Adhesive for "less than snug" dowel?

[DerbyDad03]

r rep I would never need another general adhesive, and I could get rid of m y PL400, my carpenter's glue, and even some of my masonry glue that I use. Man was I excited.

. Sometimes not at all. Guys in the woodturning club told me about failur es. The reps came back down and told us we needed to "wet" the surfaces wi th water before applying the glue.

I don't know what instructions were on the bottles back then, but the wetti ng of the surfaces is clearly mentioned on the bottles these days.

"Lightly dampen bonding surfaces with water."

I'm not propping the stuff up, just saying that maybe the guys didn't RTFM.

art, and I gave away all but one of my sample bottles to others. They didn 't get satisfactory bonding, either.

n't hold when it is supposed to, and does when you want it to."

es for the weekend warriors, and put the rest of the stuff we all used back out for sale.

, I almost always use a good one hour epoxy that I buy at a local hobby sto re. At the hobby store, it is inexpensive and haven't had a failure yet. I f you have a day or two to let it set while you do other things, you can sa nd it smooth and do some light shaping as well.

[OFWW]

Just wait till you want to buy a piece, skies the limit. These guys tell you that song and dance because some of it sits in stock for a long time. But they will never give the stuff away at a lower price.

Antique flea markets are good for pieces that show wear, for the primo stuff it depends on where you are at.

[DerbyDad03]

In my case, it wasn't a song and dance, because I paid the guy a fee to do an appraisal. There was no expectation of an exchange of money or goods. This guy is often the "guest appraiser" at antique events/flea markets, etc. in our area. When we made the appointment he told me "I charge by the hour. Do yourself a favor: Number every item that you want me to appraise and have a notebook ready. That way I can give you a brief explanation of the item along with an insurance and possible retail price. You write it down and we move on. That's much quicker and much cheaper for you."

He never offered to take anything off our hands "as a favor to us" or even "If you want, I can try and sell it for you to what we'll get."

In my brother's case, the guy walked him around the shop, pointing out pieces that were attractively priced, but not moving. He said that he had agreements with many of the consignors that allowed him to lower the prices to get things sold. He said that more and more lately, the buyers weren't looking for a good price on quality furniture, they were looking for the cheapest price, period. There is so much of the older stuff on the market, no one is going to pay decent money for any of it. He said that the consignors were often very disappointed at what the piece eventually brought.

This 2014 article is just one of many that discuss the shrinking market for antiques. The market gets even smaller for older pieces that show wear. With the trend towards quality pieces selling at lower prices, no one wants to buy great-grandma's armoire or dresser for anywhere near what the family

- or even the appraiser - values it at.

[whit3rd]

...we needed to "wet" the surfaces with water before applying the glue.

It's not strictly water, it's anything hydroxyl (so, alcohol or ammonia would do the same thing). I generally spread the glue on both surfaces, to be sure it wets the wood, then spritz with a plant mister before assembly.

With large enough glue area, it's a good bond; use it when large surfaces are available, but not completely smooth and flat. The void-filling feature isn't going to save an undersize tenon, try one of the 'liquid nails' adhesives if you want strength and fill. to get things completely straight and flat, than

[Sonny]

Throw away the old dowel and buy or make a new one, more fitting... you won't have to clean the old one.

As others have said, I vote to use epoxy. You don't have to clamp tight nor have to have a completely snug fit.

Sonny

[John McCoy]

notbob wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Lew is/was a huge beleiver in microballoons. Which are great, especially if you care about the weight of the completed project, but not everyone keeps a 50lb box of microballoons on hand, or has a West Marine store handy to buy some.

Pretty much every woodworker has sawdust.

John

[nailshooter41]

Reading these posts, it reminds me of why I don't use GG. Anything that is fussy, takes extra steps, can be hit or miss in its application, or puts any doubt of failure never makes it to the job.

Robert

[Puckdropper]

" [e-mail]" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Funny, the same things could be said for why I don't like Olive Garden.

Puckdropper

[Markem]

I will add another to the list, the bottle I bought was not moisture tight enough it would have made a good mallet if it had a handle.

Mark

[J. Clarke]

But the institution known as a "hobby shop" is available in most localities in the US.

[Swingman]

IME, a fit that is "not snug ... but doesn't wiggle" is not that big of an issue.

All you have to do is look at xray's of antiques to see how much "wiggle room" is in some of those still solid joints.

If you really want to do it right, and it is indeed an antique glued with hot hide glue, go with a real hide glue that will bond to itself/reactivate the old glue, or, in lieu thereof, a very specific modern incarnation _specifically_ "Old Brown" glue.

... but NOT one of the "liquid hide glues" on the market that don't have to be heated.

Rockler has it:

If you find yourself using the old fashioned hot hide glue, warming the parts with a dryer, and using the hot glue will most likely reactivate the old glue and likely last another 100 years.

[OFWW]

Well you could knock me over with a feather, I wasn't even aware of this.

It would be a great time to restore a period house and furnish it, flip a resto, done properly I think it could restore that whole market and create a market at the same time.

But then come to think of it, I am appalled at what is happening to old homes, like on this olde house where they semi fix up the outside like a resto, then totally hack up the inside.

[krw]

Works for me, too.

[krw]

Leon keeps telling us that he doesn't have any. ;-)

[woodchucker]

That was my experience, only I used it first hand. I would rate it mediocre.

Epoxy would be a better choice.

[DerbyDad03]

On the other hand, there is something to be said for the look of a period house on the outside and the convenience of a modern home on the inside.

If you are going to live in a house, why not make it work in a way that fits your lifestyle? Would you want to live in a house with 4 small bedrooms and one shared bathroom or would it make more sense to combine

2 bedrooms to create a master with an en suite?

I helped a friend convert the small kitchen and wood storage room of a farmhouse into a huge modern kitchen. We took out a fireplace, dropped the chimney (that's a story undo itself!) removed a wall. Meanwhile, the outside of the house was restored to it's original beauty, including the replacement/repair of 3 brick stoops.

Neither of the interior remodels would match the period of the exterior, by why would you subject yourself to the "inconvenience" of a period interior just to say that you did a complete restoration?

[John McCoy]

DerbyDad03 wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I'd agree. Times change, people have smaller families, there are appliances that didn't exist 100 years ago, we tend to have more stuff and at the same time don't like the "overfilled" rooms the Victorians were so fond of.

I would say that unless a house is "historic" (e.g. Washington slept there or something) it's better to put it to use than to try and preserve it unchanged.

John

[J. Clarke]

Apparently we are also taller. Friend of mine had a house built in the

1700s. All the railings and banisters seemed to have been sized for midgets. I'm surprised nobody ever tripped over one and took a header down the stairwell.

[Dr. Deb]

If no one else has recommended this, why don't your ream the hole with a drill bit (going up by 1/64th increments until you get solid wood) and turn a new dowel? Then use a very good wood glue and put the piece back together.

[Electric Comet]

hide glue mixed with some oak sawdust or cut a groove in the end and then use a wedge and hide glue if you plan on taking it to the antique roadshow talk to a restorer