Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 16, 1999 04:00am | #1

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   RS,

   The plugs should hold up fine, especially if you take care and orient the grain correctly. I'm not sure which glue would be best...a marine grade boat builders adhesive maybe, but I think regular waterproof glue would do it. maybe someone else knows a better adhesive. If it's for a deck though, have you seen the EB-TY fastening system?

   Richard Max

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 16, 1999 04:36am | #2

   *RSCCW,

   As Rich pointed out, it's really the glue that will determine how well the plugs hold up. A polyurethane glue would work well and so would epoxy.

   Joseph FuscoView Image

2. 
   RSCCW | Jul 16, 1999 05:23am | #3

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   Yes, actually I have looked into the EB-TY system ,but my customer is concerned about the cost and we are seeking alternatives.

1. 
   bullet | Jul 16, 1999 05:54am | #4

   *few woods hold up to weather better than (genuine) mahogany.polyurethane glue will work well and serve as a partial gap filler if your plug holes aren't perfectly tight.

3. 
   Guest_ | Jul 16, 1999 06:45am | #5

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   Joe,

   I'm not very familiar with the polyurethane glues (Gorilla et al.) Would they stain the open grain of the mahogany? Do you have to wet the plugs first? I bought a pint of it to put some battens on a custom oak entry door once, but chickened out and went with the Titebond II. How good are the polyurethanes?

   Richard Max

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 16, 1999 08:47am | #6

   *RSCCW,Mahogany....the way to go. No doubt in my mind.Gorilla glue is good stuff, but you have to clamp it together or it blows up on you. Try it for yourself, and you will see what I mean. But it is great stuff. Water-proof and you can stain it. Not good for plugs because you can't clamp it till it dries.Resorsianl (sp?) glue is the best for exterior with no clamping. Two part marine glue. don't mix too much, it has a short pot life, but will last forever. Don't over-glue though, it will stain (purple color) but can be scraped off after it dries. It dries kind of brittle. Great stuff.Ed. Williams

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 16, 1999 08:51am | #7

   *the plugs hold up well out side and I'ld have to go with marine epoxy too. I wonder about the cost of pluging a deck verus using a differant fasterning system.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 16, 1999 03:24pm | #8

   *Rich,

   I've had good success with them so far, albeit I don't use them that often. The fact that their water proof and have a large "open" time makes them good for gluing things that might need to be "adjusted" during the glue up. As far as staining, they might? I've never tested them.

   Joseph FuscoView Image

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 16, 1999 03:28pm | #9

   *Ed,

   Do you think that if the plugs were oversized and tapered that the "wedging" factor would hold them till the glue set?

   Joseph FuscoView Image

2. 
   Guest_ | Jul 16, 1999 04:58pm | #10

   *I did a deck two years ago in Port Orford Cedar (Chamyceperis sp.). The screws through the 2x4 handrail into the 2x2 balusters were all plugged. I drilled the countersink holes with a 1/2" forstner bit (to the depth of the bit.. about 3/8 - 1/2... plenty of meat in the 2x, I'd be concerned about 1x decking) and cut 1/2" straight sided plugs out of the same material. I glued them in with polyurethane glue, which requires dampness to activate properly. The wood was KD so I squirted each plug and hole with water from a spray bottle before applying glue. On contact with water the PU glues expand and foam. With the tight fit straight sides (contact/friction full depth) none popped before the glue set. Just tapped them in, no clamping. Never understood the logic of taperd plugs in straight sided holes, unless you haven't matched the hole and plug sizes. You're depending on only one point of contact where the hole ID matches the plug OD (plus however much you compress the field material surrounding the hole by beating the thing in) and glue around the taper and bottom to hold it in. With matched sizes and straight sides the friction does most of the holding aided by the glue in the bottom.Even after wiping each area clean before set up, the glue continued to expand and seep out of some onto the rail surface. Once the stuff dries it's TOUGH to scrape off. I suppose you could try sanding, but you might find that takes the wood down quicker than the glue and I'd be concerned about gouges (unless you want to sand the whole surface like an interior floor). Problem is the natural wood and the glue covered wood will weather to different colors. I might also expect the mahogany to be more open grained than the P.O. cedar and to absorb more. Same concern if you expect the glue to act as a filler on any exposed surface.Another issue is you'll never set all the plugs dead flush, don't even try. Each plug will need to the sanded, scraped, pared or planed (take your pick) flush. With all but sanding you risk splitting the plug off and not having a dead flat surface. On an interior floor you're going to sand anyway so it's not an additional chore. On a deck it is.I think I covered most of the issues raised in other posts. If you're comfortable with the labor issues (time and $) do some experimenting to see how the wood and glue perform together. Then decide.

3. 
   Guest_ | Jul 17, 1999 06:17am | #11

   *Thanks JoeThere is an interesting three piece water table detail going onto the new project. I was thinking about making it up in the shop and just field cutting the lengths. I may use the polyurethane this time.RM

4. 
   Guest_ | Jul 17, 1999 06:31am | #12

   *Rich,

   Anytime. Let me know how it turns out.

   Joseph Fusco View Image

5. 
   Guest_ | Jul 17, 1999 06:54am | #13

   *Joe,I don't know. It seems like DScott has had some experience with that. See his post. I don't know if he is talking about Gorilla glue or not, but whatever he used seems to have the same "foaming" properties as Gorilla glue. And he's right. If it's the same stuff, it is a real bitch to remove the over-flow.Ed. Williams

6. 
   Guest_ | Jul 18, 1999 09:21am | #14

   *My first choice would be a two-part epoxy. My second choice is the same.I don't mind urethane in an exterior application as long as it's a water shedding (vertical or slanted) application. Cosidering the possibility of pooling water on the horizontal deck boards, I'd opt for epoxy.

4. 
   RSCCW | Jul 18, 1999 07:31pm | #15

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   Hey guys thanks for all the advice I appreciate it.Just to let you know I received a sample of the EB-TY system and the Decklip system both would work well with thicker decking but this application is calling for 3/4 material.The thinner decking would put the biscuit to close to the top of the decking in my opinion the top of the slot is only 3/16- from the top of the decking.The clip are totally useless because over all they measure 13/16.probably going to talk the homeowner into stainless finish nails.

5. 
   RSCCW | Jul 18, 1999 07:31pm | #16

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   Can anyone tell me if mahogany plugs in mahogany decking will stand up over time?What would be the best type of glue to use?