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Hi,

Between woodworking magazines, boatbuilding magazines, and all the forums and books in between, I think I've encountered every bit of advice concerning uncooperative woods like oak and teak... Here's my experience gluing both together with one massive caveat -- these are difficult woods to glue -- use fasteners whenever possible -- and exceptional care... Alrighty then, here's my test project...

For years I've been messing with rope work, knots, etc... When the wife made the sail for Teal, I made her a ditty bag complete with fids, etc... Of course, that bag has been lost to the sands of time, so I finally made a new one. The fids were easy -- just scrap cherry... But as for the full marlinspike, I had to laminate and turn both white oak and teak to the tune of three layers totaling 2.25" by 16"... Observations follow...

* Only use epoxy properly applied... If possible, use an epoxy specifically designed for woods like oak and teak... I didn't have that option -- I used old U.S. Composites... And for heaven's sake, only use the filler recommended by the manufacturer... The last thing a challenging glue up needs are home-made fillers.

* First, make sure you're dealing with thoroughly dry wood -- no green stuff here... That out of the way, sand and and clean the mating surfaces thoroughly... Once surface prep is done, scuff the glue area with coarse sandpaper and clean again.

* Next, saturate all mating surfaces with unthickened epoxy. Apply multiple coats until the wood just can't absorb anymore... See below...



* That done, thicken the epoxy in the pot with the proper filler to the consistency of a stiff peanut butter, and slather that on... Don't be cheap... Now, do everything in your power to align all parts and clamp with moderate pressure. (Epoxy is so slippery that if you pretend to be Superman, you can squeeze all the goo out and create a weak, starved joint.. )



* Now, let it sit... IMHO, the manufacturer's recommended cure time is short by several days to a week or more... When possible, I like to give epoxy at least a hands-off week...

* Here's the oak/teak/oak blank prepped for the lathe... (Heavy!)



* And the final result... (Note those nice uniform glue lines...)



Looking back, the epoxy held like a champ... At times, the old Duracraft 12" lathe was reelin' and a rockin'... The RPMs varied from 575 RPM to 1,560 RPM... But the glue showed no signs of failure... Still, a full face mask is a wonderful thing.

So woods like white oak and teak can be glued, even together, but I'll only use epoxy... And hopefully, the next time I have to do this, I'll buy epoxy specifically formulated for these tyes of wood...

Hope this helps...

Alan

UPDATE:

The ditty bags come together...



Apx. from left to right and bottom to top...

* Ruler, magnifying glass...
* Sharpener and fiskars sharpener, hunter style knife under repair...
* Folded 12" ditty bag made from old blue jeans leg, bee's wax, locking knife, half hawk's bill locking knife, 3 small fids (cherry and ash), bowie/sheath, flashlight, marlinspike, etc...
* Over on the right is a walking stick/camera monopod with a classic Turk's Head knot for reinforcement...

Missing/absent are the palm, froe club, needles, twine, thread, hatchet, stones, etc... (I'll probably sell the bowie because that is mint, and really is a collector's item...)

And that's it...

Alan

Alan,
Good work on the marlin spike and ditty bag.

Regarding epoxy fillers, I've used the fillers from the manufacturers, but years ago, after reading some of Dave Carnells info, I've been using some of his recomended fillers, such as baby powder from the dollar store (making sure that it's just talk with a fragrance), powdered limestone and wood dust from my belt sander's dust bag. Dave was a chemical engineer and contributed quite a bit of info about epoxy to the boat building community. Google some of his info if you're not familiar with his opinions. It may make you think differently about epoxy and fillers, etc.?

Hi BoatManPaul,

Thanks for the kind word...

As for Mr. Carnell, I am familiar with some of his work (Son of FeatherWind)... (I had to use Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, but here is the link I was thinking of: http://web.archive.org/web/20040516032722/http://www.angelfire.com/nc3/davecarnell/sailboat.html)...

I have no doubt of Mr. Carnell's expertise... But, one of my cardinal rules when it comes to adjusting stuff like paints, stains, and adhesives is a product of one of Dynamite's stories about buying paint... The one in Instant Boats in which he talks about buying some paint, and then upon realizing that it needed thinning had to drive back to Rockland to get the unique "Number 111 drying retarder"... As has been shown (http://www.oneoceankayaks.com/Epoxresl.htm) epoxies differ, and that makes me nervous... You mention baby powder (talc with a fragrance)... What fragrance? How's that going to react with my particular epoxy?

Nope... Not me... I'll spend the $10 and get 4 qts of the manufacturer's brand of wood flour... I've seen stuff spin off a ShopSmith, and it comes at your head faster than an MLB fastball...

No doubt your suggestions would probably work, but I've been bitten too many times by 'probably'... (I got pinched last night using one of my bandsaws -- less than a razor burn, but still a freak accident... I'm convinced that for cautious, experienced hands, it's not the obvious that will get you, but rather the highly unlikely...)

Alan

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