what glues work with IPE?

[mark george]

I need to know what glues work best with IPE wood and should all of the saw blades be carbide ?

[Mark Singer]

I know that epoxy works...I never tried PVA since I use Ipe outside

[Doug Shepard]

PVA doesn't work (with or without acetone wipe-down first). Goop brand Marine Adhesive-Sealant doesn't work. Cheap 5 min epoxies dont work tho I suspect better epoxies probably would (West, System 3, Raka, etc). Dont know about Polyurethane glue or Urea type glues but they might be worth an experiment or two.

[joseph j shields]

I have used Poly glue (Gorilla Glue) and had good luck with it. (Make sure you wet the surface with water first (the glue needs water)

I also built my deck out of Ipe and used a Poly glue construction adhesive. It has been 4 years and no problems.

-jj

[Bill Simmeth]

I used polyurethane glue (Gorilla-brand) on Ipe mitered stair tread returns (outdoors). The glue recently started failing after 3 years.

[joseph j shields]

Bill,

Sorry to hear that....

I used PL Premium Polyurethane Construction Adhesive and have had no problem.

I was going to use Gorilla glue, but the Ironwood guys (Ipe imports) told me to used the PL stuff. FYI...

-jj

[Bill Simmeth]

jj -- I used the Gorilla on the mitered returns of stair treads. Construction adhesive would have telegraphed too much at that joint. The treads themselves are screwed (ipe plugs covering the screwheads).

[Dave Bureau]

Just wondering. Why wont titebond waterproof glue work on ipe?

[Errol Wentworth]

Bill,

Sorry to hear that....

I used PL Premium Polyurethane Construction Adhesive and have had no problem.

I was going to use Gorilla glue, but the Ironwood guys (Ipe imports) told me to used the PL stuff. FYI...

-jj

I'll second the PL Poly Premium. If possible I also try to secure with trim-head stainless screws. PL seems to like plenty of clamp pressure.

When face screwing and plugging I've used Titebond III on the plugs--but doubt these undergo much stress.

Errol

[joseph j shields]

FYI... I used the PL to attach the deck boards.

Ironwoods suggested using PL with two 2 2/12" stainless steel 15G nails on each joist (each nail at a 15 degree angle) (FYI Ipe is really hard... I broke 3 air nailers installing my deck... the hammers broke... and this was with a Senco pro nailer )

They also said this is only approved on 4" deck boards.

Their research showed that this approach would not work on 6" deck boards... they said the 6" board had too much "pulling" power and the PL + nails would fail.

Hope this helps!


-jj

[Dave Bureau]

i was thinking of using ipe to make some outdoor chairs. titebond wont hold to glue boards together?

[James Kuhn]

Worked for me:
1. If the wood is surfaced, scuff it up a bit to remove glaze.
2. Wipe down with acetone to retard the natural oils.
3. Wet both surfaces with epoxy
4. Spread a small amount of putty (1 part sawdust/2 parts epoxy)
5. Clamp.

Its not rocket science but it might take a bit of practice. I use a decent non-carbide bandsaw blade to rip (makes nice sawdust too) but I would stick to carbide on a TS or planer.

[mark george]

I have been chatting with a guy from Brazil, where this stuff comes from, he said to wipe down with acetone, and then after the acetone drys to run a propane torch over the wood enough to burn out the resins in the wood that keeps glues from working, he suggested only dap marine glue riconol(spelling) or epoxy.
thanks