Resorcinal

[bcooke]

So I was thinking of gluing up some mahogony with resorcinal partly to try something new on a less-than-critical component and also because I have heard the glue line is much more invisible than epoxy which is a good thing since I will be varnishing this part.

Any tips or tricks to using the stuff? Can I get it at Home Despot or should I pay the extra "hazardous" freight charges and get it from Jamestown or the like? (the local hardware stores don't seem to carry it and the 'Despot is a trek.)

-Britton

[Tim]

It's hard to find locally, usually. I order mine, and I can't even get the "good" kind (the less temperature-sensitive sort); Jamestown doesn't seem to have it in the catalog. The Dap Weldwood Resorcinol that you can get works well, but the glue and parts should be at 70 degrees during application and curing. For non-critical stuff, a little cooler is OK. I have no idea if the despot carries it or not.

I like resorcinol. It's easy to mix and works extremely well, and the pot life is much longer than epoxy. The glue is dark purple, though, and leaves a visible line. Since it's non gap filling, though, the joints need to be tight to begin with, so this isn't really a huge problem. And epoxy leaves a visible line too, though more white or tan-ish. Hey, it's wood; glue lines, color, and grain variations are all part of the game.

At least when you run into Larry Pardey he'll be impressed to see your purple glue line! ;<)

Shelf life seems to be very long too. Good stuff, that resorcinol. And the water cleanup of the uncured product sure is a nice change from acetone.

[Jfwtc]

Where do you get the Dap Weldwood resorcinol? I know it's not in our local the despot.

[Tim]

I have gotten it from Jamestown Distributors and Hamilton Marine; I also get it (more recently) from Lewis Marine (commercial account).

I believe McMaster-Carr carries it also.

[Jfwtc]

Thanks tim!