Glues for woodturning

[Matt Meadows]

I hit a "motherload" the other day of free Jatoba (often called Brazilian cherry), got probably 20-30 bf of it in foot long to 5 foot long pieces.

Anyhow, it's all 3/4 so any turning I try to do with it will require laminating them together. I've already done a couple using Titebond II and it seems to work great. Made a chic looking goblet, wish I had a digital camera to get a pic.

Is this an acceptable glue for turning in general? How long do you let it cure (at, say, 70F) before trusting it at lathe speeds? And do you spin it under a certain RPM?

 

[bonsaipeter]

Titebond glues, polyurethanes, epoxies, and CAs are all good glues for turning. The more important issue is the preparation of the surfaces to be bonded rather than the type of glue used. You must use good glue joint practices for turning projects just as with flat work. The surfaces must be clean of grease and chips, flat, and ideally have a surface texture that is slightly roughened to say a 120 to 220 grit sandpaper. For the proper clamp time, consult the mnufactures directions and to play it safe use 1-1/2 times the recommended clamp time.

I routinely use Titebond to glue waste blocks onto bowl blanks. I generaly use my lathe as the clamp by mounting the blank and waste block between centers as the last thing I do before calling it quites for the day. This way when I come back the following day, the glue joint is fully cured and I'm ready to turn.

One very important caution to be aware of when gluing oily woods such as cocobolo. The natural oils in these type of woods will prevent you from getting good glue joinery with any glue. You have to first remove the surface oil by scrubbing the prepared surfaces with a solvent such as acetone or lacquer thinner on a paper towel. make sure you allow the solvent to fully evaporate off before applying the glue.

 

[Dr_dewey]

jatoba glueing

i use the LV 2002 GF glue (PVA type) on jatoba with no problems, as has been said - clean faces and dry, don't starve the glue. I will true up the faces after an hour at rpms under 1200.

 

[Matt Meadows]

Thanks all. Glue jointery is a breeze in the shop, I'm lucky enough to have access to a big jointer, 15" planer, etc...

What about the color of the glue? Ie, if I turn a platter of Jatoba and want to "suntan" it, will yellow glue like TBII show glue lines? Should it be darkened?