Replies

1. 
   TXJon | May 06, 2005 10:21pm | #1

   I would use small foam paint roller (1/4" thick) and a disposable roller pan.  You will get a longer pot life out of your epoxy if you can do the glue up somewhere cool.

   Really though, I would probably glue that many strips in several sessions, but maybe I just lack confidence!

2. 
   adastra | May 06, 2005 10:28pm | #2

   Done much epoxy?

   Cool is good, or at least not hot conditions. Smaller batches work well as large containers can "endotherm" and start smoking pretty quickly.

   Having a helper mixing epoxy as you are going will be the biggest help, but using slower epoxy is a good idea too.

   I'm not an expert but have had some professional experience with it.

3. 
   Elcoholic | May 07, 2005 04:05am | #3

   I've tried the disposable trim yellow foam trim rollers but Virutex (sp?) makes nifty textured rollers presummably for contact cement.  They work great for plastic resin glue and yield consistent thickness when I'm doing bent laminations.  Another trick is to pour your mixed epoxy into disposable aluminum baking tray.  Spreading it out really increases the pot life.

   John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   The more things change ...

   We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized.  I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.

   Petronious Arbiter, 210 BC

1. 
   delliottg | May 07, 2005 05:14am | #4

   I agree, I've had West System "kick" on me because it was in a deep pot (a miniature loaf disposable aluminum baking pan).  Now I spread it out as thin as I can get it, I found some 12" round x 1/2" deep or so disposable aluminum pans the other day which should come in handy for it (and cleaning your saw blades).  If the tempurature in my shop is above about 60-65, I use slow hardener.  I like using a 4" roller with the shortest nap roller I can find, just be aware that you're going to throw the whole thing away afterwards.  If you're doing bent laminations, I suggest doing a couple of mock glue ups first, so you can get all of your clamps exactly sized & where you need them so you can work quickly.  I tape wax paper to all of my clamp faces or cauls (or both, depending), as well as staple the wax paper to my form(s).  The epoxy won't stick to the wax paper, and you can just pop off any squeeze out.  Then it's just a matter of working methodically to get to the other end of the process while you still have liquid epoxy to work with.

   If you're using West System epoxy, they are very good about responding to questions on their website.  Everytime I've had a question, I've had an answer, or at least someone to talk to within hours.  I also refer to their book fairly often, lots of good advice in there, as long as you don't mind the constant droning on about using West System epoxy (we get it already, you're trying to sell your epoxy).

   David

4. 
   WayneL5 | May 09, 2005 05:17am | #5

   You don't have to do all 24 pieces at once.

1. 
   KeithNewton | May 09, 2005 06:05am | #6

   But why not? This is nothing for using epoxy. It probably isn't going to even start curing for over and hour. And even if it starts to gel, epoxy is OK with a little movement as long as it is still in liquid form. Unlike most other glues.The largest glue-up that I have ever done, was the outside stringer of a free-flying stair. There were 16 plys over 20 feet long, by about 20" W X1/4" thick.
   I had 42 16 oz. solo type cups already measured out and the thickener added to them when about five friends showed up to help. I had two of the mixing full time, and two of us were pouring the epoxy out of the cups onto the work right ahead of the roller which was pushing a little puddle ahead, more like a squeegee than a roller. We would then come back and spread this heavy coat out to the edges, and flip the part from one stack over to the next. While I was doing one side, a friend was doing the other. When all of the glue was spread, the parts were already on top of the bottom half of the bag with carpet tape along one edge. It was then folded over and sealed making a bag. It was bent around a form and when the vacuum was vacuum was drawn, I was amazed to find that I was holding 28" hg. which came to about 80.000 lbs. of perfectly even pressure on my parts. A round of beers was served. We were all sweating it because it was about 90 degrees at 6:00 PM when we started mixing epoxy. And one hour had passed by the time we managed to get the vacuum drawn, and even with slow kick hardener I was a little nervous at that temperature. If the first layers had kicked early, I would have lost a whole weeks work, and the epoxy acts as a lubricant between plys when bending.
   What other glue can you think of that gives you that much time?

5. 
   mikegagne | May 09, 2005 06:25am | #7

   "extra slow" hardener will give you a 4 hour pot life or just spread the epoxy out over apiece of sealed board or laminate and you can use it up to 90 minutes. Aloha, Mike

6. 
   Yogi | May 09, 2005 07:19pm | #8

   If time isn't of the essence, I'd not glue them up all at once-  Give yourself and the project a break-  Hopefully you're only gunna do this once-

7. 
   Quickstep | May 10, 2005 02:57am | #9

   Thanks for all the help everyopne. I had my wife mixing up small batches of epoxy for me whch we then poured into a paint roller tray. I used a small, short nap roller to coat each surface with un-thickened epoxy twice, then followed that with a coat of epoxy thickened with colloidal silica. I clamped the ends with 3/8" thick strips of maple to keep everything even, then clamped the 24 pieces with Bessey clamps. I removed the maple strips before the epoxy kicked. I ended up with just the right amout of squeeze out, so I  feel pretty good about my glue coverage. Now for some interminable sanding and scraping. Thanks again all! 

8. 
   geezergeek | May 13, 2005 11:58am | #10

   If I were worried about the epoxy pot life being too short to allow me to coat the number of peices you referenced I would do the following: WARNING: insure your girlfriend/wife is not home when performing these steps! First, mix the epoxy as per the instructions (If you happen to be using "five minute epoxy" stop here and put all mixed epoxy in a large plastic bag, take it back to where you purchased it, and say: "I would like some REAL epoxy please, you can have this brittle, crackely stuff back.") with the REAL epoxy mixed thoroughly, pour enough to use for about ten minutes into a clean squeeze bottle, like a mustard or ketsup squeezer. Put the remaining epoxy either in the freezer of your frig, or in a deep freezer unit. using your squeezer dispense a bead along the wood anywhere you intend to bond to the other strips. Using a small squeege or thin peice of plastic like a stout credit card spread out the epoxy evenly after dispensing, continue spreading pouring bonding as if it were jus the same as white glue. When you get low on epoxy pour out another amount into a different squeeze bottle and proceed as before, until all is glued up. Should you get sleepy and want to wait to finish in the morning, finish gluing and clamping what you have epoxy on, then put the unused epoxy in the freezer with the rest of the mixed batch. It will be at the same point of pot life in the morning when you take it out of the freezer. Take up where you left off. As the epoxy warms up the reaction will start going again (actually it never stopped, it just slowed to a very slow pace when it got chilled) When you are done and everything is cleaned up and you are admiring your craftmanship, have a beer for the old geezer. regards, Joe.