Tools and Epoxy
After a while it seems that everything you touch has an epoxy covering
or fingerprints.
The best guards against problems are duct tape, paste wax and oil.
Remember, the epoxy will not adhere (well) to waxed and oiled surfaces.
F Clamps and bar clamps
Clamp pads on the clamp faces. The epoxy adheres poorly to the plastic
and the pads help keep the clamps from sliding. Wax the bars to make
spatter easy to remove. Cover the handles with duct tape. It enhances grip
and when removed, the glue comes off with it. Oil the hand screws.
Wooden clamps
Oil the screws well. Put duct tape on the clamp faces. It may be
necessary to put a couple of staples in to keep it from curling off of the
faces. I like "Duck" brand tape for the faces as the glossy
surface leaves a nice finish if the clamp is placed over a glue joint and
releases from the glue very easily.
Staple gun
Take your new staple gun apart. Wax all of the staple magazine, spring
slider, drive plunger, etc. Reassemble. Cover the handle with duct tape.
Failure to do so, will make it MUCH harder to clean after it gets gummed
up with epoxy.
Remove the staples and spring slider assembly after each glue session.
It is easy to get glue on the staples when adding during a glue-up session
and then come back to a no-working gun.
If after a while the slider spring no longer seats when a new stick of
staples is installed, it is probably due to the spring being coated with
epoxy and now cannot fit. If it was waxed previously the glue will come
off with a wire brush. If not, take it outside and heat it gently with a
propane torch to burn off the glue and clean with a wire brush. If
overheated, the spring will lose its "springiness". Re-wax after
cleaning.
Planes
Sharpen often. If you need to use with wet epoxy, disassemble and clean
with solvent at the end of the work session. Do not wax outside. The sole
of the plane contacts the glue joint and can transfer off causing adhesion
problems. Taping the sides and handle is probably a good idea, but not
very practical on a block plane.
|