Tagua Nut Advice Sought

odd - I've never had that problem - is the glue failing by releasing the nut, or by not holdng to the dowel, or is the glue spltting in half?

my first guess would be that you aren't getting enough surface area in contact, sand a flat that is at least 3/8 inch in diamter - and it must be flat - use 120 grit or so to leave a bit of roughness, let it dry and then test it and see if it's gripping well.

If you want to be extra secure, you can turn a 1/4 or 3/16 tennon on the nut and make a matching hole in the material you will use for the base - I usually use something dark - ebony or cocobolo - for the base

Bill

to contact me, do not reply to this message, instead correct this address and use it

will iam_ b_ No ble at msn daught com

Hi George,

I turn a waste block mandrel about 6 inches long with a taper near the end. I turn the small end a bit larger than the end of the nut I'm going to glue to it. I make concave indentation in the end a little larger than the end of the nut that will fit in it.

My mandrels are mounted on homemade faceplates but before I made them I used a scroll chuck to hold the waste blocks. Except for the short taper on the end, I make the mandrels a large diameter to prevent flexing (2 to 3 inches). I use 5 min epoxy glue to glue the nuts on. After mixing the glue, I fill up the concave end with glue and stick in the nut. I use the tail stock to apply just enough pressure to keep it from falling off until the glue sets.

Rotating the waste block by hand until the glue reaches the gel stage prevents drips but just in case I cover the lathe ways with a piece of cardboard to catch any accidents.

Once the glue has set, I remove the mandrel & nut from the lathe and allow the glue to cure fully. I usually wait overnight but I have turned some after a few hours. I use the tail stock for support as long as possible.

I've used this method for a while and so far I haven't had any failures do to the glue joint.

Bertie

Hello George,

Welcome to the world of woodturning. You don't say what form of CA glue you are using. The super thin stuff will not generally hold a tagua nut or two pieces of anything together very well. It fills cracks very well, but I've always had problems trying to glue two pieces together with the thin glue. The medium CA glue is the proper stuff to use. It takes a bit longer to set, but generally holds well. Coat both surfaces with the glue by rubbing them together. Separate them and spray one side with fixative. Then quickly but them back together and hold in place for one minute. Allow a couple of more minutes for it to set up properly and you are ready to turn.

Fred Holder

I have done a few of these, and I use the thicker CA glues and the accelerator. The thinner stuff doesn't fill any of the gaps, and won't hold. With the accelerator (I spray the nut) it is ready to turn right away. I mounted it on flat grain wood, as I feel that makes a better glue joint. robo hippy

Now that you mention that, Tony... you sparked a memory that a senior moment had blocked..

When I'm gluing something to a scrap block, or in this case a dowel, I do it in place... hold the block in the chuck or between centers and use the tail stock as a clamp to keep pressure on the adhesive... I've found that a bit of clamping gives me a little better feeling about even a CA joint... Mac

. The article suggests sanding

adding to the other good suggestions, it sometimes happens that a nut that is not 'quite' dried will have a bit of oil in it, so when you try to glue, it is not gripping well. A little solvent wiped over the flat spot before applying glue may help. Being sure both the dowel and the nut base are flat is important, as is using the medium-thick glue. The tail stock allows you to do the bumpy roughing with relative safety.