Adhesive Question
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Titebond II or III. But not "Elmers" white glue.
I sometimes use epoxy, which is more water resistant than Titebond, but the water exposure of the T grip joint is low enough that Titebond yellow glue is good enough.
Some urethane glues are good also, as long as they aren't the kind that bubbles up a lot.
NOTE that if the fit of the shaft tenon into the T grip is at all loose, you had better use epoxy, because it is the best gap filler.
I sometimes use epoxy, which is more water resistant than Titebond, but the water exposure of the T grip joint is low enough that Titebond yellow glue is good enough.
Some urethane glues are good also, as long as they aren't the kind that bubbles up a lot.
NOTE that if the fit of the shaft tenon into the T grip is at all loose, you had better use epoxy, because it is the best gap filler.
Hot tubs are stupid. But if you are just trying out some West G-Flex epoxy like I am, you could pre-warm the bottles in the hot tub to get a faster set when you slap your grip on your shaft.
G-flex mixes 1:1, so no trick metering pumps are needed. It is thicker than West 105/205 epoxy. The thicker viscosity would be a disadvantage if trying to wet out cloth, but a plus in applications like glueing handles where G-flex is less inclined to run out of the joint. It sets slower than 105/205, maybe even slower than 105/206, but G-flex should be hard enough to put to use after 24 hours.
As the name implies, G-flex is somewhat more flexible and tougher than 105/205. West claims you can even patch poly boats with it, provided you flame the poly to oxidize the surface and increase adhesion. I'm using G-flex, sometimes thickened with microfibers, to glue D-ring patches and fittings to my new Millbrook.
I made a measurement error on one small batch, and while I did not use it, I kept it for observation, and it hardened OK. This suggests that G-flex is not too fussy about minor measurement errors.
You can get the small (4 oz) bottles of G-flex from
http://sweetcomposites.com/
There is a pre-thickened version available from various outlets. I have the 16 oz bottles, which cost about $50 for the pair.
G-flex mixes 1:1, so no trick metering pumps are needed. It is thicker than West 105/205 epoxy. The thicker viscosity would be a disadvantage if trying to wet out cloth, but a plus in applications like glueing handles where G-flex is less inclined to run out of the joint. It sets slower than 105/205, maybe even slower than 105/206, but G-flex should be hard enough to put to use after 24 hours.
As the name implies, G-flex is somewhat more flexible and tougher than 105/205. West claims you can even patch poly boats with it, provided you flame the poly to oxidize the surface and increase adhesion. I'm using G-flex, sometimes thickened with microfibers, to glue D-ring patches and fittings to my new Millbrook.
I made a measurement error on one small batch, and while I did not use it, I kept it for observation, and it hardened OK. This suggests that G-flex is not too fussy about minor measurement errors.
You can get the small (4 oz) bottles of G-flex from
http://sweetcomposites.com/
There is a pre-thickened version available from various outlets. I have the 16 oz bottles, which cost about $50 for the pair.
i just glued up a t-grip this week. i used loctite ultra. they say its waterproof and has a huge temperature range that its supposed to be fine in. supposed to be safe in the dishwasher as well--if you happen to put your paddle in to one...it seems to have set up strong, no movement at all to it, but its still a bit early to say for sure. its only been on the water once so far......
i picked it up at the depot. its easy to use, no mixing, and the small tube i grabbed only set me back about 5 bucks...
i picked it up at the depot. its easy to use, no mixing, and the small tube i grabbed only set me back about 5 bucks...
I think that Loctite product was given a good rating in Consumer Reports. There's gotten to be such a variety of urethane glues that one doesn't know which one to try.
I've been using "Polyurethane Premium Construction Adhesive" for assembling and glueing in a minicell saddle. It's a caulk gun product, does not bubble up, and is initially sticky enough to hold small pieces of minicell in place. It retains some flexibility once set, but not as much as, say, Aquaseal. I don't think this new adhesive will replace contact cement for joining huge slabs of mincell, but it works well for areas up to a square foot, where the ability to reposition the pieces can be a great advantage.
Of course, you wouldn't use a caulking gun product for a T-grip, unless you happened to have it open for a larger project.
I've been using "Polyurethane Premium Construction Adhesive" for assembling and glueing in a minicell saddle. It's a caulk gun product, does not bubble up, and is initially sticky enough to hold small pieces of minicell in place. It retains some flexibility once set, but not as much as, say, Aquaseal. I don't think this new adhesive will replace contact cement for joining huge slabs of mincell, but it works well for areas up to a square foot, where the ability to reposition the pieces can be a great advantage.
Of course, you wouldn't use a caulking gun product for a T-grip, unless you happened to have it open for a larger project.
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Jim Michaud
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