I haven’t built with padouk and would like to make some trinket boxes, either joined by mitered corners or finger joints. The wood seems oily. Should I first wipe with acetone and what type of glue is best? Is carpenters yellow glue ok or polyurethane?
Thanks
Replies
Wipe it with acetone. That may bleed some color, so wipe the whole piece. Yellow glue works OK. Clamp and let sit for a couple days if the joints are stressed. It dries slower than usual because the wood doesn't absorb as much moisture. Polyurethane does not work well. Some brands won't cure on oily wood and you need to dampen the wood first. Best glue is marine epoxy, but it does not finish well. Made to work on oily woods like teak. I like to use joints that don't really need the glue for strength. Finger joint or mitered with dovetail splines works well. A plain miter is not good. You at least need biscuits or dowels. Also, the oil can give problems when finishing. A very light wash coat of shellac is a big help.
In addition to what Bob said, watch out for the dust. It's particularly nasty.
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Built a lot of pieces with padouk and have always used Titebond I or II, and have never had a failure. I've never cleaned the joints with acetone or anything else. I always glue a freshly sawn or jointed edge. Padouk left in the sun will oxidize rapidly and change color, so place your pieces in yor home accordingly.
There was an article in the latest Fine Woodworking where they tested glue joints in oily woods that had been cleaned with acetone vs no cleaning, and found that it made no difference to the strength. While the acetone picked up the oil from the surface it actually drew the oil back up from the wood so it didn't end up any cleaner than it was to start with. They recommended that you use epoxy if you needed a stonger joint (equivalent to a non oily wood and yellow glue)
Edited 11/14/2003 5:17:55 PM ET by RVANDERPYL