Glue chucks

[heronviewer]

I've been making a small (8" diameter) bowl from a dry cherry half log. It was going to be over 3½" deep but I found when I started turning it, there was some woodworm just inside the bark. I had it mounted on a faceplate, so I got it round and made a dovetail for mounting in a Patriot chuck. So far, OK. I made the dovetail 12mm deep.

When I remounted it using the dovetail and started turning, I found I had to remove far more of the top of the bowl to get rid of the worm holes than I had expected. The 12mm dovetail looks a bit of a luxury as I have lost quite a lot of the depth I might have had. It will be about 2" deep now !

I should have used a glue chuck in retrospect, but the only time I have used one (with hot melt glue), the joint failed very quickly when I was turning.

What experiences have others had with glue chucks on reasonable sized pieces ?

 

[CHJ]

......
What experiences have others had with glue chucks on reasonable sized pieces ?

The most likely problem with the lack of bonding is that the glue is not hot enough and or the flow rate was not adequate to maintain the heat.
see here for an early thread that shows typical size of object that can be held safely

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Our pro turner uses three glue guns at a time to ensure the glue is hot enough when the unbalanced blank weighs over a hundredweight. :shock: :lol:

 

[Paul Hannaby]

If you want a stronger hold, either use a larger contact area or a stronger glue! If you're just going to turn away the sacrificial piece, it doesn't matter what glue you use so why not go for a strong wood glue. I've used everything from double sided tape to hot melt glue to PVA or Titebond. I just tried to make sure the joint strength was suitable for the size of blank and the cuts being used.

 

[heronviewer]

Thanks for your replies - all very helpful. The link is very informative !
Maybe my previous trouble with hot melt glue was due to a cold workshop and a cold piece of wood. Maybe I should do the glueing in the kitchen which is much warmer !

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

One habit I've got into with hot melt glue is I tend to turn mine on a good 20 minutes before I use it so it's seriously warmed up. The glue is very runny and you really notice the difference.

 

[Keithie]

our local pro uses titebond 3 (in line with what Paul said) .. I doubt there's anything wrong with that either.

 

[Duncan A]

If using a glue gun, it needs to be able to deliver glue fast enough to stay hot. There's a thread here about glue guns with lots of options to help empty your wallet:
hot-melt-glue-guns-t100150.html

Duncan

 

[CHJ]

our local pro uses titebond 3 (in line with what Paul said) .. I doubt there's anything wrong with that either.

No there isn't, except time, with hot melt you are good to go and continue processes within 3-4 minutes not 24 hrs.

Consider Hot Melt as virtually instant chucking for small pieces and overcoming holding problems.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

See the update to Duncan's post ^^^.

 

[woodpig]

The problem I've found with glue guns is if the substrate is cold ( ie in the winter) it sucks the heat out of the glue very quickly. Ok for small jobs maybe but not do good for larger pieces.

I've had no trouble using Titebond 3 with Mc Donald's bags in between!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

That's what hot air guns are for.