View Single Post
  #27  
Old 06-18-2017, 03:38 PM
Alan Carruth Alan Carruth is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 4,180
Default

I was happy to see the direction this thread took: the concept of mixing polyurethane glue with boiling water scared the hecks out of me. PU foams up enthusiastically when it hits a little bit of cold water; I can't imagine what it would do if you dumped some in boiling water, or vice versa. I don't hanker to try.

You can mix Titebond with a small amount of lukewarm water to thin it for some applications without losing too much strength. I use about 10% water in the glue for really large laminations to keep it flowing while I get all the clamps on. Boy, does it get runny...

I suppose something like thinned out T3 would work as a sealer. Some folks do advocate sealing the insides, but I think it's a bad idea. There really is nothing practical you can do to totally eliminate moisture exchange in wood. Slowing it down might help to reduce some kinds of cracking, but is unlikely to stop it entirely. At some point the wood will crack, and when it does you'll need to repair it. Anything that is effective at slowing moisture exchange is also going to make it hard to repair, since glue probably won't stick to it well. The usual wash coat of thinned out shellac is probably as helpful as anything in slowing down the appearance of cracks, and at least it's thin enough to sand off when you need to (a pain, but doable...). Titebond is a bear to sand by comparison.

As has been said, the guy should stick to toilet seat solid bodies.
Reply With Quote