I have a large wooden cutting board that I have had for 30+ years. It has a 3" metal disk inset in the center with the logo of a club we used to belong to. This past weekend, the disk popped out. It looks like it was glued in place with contact cement.
I'd like to keep the cutting board and reglue the disk in place. I have a box of T-88 epoxy from System Three that I bought on the advice of several people on this NG. I used it on several repaird and it has always worked great.
Is there any reason not to use in it this case? Or is there anything better?
I plan to scrape all of the old contact cement from the back of the disk and the recessed area on the board then apply a thin film of epoxy to both surfaces, press in place, wipe away any excess, then put a weight on to dry.
You probably can't get the contact cement off the medallion nor the board to get decent epoxy adhesion. In this case it might be better to use one of the simple cyanoacrylate (Crazy Glue) cements because they have some compatibility with rubber products; contact cements, IIRC are formulated with elastomers. The worst that could happen would be some obscure contaminant causing the cyanoacrylate to fail, but that adhesive is removable with acetone which could improve the chances of another good glue, such as a polyurethane succeeding. The normal movement of a wood object with humidity bonded to a metal object, makes rigid adhesives a poor choice. The Smooth On Co. formulates a variety of epoxies and urethanes and publishes specifications showing results from rigid and hard to mildly flexible. Their catalog is very informative. Your T-88 may possibly work if not a hard rigid type.
I think I can get it off the medallion. I'll chip what I can with a chisel then grind the rest with a Dremel disk. The wood might be a little harder, because I don't want to dig too deep, but I would think that a Dremel disk would also get it off.
I've uploaded a couple of photos.
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Close up
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Whole board
I've never had good luck with any of the super/crazy glues. I always get my fingers stuck together and usually damage other parts of the work. Plus, wouldn't it just seep into the wood?
Hmmm... That's a good point. Maybe I should use contact cement. That's what it looks like they used originally.
I would not be too concerned with digging too deep - as long as you don't go through the board.
Any ridges that you create will give the epoxy something to grab onto
- sometimes refered to as giving it some teeth.
The grinding of the medallion and the "digging" of the wood is a good thing when it comes to epoxies. Epoxies don't like smooth surfaces.
In addition, as you are applying the epoxy, consider spreading the Vaseline on any surfaces that the epoxy might touch but where you don't want it to stick.
OK, and the T-88 instructions say that it is "gap filling" and that it will "cure in any thickness without shrinking". The board is very thick, so digging all the way through is not a concern. But maybe digging in something like 1/32" might allow a slightly thicker layer of epoxy.
OK, good.
Then I will try not to do my normally perfect job! ;-)
You mean like around the edge of the cutout?
My plan was to use a very thin layer of epoxy on both sides and then fit them together with minimal pressure. The instructions say not to overclamp as that can cause a "starved joint" and failure.
But the vaseline would be a good guard against any miscalculations.
That's what I'd do. Think he means Vaseline around edges but epoxy does not expand when it cures so you could wipe it fresh if some squeezes out. You don't have to apply to both surfaces. This is also not a structural repair. I would clean surfaces but not worry about getting all old material off.
I avoid cyanoacrylates as repair never seems permanent. Gorilla glue would work but it does expand on cure and may weep onto wood.
You might want to catch up with the rest of the woodworking/crafts world. Cyanoacrylates are available from many sources these days, and are very useful in the shop. Check out the numerous sources, such as FastCap, 3M, Titebond, others. For a real eye opener, check out page
71 of the current Rockler Woodqworking catalog, and also don't be surprised if you find a well stocked shelf of 'CA' in your favorite box store. Enjoy...
Special thanks to DerbyDad03 (were there really two DerbyDads ahead of you?) for the suggestions about roughing it up and the vaseline.
I also sent an email to System Three customer support. Here's the reply:
"The T-88 should work just fine for you. Be sure to clean the wood surface by removing old glue, or finish. The metal needs to be solvent wiped (Acetone, Lacquer Thinner) and roughed up with course sandpaper. Once both surfaces are clean, apply the T-88, applying only enough pressure to hold the metal disk in place."
I started with the brown Dremel grinding disk, but it was too fine. I switched to the blue one and it took it all right off. The back of the metal disk was just slightly rough to the touch. The wood cutout was very rough. I discovered quite a bit of gunk around the edges of the cutout, which I assume are meat juices that seeped under the disk and became a biology experiment.
After vacuuming it out, I mixed the epoxy. I used a piece of stiff cardboard like a stiff brush to spread a coat on the wood and a very thin coat on the disk.
The instructions on the T-88 box say for hard woods, like oak, to let it sit for 30-40 minutes before putting the pieces together and to touch up any dull places.
After about 20 minutes, I placed the disk into the cutout. It was very loose, so I rotated the disk once to blend the epoxy. I then placed a glass with about 2" of water on the disk.
When I came back in about half an hour, quite a lot of epoxy had oozed out of the seams. The vaseline made this a lot easier to wipe up. I decided that the glass was too much, so I left it with no weight.
After another 20-30 minutes, I checked it and a little more epoxy had oozed out, so I wiped that off. It's now been an hour and no more oozing and the disk cannot be moved.
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