Was making a mortise in the middle of a rail last night. I tried to make it too fat, and when I was squaring it up with a chisel, part of the face of the of the board split away (the face that will show of course). In other words, there is now a 3 inch crack on on the face of the board and on the side that is morticed. The split piece can be pryed up/away althoug it is mostly still attaced.
Any advice on fixing this? I know I can slightly pry up the split, insert some glue, and clamp it pack down. Are there other tricks/techniques? A particular kind of glue should I use?
Thanks
Tom
Replies
Gee, thats never happened to me! (yeah right).
I pried the part up and used SYSTEM 3 epoxy. It is an almost watery epoxy that flows into everything. You may have to clean the epoxy up with chisel and sandpaper later but that crack will not break again. I have heard that the thin super glues work also but haven't tried them.
Bobby
I don't know if you want to try this or not since it is a bit messy.
I just fixed a similar problem using good old Gorilla Glue. You get a lot more product for your money than you do with epoxy and the open time is a lot longer. I also am starting to use it anywhere that I would expect fatigue of normal glues.
A word of caution, it takes some practice to get the right amount applied. Until you get it figured out, you'll find yourself constantly wiping the foam like squeeze out over the 4 hour set period.
Steve - in Northern California
There's no one right answer for the best fix in this or any other instance. If the parts fit together really well, I will usually use one of the thin super glues. It there are gaps then perhaps a thicker super glue or epoxy. If you can actually get regular wood glue into the split, and the fit-up is tight, then that will work well also. Consider this a learning experience. I've had lot's of them.
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