I have built a chess table from bur oak. The top is 2″ thick and was routered out to receive the black and white squares which are ceramic tiles. I had some PVC flooring adhesive that looked just like construction adhesive so I used it to lay down the tiles. After a couple of months, some of the tiles have lifted. Is this a problem with the wood moving or the adhesive. Which adhesive would you recommend to adhere ceramic to wood?
Discussion Forum
Get It All!
UNLIMITED Membership is like taking a master class in woodworking for less than $10 a month.
Start Your Free TrialCategories
Discussion Forum
Digital Plans Library
Member exclusive! – Plans for everyone – from beginners to experts – right at your fingertips.
Highlights
-
Shape Your Skills
when you sign up for our emails
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. -
Shop Talk Live Podcast -
Our favorite articles and videos -
E-Learning Courses from Fine Woodworking
-
-
Replies
Hewer,
Thanks for your question.
It's hard to give you a definitive answer without seeing the board.
It sounds like the base of the board has expanded or contracted with the seasons, causing the chess squares to move.
What you may want to consider is removing the tiles, and then attaching the tiles to a plywood base, which is much more stable than a sold piece of hardwood. You can use Liquid Nails to attach the tiles to the plywood. Then have the plywood and tiles "float" in the routed void in the board. Perhaps you can make your base tight enough so that you won't need glue to hold the tiles to the board.
Thank you and I hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Gerald La Starza
Fine Woodworking
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled