Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

MrRonObvious t1_j9rd9py wrote

Why not use the rebar in a slightly oversized hole, and then pour epoxy down the hole?

This will lock the wood to the rebar, and also prevent the rebar from working it's way out of the wood. And even if the wood did somehow rot away, the rebar would be encased in a "tube" of epoxy and be unable to damage anyone.

15

_aPOSTERIORI OP t1_j9rxhnv wrote

Follow up, what product would you suggest for this? There are so many options when looking at Home Depot and most are little tubes for smaller applications. Is there anything in liquid form I could just pour into the hole?

3

MrRonObvious t1_j9s1ia9 wrote

Go to a boating supply store like West Marine. You can buy one gallon and two gallon buckets of two-part epoxy. It's not cheap.

You can also order it from Amazon, I would think.

3

_aPOSTERIORI OP t1_j9ruha4 wrote

Wow, that sounds genius. I think I’m going to try that.

1

dude_no_just_no t1_j9u1s2m wrote

There was a great video from a furniture maker on how titebond wood glue is stronger then wood. Epoxy will work, but it will be too hard/stiff/stronger then needed. Something with give will do better in wood.

Consider masking off and encapsulating just the end. Too big of a volume curing together will get too hot and can start a fire.

1

MrRonObvious t1_j9uahxs wrote

Epoxy does get hot when curing, but I doubt it's hot enough to start a fire. The rebar would act as a heatsink regardless.

I still think epoxy is a better choice, because it needs to bond to both metal and wood, and I don't think Titebond grabs well onto metal.

1

dude_no_just_no t1_j9ue3px wrote

You’re right, depending on the diameter of the rebar hole it probably wouldn’t get too hot. Epoxy would work, it just may not be the best.

Also yes epoxy will adhere better to the metal than many other adhesives. However this is a potted application where cohesion and bulk material properties will dominate the strength. The ribbing on rebar will have to crack through the adhesive before any adhesive strength is tested.

Consider the higher density great stuff (polyurethane foam) for protecting the rebar and filling gaps. It’s designed to help support windows and doors and would probably be much easier to use here

1

MrRonObvious t1_j9v2qfv wrote

"help support" is not nearly the same as "firmly bond to" and if you have ever compared the strength of the two, it's easy to crack off the excess Great Stuff foam, but I've never been able to crack epoxy without using massive quantities of leverage. Plus this will be outside, and UV radiation from sunlight massively degrades polyurethane foam, so that's another reason I would vote against it.

1