Tag Archives: #5

Low-Tech Adhesion Testing

by Jim Derck—GBI Technical Advisor

Before beginning a project, it’s a good idea to test the adhesion between epoxy and the materials to be used. Preliminary adhesion tests can help you choose the best materials and surface preparation methods. It can also help to avoid a surprise bonding failure.
At Gougeon Brothers, Inc. we use a Pneumatic Adhesion Tensile Testing Instrument (PATTI) for adhesion tests. After the PATTI test stud is bonded to the test surface, the stud is pulled in tension until it releases. The instrument gauge gives a precise pounds per square inch reading at failure. Continue reading →

veneer stair treads

Creating Wood Veneer Stair Treads

Project by Dick Lemke 

At Dick Lemke’s house, what began simply as a plan for new living room carpeting has resulted in inlaid, wood veneer on his stair treads and front entry floor. His split level house has a stairway going up to the living room and down to the family room. He created an inlaid herringbone patterned floor using his ingenuity, wood veneers and WEST SYSTEM® epoxy. He said the flooring looks great with his new silver-gray carpeting. Here’s how he did it: Continue reading →

New Beach Cat (Part I)

The Hull Story

By Captain James R. Watson

In issue Epoxyworks issue #4 I wrote about the construction of new hulls for my Hobie-14 catamaran and discussed details that made building it easier. Well, as with most building projects, it was not completed on time. I can blame only this summer’s excellent sailing conditions for the delay. Whenever I had time to work on the boat, I went sailing instead. Of course, my reliable Hobie-14 sitting on the beach was the source of my summer-long delay. Heck, I support the concept of “take your time and enjoy the building project rather than rush through it.” Continue reading →

A Temporary Shelter

By Robert H. Monroe

My garage was full of projects in various states of completion or abandonment. The sailboat was in the driveway, cocooned in a tarp. I had a desperate need to build a kayak. The neighbors were much too complacent. The time was right to build a blue tarp shelter.

I decided to build a 32’ x 14’ shelter so I could house the 25’ sailboat plus have room for the kayak project. The layout suggested bents or frames every 4’. The design developed into a standardized frame of two 10’ lengths of 1″-diameter conduit for rafters and half-lengths (5’) of conduit for the uprights. Conduit connectors would hold the pieces together. I initially considered ¾” diameter conduit but decided it was not stiff enough for the job. Continue reading →

Specialty Tools for Fairing

By Tom Pawlak — GBI Technical Advisor

The Fairing File

My son Matt and I recently built a small stitch-and-glue boat. While fairing the bottom we discovered that hacksaw blades can be modified and used for fairing.

The buildup of fiberglass tape along the chine and keel had caused a low spot in the hull all along the edge of the fiberglass buildup. Filling the low spot with low-density filler was easy, but sanding the cured epoxy with sanding boards was slow work. Experimenting with a new hacksaw blade, we found it easily cut through the low-density filler and occasional high spots in the fiberglass. Continue reading →

Furniture Building Tips

By Joe Parker

Use seasoned lumber

Even though your lumber is dry, the environmental conditions in many homes will cause dimensional changes in the piece after it is built. A good way to avoid this problem is to season the lumber in the house for a couple of weeks prior to building the piece. Do not season material in a basement or garage workshop unless you intend to keep the piece there after completion. Continue reading →

Repairing cracks in concrete

Repairing Cracks in Concrete

by Brian Knight—GBI Technical Advisor

Cracks in poured concrete floors and foundation walls allow water to leak into basements and cause damage. With WEST SYSTEM® epoxy, you can, in many instances, fill the cracks from the inside and stop the water penetration without digging up your yard. WEST SYSTEM epoxy’s adhesion to concrete is excellent. It is very resistant to moisture penetration, and the tensile and compressive strength of the epoxy (about 8500 psi and 10,000 psi respectively) easily exceeds that of concrete. The following process is one method of epoxy injection that effectively seals cracks without requiring excavation outside the walls. The actual filling process takes some time, so use a slow hardener if the temperature is above 60°F. Continue reading →