Gluing to a finished deck.

[Brewerpaul]

What's the best glue to fix things onto a deck which already has a finish applied? I ask because when I started rigging my Constitution cross section, the fife rail,which I thought I had securely attached to the polyurethane finished deck pulled off! Luckily I was able to fix it pretty easily and so far it's holding, with only a couple of lines yet to secure there.

Is there a better deck finish for gluing? Wood to wood gluing would be the strongest,but that would be a real chore and any glue which got on the deck would screw up the finish.

For most deck items strength isn't a big problem since they just sit there, but anything attached to rigging worries me. Thanks.

[Jaager]

The unit is strength is only be as strong as your weakest bond. 

So even if you use a bonding agent that works on a nonporous surface (epoxy, CA) it will come down to how strong the bond is between your clear finish and the wood.

The deck can be masked using no residue tape, if you decide to remove the finish under the posts. 

[Chuck Seiler]

2 hours ago, SpyGlass said:

If possible I often use a thin pin inserted in the deck fitting(Drill thin hole and cut off head of pin ) to strengthen a joint.

An alternative to a metal pin is a bamboo treenail.  Using pieces of a good bamboo BBQ skewer, a Dremel and fine sand paper I can get a trunnel down to .5MM.  That and an 80 micro drill bit will work with really small parts.  You can go thicker with the larger parts.  I like bamboo because you can get very fine, yet it maintains strength due to it's fiberousity.

[Bob Cleek]

On 7/14/2020 at 11:20 AM, Chuck Seiler said:

a Dremel and fine sand paper I can get a trunnel down to .5MM.  That and an 80 micro drill bit will work with really small parts. 

It's a lot easier to use a drawplate, which will give you a perfectly uniform diameter of whatever size you desire.

 

 

Byrnes Model Machines (Makers of the Byrnes saw) offers a drawplate which produces very fine round material.

 

 

They are also available in any number of shapes, such as squares, rectangles, half-rounds, and so on.

 

 

 

[Chuck Seiler]

I disagree.  Several years in a row, when I worked with our club at the county fair, one of our members was demonstrating how to make trunnel using the draw plate.  Unless you can cut your original stock very fine, you need to draw it thru 2 or more every decreasing holes.  By the time he completed 2, I completed 8.  Maybe not perfect, but at 1/2 millimeter, close enough for government work.

 

As I recall, bamboo doesn't work well with draw plate.  I may be wrong.

[kurtvd19]

Byrnes makes a true draw-plate for making treenails.  The sharp edges shave off the excess wood as one uses progressively smaller holes to get the proper size.  The cheap ones advertised to do the same thing are most likely jewelers draw plates made to shape wire.  If it's not shaving off wood its a jewelers draw plate or you have it going through the plate the wrong way.  A good draw plate for treenails isn't going to be cheap - it has to be good hard steel and the flat surface has to be properly finished after the h oles are drilled.

 

Jewelers draw plates shape the wire by squeezing the soft wire in the hardened steel.  A jewelers draw plate does not shave off material.  The wire will be longer when drawn down to the smaller size/shape as the draw plate is simply compressing the wire while it changes the size/shape and the excess metal has to go somewhere - and that results in it being somewhat longer when finished.

 

Yes the jewelers draw plate can produce treenails but it will be a lot harder than using a proper draw plate and you will break a LOT of wood.  Like everything else using the proper tool makes work easier and better.

[Chuck Seiler]

Yes, I know, I have 2 Byrnes draw plates.  Dremel is still faster.

[tkay11]

On 7/14/2020 at 7:20 PM, Chuck Seiler said:

Using pieces of a good bamboo BBQ skewer, a Dremel and fine sand paper I can get a trunnel down to .5MM.

Sorry, Chuck, I don't understand. How do you use a drill to cut a treenail? I've seen lots of methods but I don't recall seeing that one. Excuse my ignorance!

 

Just as a matter of interest, I've used a Byrnes drawplate with bamboo skewers and have been happy with that.

 

Tony

[Chuck Seiler]

Tony,

 

    Good question.  My brain knows what I am talking about.  My fingers apparently do not.

 

    The process I use is to take a 2 inch piece of bamboo BBQ skewer and quarter it so that I have 4 narrow pieces about 2 inches long.  It would be more efficient to 1/6th it or 1/8th it, but I always screw that up.  I chuck the bamboo into the Dremel and using fine sandpaper and Dremel on low, sand down the top 1/2 inch or so.  Fine sandpaper=because course tends to grap the fibers.  Dremel on slow or medium speed because it gets hot.  I hold the sandpaper in my fingers and hold fingers around bamboo.  I will take a picture and insert it.

 

    The result is NOT a nice 2" long treenail.  That would snap off very easily.  I keep it short and use part of it, then sand more.