Epoxy, Birding, Backyards, etc...
You know... There are times when even the casual backyard birder has to call out the serious adhesives... Be it a trellis, or a walking stick/monopod, there are times when only the best adhesive will do -- enter epoxy. Consider below...
That's two pieces of oak sandwiching a piece of teak. Those are two wood types notorious for their dislike of sticky stuff... So why do it? The purpose of this senseless exercise is to glue up a blank to ultimately make a marlinspike. (The marlinspike's little brother, the fid, is the brown cone-shaped object resting on the hammer...) And it's the job of the marlinspike/fid to create the Turk's head knot that's on the aforementioned monopod that's used by the casual birder... Yeah, the feeders can get this involved!
Onward... The bottom line is that if you're serious about making outdoor stuff, nothing beats epoxy for its strength, waterproof nature, and gap-filling ability... And here's how you use it...
- First read this free book by System Three... If you read that simple text, understand and implement all the safety precautions, and practice just a little, you'll be close to being an expert right out of the blocks...
- Buy quality stuff from a company like West, U.S. Composites, Raka, System Three, etc... Expect to pay about $100/gallon including pumps. (Rugged quality ain't cheap...)
- When it comes time to actually glue wood, clean and sand/scuff the bare bonding surfaces thoroughly and then soak them with mixed but unthickened epoxy. (Expect a mess... See below...)
- Next, thicken up some of your mixed epoxy using the manufacturer's wood flour until you have a toothpaste-like slurry...
- Now comes the fun part... Slather that slurry on the work areas, and don't be cheap...
- Finally clamp with moderate pressure (epoxy doesn't like to be squeezed out of its joint if you know what I mean) and leave it alone for a few days...
If you've done everything right, you'll have an unbreakable joint and will have destroyed a t-shirt and perhaps a pair of jeans in the process...
Kidding aside, coalesce some epoxy, pressure-treated lumber, stainless bolts and screws, and a bit of time, and you'll have a picnic table that will last you until at least 2032... That's not shabby...
By the bullet-proof feeders,
CapeCodAlan
Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding
Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding
Live eBirdseed.com streaming cam
eBirdseed and misc. references
By Location, Birds and Natural History Books (a global reference)
