Monkey Business

[Bruce_in_Oz]

I generally use the old "slow" Araldite.

Plenty of time to tweak positions with that stuff, especially in cold weather.

A couple of tricks when using it:

Cut these into long (at least a metre) strips about half an inch (12-13mm) wide and store in a plastic bag with "French Chalk" or any "Talcum" powder; scent is optional.

Cut these into long (at least a metre) strips and store in a plastic bag with "French Chalk" or any "Talcum" powder; scent is optional.

CAREFULLY apply a hot air gun (Paint-stripper on "low" setting) to drive out moisture AND old oil from the damaged area.

THOROUGHLY degrease the wood: "Carburetor Cleaner" works a treat.

If you think the repair requires "hidden" dowels, fit them now: have fun!

Apply a thin coat of epoxy to both parts.

Carefully line up the pieces.

And now for the "tricky bit".

Wipe off any oozing excess glue NOW.

Slowly wrap the rubber strips around the repaired area, stretching it as you go. This applies surprisingly high pressure to the join but leaves no nasty clamp marks and doesn't require fancy jigs.

Put the job somewhere warm (next to the water heater is OK) and go away for 24 hours (like it says on the instructions for the glue). The stock has probably been broken for decades; what's another day?

After a nervous 24 hours, unwrap the goodies. There will probably be the odd spot where the epoxy has bonded rubber to wood; whip out your best scalpel and CAREFULLY trim it back. If necessary, apply heat using a small soldering iron to soften the epoxy under the offending rubber remains and then use the scalpel.

After that, the usual "tidying-up" is required before applying your oil of choice to the very thirsty timber.

Information

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[Patrick Chadwick]

I generally use the old "slow" Araldite.

Good idea, the trick is to find it around these parts. And the rubber strips are an A1 idea! (Yes, I did have to apply some "jiggery-pokery")

[Bruce_in_Oz]

It is a bit odd that you have trouble finding "the good stuff' in Germany. After all, Araldite was invented just "over the fence" in Switzerland, just after WW2.

I guess everyone is in a hurry these days, but the "5 minute" varieties don't allow time for "soaking into" the wood or "fine adjustment" of the pieces.

HUGE improvement on the dodgy old casein-based adhesives, though.

"Interesting" glue is apparently why some Mosquito bombers had problems with engines "falling off in flight" whilst serving in "tropical" places like India; VERY exciting if you were driving one at the time. Pretty exciting for the locals on the ground too: " Look mum, it's raining Merlins!"

[us019255]

glue is apparently why some Mosquito bombers had problems with engines "falling off in flight" whilst serving in "tropical" places like India;

I never thought about that possibility. A definite AW ****! I do remember that when I was a kid just post WWII, you could get either indoor or outdoor plywood. I later saw plywood advertised as "indoor with outdoor glue". Apparently the modern idea to just use phenolic resin always was not practiced then.