Preparing Ipe

Kyle Patterson · February 13, 2012, 09:52:00 PM

Another rookie question. Last night i glued up some hickory backings on the Ipe boards. The backings were a little wider than the Ipe, so i went to shape them down to size tonight and i was able to peel the backing off (in pieces) quite easily. I used gorilla glue because i couldnt find anywhere around that sells titebond. So, what do i need to do next time to make sure my backings stick?

Thanks alot!
Kyle

wood carver 2 · February 13, 2012, 10:37:00 PM

If you can't find TB3 locally, you can get it from Lee Valley Tools . There's one in Burlington, near Guelph line.
Dave.

D · February 13, 2012, 11:47:00 PM

Lowes sells TBIII. I'm sure Home Depot does too. I say get some Urac 185 from 3 rivers. It does great on wood to wood. Thats what I use on my Ipe.

Kyle Patterson · February 13, 2012, 11:54:00 PM

Ya, I couldn't find it at depot, but thanks for the tip on lee valley Dave. I'm just down the road so Ill get some tomorrow.
Thanks again!

psychmonky · February 14, 2012, 08:20:00 AM

Even amazon.com sells tb3. As mentioned above, our Lowes here has it in gallon jugs. I goggled it and found:

Lowes.com, homedepot.com, rockler.com, acehardware.com, grizzly.com, woodworker.com, and about 65 other.coms had it.

Out of curiosity, did u use gorilla brand wood glue or plain old gorilla glue? I've never had an issue with their wood glue, but I have never used it on anything as oily as Ipe.

Scott

tenbrook · February 14, 2012, 09:11:00 AM

Try scoring the Ipe with a hacksaw blade before glue up. Also bust out the acetone and give it a good scrubbing first to remove the oils.

Urac 185 is the best. Next comes TBIII (which the do NOT stock at homedepot). Last choice which works fine is TBII (they DO stock this at homedepot).

BTW BBI make the highest performing non-glass bow there is IMO. You should be happy with the outcome. Be sure to keep it real skinny though. 1.25" MAX!

Hope this helps.

Tenbrook

Steve B. · February 14, 2012, 09:43:00 AM

tenbrook,
i sent you a PM.

macbow · February 15, 2012, 07:51:00 PM

Tenbrook, The scoring is great with Urac but I'd use a smooth surface for the TB111. Urac is gap filling and my preferred glue. Tightbond does not fill gaps well.
Ron

beetlebailey1977 · February 18, 2012, 05:53:00 PM

I agree titebond does not fill gaps well at all....needs a smooth surface, and don't starve the joint for glue by over clamping.

fujimo · February 18, 2012, 06:24:00 PM

i have glued up numerous ipe/hickory bows- i way prefer the urac- so user friendly- and the glue line blends well into the ipe- no unsightly glue line- like when i glued up a hickory/yew bow.
i keep the tb111 for my silk backings!