What type of glue to use for ipe?

[Mark Blum]

I recently built a deck for my house out of ipe. I received a great deal on 1x6 ipe decking ($1.10/lf) and have a considerable amount left over. I still need to construct the railings and would prefer to glue up my leftover existing 1" stock into the needed 2" stock instead of purchasing more wood.

I'd like to know what glue would be the best choice to glue up the stock. I searched around on Google and found some references to gluing ipe, but didn't get a good read on what worked best in such an outdoor application. It seems my options are poly glue, epoxy, and possibly Titebond III. Having worked with poly glue, I have generally found it a pain to use and would prefer to avoid it if possible. I have no experience with epoxy, but it seems as if it might even be more of a pain than poly. Titebond III looks promising, and would certainly be the easiest to use considering the large amount of gluing I am facing. The specs look good, but the website info is unclear on it's suitability for such applications or woods.

Would Titebond III work fine in such an application? Would it hold up to the weather being outside year-round? Is polyurethane glue or epoxy a better choice, even considering the hassle of application? Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks, Mark

[DarylRos]

Why not contact Titebond directly? I think it needs some kind of surface prep. I recall it has some properties akin to rosewood regarding resins and the like.

[Mark Blum]

Thanks for the suggestion. I did send a question to Titebond, although they haven't yet responded. I figured I would also see if anybody had any personal experience here however, since product tech guys don't always have any real-world experience with their product.

Thanks, Mark

[klaatu]

[Ed Angell]

I've used the West System epoxy on Ipe and it's pretty good. I wipe the area to be glued with MEK about 5 minutes prior to bonding, don't over-clamp or you'll squeeze all the epoxy out of the joint. WS has a broad range of catalysts for any given temperature,choose one that gives you the best working time. Stay away from the 5 minute epoxies as they are usually not waterproof over the long haul. Epoxies can be a PITA, but if your careful and don't over apply they are the best.

Ed Angell

[Bubba]

Sounds like a great excuse to buy (rent, borrow) a biscuit joiner.

[Bob Heveri]

Where did you buy the ipe.

[spamfree]

What the heck is IPE ?????

[J. Clarke]

google "ipe lumber". Also try "lapacho". There are some other trade names for it but they're ambiguous. You might find to be interesting as well.

[Glen]

[Alex]

Mark; Titebond III will work just fine. The only thing you need to remember is to wipe it down with acetone first to knock back the oils in the wood. Polyurethane glues also work well. The important part is the acetone wipe.

Good luck.

Alex Garcia Paxton Woodcrafters/KC

[jo4hn]

AKA pau lope, ironwood, and others according to a recent issue of AWW. j4

[J. Clarke]

The trouble with "ironwood" as a search key is that half the tropical hardwoods in the book are called "ironwood".

"Tabebuia" is another key to use but it seems to get more of the sites that focus on the medicinal properties of the bark or tout the bark extract as an herbal than it does those that focus on the wood itself.

[Mark Blum]

I bought it from a local trucking company who had purchased a large quantity to install as decking in semi trailers. They had a large amount left over and were selling it for a great deal. I wouldn't think they had any left as I purchased it some time ago. But it was a great price while it lasted.

-Mark