Hws guys; affixing top deck/plank to frames/rails.l question.

What adhesive is best for affixing the top plank(deck) to the ribs/rails?

So far i have been using Titebond III to glue planks(slats) together, 3m 5200 to glue frames(ribs/spars) together and to the bottom plank(deck) , gorilla glue for rail strips, and this time I used 5200 to glue top plank to the rails and ribs framework but i think i may have a problem as some of the White adhesive is still visible and not so sandable…

Previously i used liquid nails with success…But thought 5200 was better to try. I may have made a mistake?

What do you use? And if this isn’t what i shouldve used… Any ideas for fixing it and making the top plank flush to rails?

Thanks!

I tend to stick with epoxy for anything that can be done all at once (i.e, I wouldn’t do wood to wood rail strips with epoxy because I’d spend too much time mixing epoxy). I avoid gorilla glue to the extent possible and only use it for “non-critical” pieces, and would use titebond 3 for good joint wood to wood that wants a long open time. For epoxy,  I use a 60:40 sawdust : cabosil ratio, maybe some chopped glass if I’m really concerned about strength (the closer your sawdust is to the wood color you are working with, the better match the glue will be to the wood color), stirred into fully mixed epoxy to the viscosity you want. Stick it in a ziplock bag, cut a small hole in the corner to squeeze it out through, and you’ve got an easy to distribute, strong, sandable adhesive. If you mixed too much to use in 10 -15 minutes (you’ll start to feel it get warm in your hands, the bigger the batch, the more chance it will self heat and kick too fast), I split it into two bags and stick some in the freezer to slow down the kick while I’m working…don’t let it get too cold though, this is just to extend working time, not long term storage.

hope that helps. To fix your problem, you are probably better off using a cabinet scraper, razor blade, etc, rather than sanding. You want something that will cut rather than smear it around.

I’ve never used anything but Epoxy.  Thickened with wood flour and milled glass fibers.  Never tried the cab o sil but definitely will.  Thickened epoxy needs to have the mating surfaces lightly brushed with unthickened epoxy or the wood can pull the epoxy from the  thickened wood flour epoxy  starving the joint.

 

After thickening the epoxy, spread it out wide and thin on a clean non porous surface(not waxpaper) and you can avoid the exotherm to a great degree and have plenty of pot life, depending on the speed of the epoxy.

 

Don’t overclamp, don;t underclamp, and do not remove the clamps too soon 

 

3m 5200 takes way too long to cure, even the fast cure version, and remains too flexible in my opinion.  I think that product is best left for through hull fittings on boats.

I have used cyanoacrilate (superglue) to saturate woven roving for a ding repair before (temporary only) and use this trick to repair /reenforce plastics

 

I’ve never tried regular wood glues and I despise gorilla glue from experience on everything I’ve ever used it on except fo roak I had soaked in strips in order to bend it in a jig.