Glueing BOXWOOD

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

timber

Established Member
Joined
1 Sep 2014
Messages
435
Reaction score
8
Location
near Bedford
I have a lot of Boxwood that has splits in it. If I cut and plane to a fresh face can it be glued ,, and will it stick well, and what glue would be needed. ? Thanks
 
Yes and just wood glue, is the short answer.

The longer answer is mostly questions...
What is it? Where does it go? Will it move more and break some place else?

If it’s literally logs of boxwood, don’t bother, that’d be weird

Aidan
 
Aidan.
I have had this box for about 30 years . I cut it down myself. I have a good friend who has a Drawknife that he is restoring. -----Has his heart set on boxwood handles. I can't get them out of the split wood. Hence the question, without cutting and glueing. I don't want to have them slit again (max. size of the handle is 1.5 inch x4 1/2 I have Titebond glue use.
 
This is what I guess you want to do (a picture would have helped lots!):

1. You have boxwood logs cut 30 years ago which have split lengthwise.

2. You want to cut along the split, plane each side to a good surface, glue them together, and then turn a drawknife handle.

Yes?

If so, it might work. Ordinary woodworking glue is what you want.

The risk is that once you remove wood by planing and turning, you will relieve stresses in the wood. If so it will twist and split, almost certainly.

The only way to find out is to try. Once you've rough turned a handle, leave it somewhere which has no humidity control for a week or so, maybe under cover outdoors. If it survives that it should be OK and you can finish your turning.
 
I suppose you could do that, personally I’d get a good bit for a nice job and use that, keeping the rest for something else. Effectively you’re making a laminated part which is fine, maybe even stronger, but it’ll look odd

Aidan
 
FWIW boxwood is notorious in musical instrument making for bending along the direction of the grain over time. If you make, say, a flute from it the chances are it will end up distinctly banana-shaped in 5-10 years time.
 
Back
Top