Exterior glue questions

I've posted here before about gates I am making out of cypress. They will be very similar to these:

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question: In addition to the carriage bolts that sandwich the pieces together, would it make sense to use glue or construction adhesive to glue the pieces together (in the same places the carriage bolts are located)? I always thought gluing long grain against short grain was a no-no, but would it do any good here?

Second: I have a lot of 2" wide strips left over from making the pieces for the gates. Rather than toss them in a ravine, I was thinking I could take 2 or 3 of these strips and exterior glue, and make new, wider pieces (with a jointer). Would these new 5" or 6" glued up pieces be usable outdoors just as 'regular' solid pieces; i.e. will glue hold up here? Cheers!

Reply to
opalko
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I meant cross grain, not long vs. short.

Reply to
opalko

I meant cross grain, not long vs. short.

I am of the opinon that gluing would be a waste of time and materials, The wet/dry cycles the gates go through will unbond anything you put on it in a short time anyway.

basilisk

Reply to
basilisk

Might help a little for a while but I would expect the width of these to be sufficient that since they're outside and getting wet/drying out that the grain movement will eventually either break the glue joint or cause splitting to relieve the stress.

That's a guess; I've not used much cypress at all--perhaps it's soft enough it wouldn't. My recollection is cypress needs care in gluing for as it's resinous??? The inexperience is showing; somebody w/ more hands-on can add confirmation/rebuttal or look on the US Forest Products Lab site for characteristics...

Cypress being fairly soft, I don't know how bad it is/will be on elongating the bolt holes over time--cedar is pretty bad about that ime.

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Reply to
dpb

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> First question: In addition to the carriage bolts that sandwich the

It would not hurt to add exterior construction adhesive. Make up new boards out of scraps. Hardly worth the effort for more expensive hard woods, I would not even consider the effort for fence grade material. You will probably spend more for the adhesive that buying a new board.

Reply to
Leon

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> First question: In addition to the carriage bolts that sandwich the

Not unless you discount every half lap joint ever made. Can't say I see any need of gluing in your case, though. _____________________

No reason they shouldn't if you use water proof glue such as epoxy, resorcinol or Tite-Bond 3 or even water resistant glue such as Tite-Bond 2, Weldwood plastic resin, etc.

Reply to
dadiOH

With your scraps, make a child's chair or a bird house as a gift.

Seems you're out in the country. How about a rustic pot plant holder of some kind? Find an old wheel and build a wheel barrow (pot plant holder) around it. It'll last about 3 years (raw wood).

Any glue will eventually separate itself from the cypress, but it will hold for a while, depending on its location relative to weather. A sealer doesn't seem to help much, either. Old cypress holds up better than the younger "yellow" cypress.

Sonny

Reply to
Sonny

I'd say yes. Metal fasteners in wood can work loose (make it first creaky, then wobbly, then all the holes turn eggshaped...). Twisting forces at the joints put high stresses on the sides of the bolts, and glue can keep those forces in check. It also fills any gap that might otherwise collect water and freeze.

Don't tighten the carriage bolts much; crushing the wood fiber isn't useful.

Reply to
whit3rd

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