Hi-I am refinishing a small Jesus figure from a crucifix. It is carved out of cedar and both arms have seperated from the body at the shoulder. There are small spike type things in each arm that have held the arms in place. I'm curious to know the best method for gluing the arms back on to minimise the apperance of the seam at the shoulder. This image is close to the figure I have:
So, your first task is to get back down to bare wood on both surfaces yet still keep a good joint without gaps. That may be nearly impossible given the small size of your figure. I'd try gently scraping the surfaces with a single edge razor blade or exacto knife. If you can get to a point where you have bare wood on both mating surfaces, then dry clamp it with rubber bands or something to figure out how you're going to hold it in position while the glue dries. It's not necessary to apply a lot of pressure as long as you can keep it in contact without moving for 30 minutes or so. I'd use a regular wood glue such as Titebond, or Elmer's Carpenter's Glue. You can wipe away the squeeze-out with a damp rag before the glue dries.
DonkeyHody "A bulldog can whip a skunk, but it's probably not worth it."
He also states that the image is close to what he has, not that it is it.
That's probably why he's in such a hurry to get them glued back on. ;-)
Bill
I wouldn't use a glue that requires clamping (such as white or yellow glue) for a repair like this. The required clamping pressure for a good bond is 150 psi. I don't think I could generate that pressure by hand for 5 seconds, let alone an hour. (See titebond web page:
I'd use a quick setting epoxy. People seem to be assuming that this is a failed repair with glue in the joint. (I didn't see a joint in the linked image.) If that's true then you should remove the old glue. Since the epoxy is gap filling you could carve out the inside of the joint slightly to remove old glue without worrying about the fit of the joint, but leave the outside edge of the joint untouched for the best fit where it counts. Use a clear epoxy and you should be able to get a glue line that isn't terribly obvious. You can mix the epoxy with wood dust if you have a gap at the glue line to fill.
Titebond may "recommend" 150 psi, but that sort of pressure is rarely seen in woodworking, and would often produce poor joints if it were. Even on edge-to-edge joints to make a panel, you'd have to apply a clamp every few inches to apply that much pressure, and it would likely bow the panel. How would you ever create the ELEVEN THOUSAND POUNDS of pressure required to glue 10 inch discs together to make a bowl blank?
Here's an experiment for you to try. Take two boards about 3/4 thick and something over a foot long with good straight edges. Secure one board so that the long edge is up. Spread glue on that edge and slide the edge of the other board back and forth a few times on the glue, then let it sit with the second board resting on top of the first. No clamps across the joint at all, just gravity holding the joint together. Wait 24 hours and break the joint. Then come back and tell me yellow glue needs 150 psi to hold the arms on a wooden statue of Jesus.
DonkeyHody
"We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it - and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again---and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore." - Mark Twain
This might be in poor taste, but I can't resist.
Shouldn't the arms be held on with nails?
20 ton bottle jack. Press it against the mainbeam on the building. If the building lifts that's a sign that you need a bigger shop .
Trouble is those arms are probably end grain to end grain. But still they shouldn't be getting much load.
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