I'm in the process of making a handplane, and I'm going to use Lignum Vitae for the sole. How do you glue this stuff? Everyone tells me it's a bear to glue, but nobody can tell me how. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.
Garrett
well it is a very hard wood to deal with. first make sure it is fully dry. so if you need to resaw it to thickness do it and let it set for atleast a week to make sure it will not loose any more moisture. the only glue I found that made a joint stronger then the wood was hot met poly glue. but it is not practical for a plane sole. so the best you can get is good poly (gorilla glue works best) freshly mill or sand the LV surface dampen both sides and glue it up.
Thanks gentlemen. Steve, does your company sell plane irons (I can't afford the Japanese iron upgrades, but it's possible the standard irons you include with your planes are in my price range)?
I recently made a shoulder plane out of lignum vitae. I used a lamination method that required gluing together two pieces of lignum. I cleaned the surfaces with acetone and then immediately glued with Titebond I wood glue. I've been using the plane for about a month and have not had a any problems.
Robert
acetone does not do much of a job and yellow glue will not hold it. the best glue so far for oily woods is gorilla glue freshly mill/sand dampen both sides and glue it up. but this only works somewhat with lignum vitae. the joint will pop apart with a good smack. no wood will come off. yellow glue will pop apart with even less effort. I have tested this quite a bit. the only glue I found that held well was hot melt poly. but that is not practical for larger surfaces.
Do you recommend the same for gluing cocobolo? I have a cocobolo blank that will become a krenov-style hand plane sometime in the next couple of months.
I haven't had any problems gluing lignum with Titebond after being cleaned with Acetone. I've hit the planes with a hammer to adjust them with no problems so far. I suppose if I were selling planes I wouldn't want a product in the market that might come apart with one good hammer hit.
Robert
yes though it is not as hard to glue. the fresh surface is the key. that's far better then acetone as it tends to draw oils to the surface.
it's not going to just fall apart but when I tested the joints with a hammer blow the joint was the weakest of any I had made.
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