to fail?

Would a change from PVA to cascamite make any difference?

Starting to get desperate owning to the number of hours spent on the project already.

All ideas considered (6 inch nails a non-starter!!)

Thanks

Stuart

 

[sawdustalley]

Yeah, someone said use a poly glue, like this:
http://www.axminster.co.uk/default.asp?part=LS7803

(which I would reccomend)

 

[Alf]

Stuart,

According to http://www.exotichardwoods-southamerica.com/goncaloalves.htm:

Gluing
Wood surface should be pre-treated by wiping with a solvent to clear natural extractives, and it is advisable to use glues with a longer open time, such as woodworker's white glue. The recommended gluing procedure is the application of a light coat, brief joining of the pieces, separating the pieces and allowing the glue to partially set, and then rejoining the pieces.

A search on Google for gluing "Goncalo Alves" threw up quite a bit, and all bad news with regard to its gluing properties

Personally I think SDA is on the money; I'm sure Steve Knight uses it on all his planes, and he has to glue up some really oily stuff.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Aragorn]

Tried all of the above and nothing has worked

Have you tried a polyurethane glue yet? Gorilla glue is everywhere these days.
I'd be surprised if it didn't work.
If you haven't used poly glue before, wear latex gloves. Seriously!

 

[Chris Knight]

FWW issue 166 of December 2003 carries a good article on gluing, covering oily woods. In this article the author (Chris Minick) gives joint strength measures for test he has done. Best results are achieved when gluing a freshly sanded surface - wiping with a solvent does nothing.

Maximum strength is achieved with epoxy glue (joint was three times as striong as with yellow glue)