Question on gluing. My son-in-law gave me a checkerboard to fix for him. The top has ivory and what I will call “ebony” squares overlaid on a panel of unknown species – looks almost like luan plywood. Note: I am not an expert on identifying woods. The entire board is trimmed in this “ebony” which is very black and a drawer was mounted underneath. The side was split and the top was hopelessly warped. I told my son-in-law that I would try to fix it but the insides would consist of a torsion box instead of the drawer. Now the question. When I try to glue my wood (birch plywood) to the ebony using (Titebond II), it sticks about like syrup would. It is possible that the ebony has a finish on it, I can’t tell. Is there a foolproof way to glue the beast up.
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Replies
Is the ivory genuine? If so, then the wood probably really is ebony.
I would lightly sand the glue surface of the ebony, wipe with acetone, and then try Titebond II or III. If that fails, then I'd repeat the process, using West System epoxy (which can make a mess if you're not careful, so be sure to mask off anything that might get epoxy on it).
-Steve
Yah, it really is ivory. I was doing a little sanding and happened to sand it some. It smelled like the dentist was grinding my teeth! My son-in-law's grandfather spent his career as a Belgian ambassador to Belgian Congo. The sawdust looks like soot from the chimney but cleans up much more easily. Thanks for the advice. Is ebony an oily wood like teak? I will try cleaning it up first.
Yes, it's oily. Ebony is not quite in the same class as teak, which can feel quite oily to the touch, but it is well known for being difficult to glue, partly because of the oiliness and partly because of its very high density and low porosity. I haven't had any problems with it when I've sanded and wiped the gluing surface with acetone immediately before gluing.
-Steve
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