Thread: Glue for Coticule

I used some epoxy to join a vintage coticule recently. It was a glued yellow/bbw and I let it slip from my fingers one day and it fell a few inches to a table top. The two halves separated and the yellow broke one third of the way from the end. After I dried my tears I had to lap the residue off of the glued portion to re-glue.

I used Loctite Professional Epoxy that I picked up at Home Depot. This stuff is really good and I have used it for other things and always so far so good. Now when I put the three pieces together everything seemed to line up perfectly to where it appeared that once cured I would be able to lap the hone and run a razor over the cracked portion without catching the crack.

I laid it on a countertop and applied the epoxy and then I put a couple of diamond plates on it for weight. Unfortunately whether from the weight or being mistaken as to the position of the broken yellow the edge catches the cracked area.

So I put the hone in the oven at 200 degrees for 45 minutes and it was still stuck firmly together. I soaked it for a week and no change. So the moral of my story is if you use epoxy make certain that you have the pieces where you want them to start with.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I used some epoxy to join a vintage coticule recently. It was a glued yellow/bbw and I let it slip from my fingers one day and it fell a few inches to a table top. The two halves separated and the yellow broke one third of the way from the end. After I dried my tears I had to lap the residue off of the glued portion to re-glue.

I used Loctite Professional Epoxy that I picked up at Home Depot. This stuff is really good and I have used it for other things and always so far so good. Now when I put the three pieces together everything seemed to line up perfectly to where it appeared that once cured I would be able to lap the hone and run a razor over the cracked portion without catching the crack.

I laid it on a countertop and applied the epoxy and then I put a couple of diamond plates on it for weight. Unfortunately whether from the weight or being mistaken as to the position of the broken yellow the edge catches the cracked area.

So I put the hone in the oven at 200 degrees for 45 minutes and it was still stuck firmly together. I soaked it for a week and no change. So the moral of my story is if you use epoxy make certain that you have the pieces where you want them to start with.

I just noticed that with this post, Jimmy has reached
5000 posts!
Of course, by the time I finish typing this he'll have 5012 probably!

Congratulations and thank you for all your help Jimmy!!!

Originally Posted by Utopian

I just noticed that with this post, Jimmy has reached
5000 posts!
Of course, by the time I finish typing this he'll have 5012 probably!

Congratulations and thank you for all your help Jimmy!!!

Thanks Ron, it is really funny but when I finally saw your post I looked at my post count and it was 5,012. Obviously I've got way too much time on my hands.

When my coticule/BBW separated, I lapped the two faces to get the old glue off, then I used silicon rubber (tube type) to stick the two parts together.
The silicon was meant to be used on roof gutters and guaranteed for 25 years so it is more than adequate for the job.
After spreading the silicon thinly, evenly and completely on one face to be stuck, I put the other one on and moved the two parts back and forth lengthwise to seat them and to squeeze excess silicon out. The two parts can be adjusted quiet late but must be left to set for at least a few days. Mine has a join of about 3/4mm.
Excess glue can be cut or scraped off when it is set completely.
With this method, you must work cleanly and not spread silicon everywhere but use recommended solvent to remove mess.
I guess you can use a sharp thin knife or hot piano-guitar wire to separate parts.

Okay, I have a confession to make. Last year So Yamash*ta's father packed up and mailed me a Nakayama Namita hone and it did not survive the trip. A big chunk of it was broken off a corner and the tragedy is depicted below. I wanted it fixed immediately so I grabbed the first glue I could find--Elmer's woodworking glue, which as far as I can tell is exactly like what you used to hold glitter on your art projects in elementary school except this stuff is light brown. I glued it and clamped it and left it alone for a day. It still holds just fine.

While I would never used such a water soluble glue on a hone I was going to leave soaking, I'd be perfectly willing to use it again on a coticule or any other hone that is just sprayed with water.

You glued that beautiful slurry stone to the hone ??? Just kidding.... I was talking to the guy at Japan Woodworker ... the one who is their main sharpening expert and he mentioned that he likes Gorilla Glue for gluing stones. Whatever works though.

I did consider keeping it as a rubbing stone but I wanted that corner supported. If the break had been straight down, I probably would have left it off.

I'll give you one warning about Gorilla Glue--IT EXPANDS. I haven't used it very much and the first time I used it was to glue a coticule and it split the rock. I had it clamped very lightly on both ends and the middle busted out during the night. I SHOULD have clamped it between two boards to ensure uniform pressure and I know that is what I'll do the next time, but just be aware that it continues to expand slightly for quite a while.

At Ardennes, they use a sort of floor tile cement to bond the Coticules to their backing. It has some filling properties.
I have successfully used hot glue myself. Be quick or preheat the pieces.
If a stone looses a tight fitting chunk (I've seen it happening once), it's better to use a glue that has no filling properties. We used CA on that one occasion. The hone has seen much use ever since, no problem whatsoever.


Bart.

Thank you guys for your suggestions. There was some glue still left on the originaly bonded sides of the stone. Being genuinely lazy I stuffed the hone in question into the oven with my newly acquired stones which needed a bit of sweating and then stuck those sides together. So fat it holds. We will see when I it will be flattened and lapped.

Originally Posted by adrspach

Thank you guys for your suggestions. There was some glue still left on the originaly bonded sides of the stone. Being genuinely lazy I stuffed the hone in question into the oven with my newly acquired stones which needed a bit of sweating and then stuck those sides together. So far it holds. We will see when I it will be flattened and lapped.

Be careful when you pick it up. If you are holding it say by the sides in your finger tips and it comes apart and the one half falls you will be surprised how delicate the yellow is when not bonded to something stronger. I learned the hard way.