USING OAK & TEAK EPOXY GLUE
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Woods such as oak, teak, maple, alder, apetong, araki, pau lope, osage orange, etc., may be glued with our Oak and Teak Epoxy Glue™. For best results, it should be applied to both surfaces to be glued and allowed to sit long enough for the wood to soak up as much as it wants, so that when the pieces are assembled the wood will not absorb the glue that would otherwise fill the gap between the pieces, leading to a glue-starved joint. Scarf and butt joints are especially prone to soaking glue out of the joint, as it wicks into the end grain of the wood, (endgrain constitutes the open ends of the hollow cellulose tubes of which the wood is made). Edges of plywood are notorious for soaking up liquids.
Most adhesives, even epoxy adhesives, do not bond hardwoods because the saps and resins in the wood interfere with the bonding chemistry of the adhesive. Our Oak and Teak Epoxy Glue is specially formulated (by us - we're chemists) to overcome this difficulty. We designed a chemical system that absorbs and displaces the saps and resins without becoming weakened by the absorbed oils.
Oak and Teak Epoxy Glue is a very flexible adhesive, which is excellent for dissimilar woods and cross-grain joints due to its ability to absorb stress and impact.
Our products have fairly long thin-film set times, and so the user has plenty of time to wipe up drips or shape into the desired form before the epoxy jells.
Do not use solvents to "clean" hardwoods before gluing. The solvents are absorbed by the wood and will cause the epoxy bond to fail. Even solvent cleaning hardwoods after gluing (while the glue is still wet) has in some cases, caused glue-line failures. Wiping up drips with paper towels is safe.
Oak and Teak Epoxy Glue contains the new Dual Synergistic Catalyst™, which guarantees a dependable full cure at temperatures as low as 28° F (-2° C).
Oak and Teak Epoxy Glue consists of two clear viscous liquid components. When mixed, it usually turns white and should be allowed to stand for about ten to twenty minutes, until it turns somewhat clear (amber) before using.

MIXING TWO-COMPONENT PRODUCTS

In mixing two-component products, it is important that the product be thoroughly mixed or it will be physically weak when cured. The most important part of the mixing process is to mix it well in one container, transfer to a second container and mix again.

Sophisticated adhesives, sealants and coatings are two-component systems. One part has to be mixed with another part before they are applied. After a while, a chemical reaction takes place, and what is created is a filler, paint or glue with exceptional properties. It is not possible to obtain those properties by taking some simple thing out of a can.
Each of these two parts, whether they are liquids or pastes, consists of very small components called molecules. The manufacturer designed the system so that the individual molecules of each component would react with each other in certain proportions. That is why the instructions say to mix the materials in those proportions.
If the materials are mixed in different proportions, then some molecules of one or another component are left over, scattered among the molecules of both components that did react together. In that case, the material will be softer or weaker than it should be, or will soften in water when it should not. It might be a gooey mess. It is therefore important to mix the components thoroughly, so that everywhere in the mixture the ingredients are in the correct proportions, even down to the individual molecules. Visual appearance of uniformity is not always an adequate guide, as there are millions of molecules in a single inch. A few ounces of material, for example, should be mixed for at least a minute or more, until visually uniform, then transferred to a second container and the mixing procedure repeated, scraping off the mixing tool frequently. This ensures that the small amount of A or B in the bottom corners of the first mixing container has the opportunity to be thoroughly mixed with everything else.
Glues should be mixed by hand, as power mixers can whip in many small bubbles which will give a weak glue joint.
If there are any soft or gooey spots in the final cured product, that is proof that the material was not thoroughly mixed.

HYGIENE

With all modern products there are certain safety procedures that must be observed if the user is to avoid a rash or allergy developing. Do not get the resins on your bare skin. If you do, stop what you're doing and go wash with soap and water. While casual exposure at infrequent intervals may not be harmful to most people, it is impossible to predict who will become allergic after some exposure. So, be neat and work clean.

Copyright © 2005 Steve Smith All rights reserved