joeswayze44
Curious about Wooden Canoes
best glue for canvas repairs on old chestnut. thanx. joe swayze44
Glue Best For Canvas Repairs On Old Chestnut. Thanx.
- Thread starter joeswayze44
- Start date
The best glue for many years was Ambroid as described at http://www.ottertooth.com/Canoe_pages/ambroid.htm but it appears to have gone out of production. Duco Cement is still available and seems like a reasonable alternative. See http://forums.wcha.org/index.php?threads/13064/ for more details.
Benson
Benson
joeswayze44
Curious about Wooden Canoes
thanx benson. yes, i used ambroid in the old days. will check wcha thread on subject. aside from work on canvas, i have thoughts of running a bead of glue along both sides of keel on this little chestnut (bob special) i just inherited. stored for last 30 years in barn. structurally great, but also original canvas from '50s, so far from perfect. thanx
A fresh coat of paint might be a better option. If that doesn't fix the leaks then it is probably time for a new canvas. Good luck,
Benson
Benson
Dave Osborn
LIFE MEMBER
Joe,
If it were mine, rather than laying a bead of glue along the keel, I’d remove it and re-bed it.
Doesn’t take that long to do...
If it were mine, rather than laying a bead of glue along the keel, I’d remove it and re-bed it.
Doesn’t take that long to do...
joeswayze44
Curious about Wooden Canoes
yikes. removing the keel makes me anxious, given my limited skills. but no doubt this is very good advice. thanx. btw,this canoe has a serial number. might the wcha have the chestnut directory with canoes listed by serial number? if not the wcha, who? with thanx.
There aren't any extensive Chestnut serial number records available like there are for some other builders so no one here can tell you much more about the specific history of this canoe. Sorry,
Benson
joeswayze44
Curious about Wooden Canoes
well, the precise history of this little Bob Special will have to remain a mystery. so be it. 
thanx, joe
thanx, joe
David Satter
Wooden Canoe Maniac
Anybody know of the shelf life. I've got about a dozen tubes of Ambroid . I've had them for about 6 to 8 years. They all seem fine and not hardened. I know they still work on my work gloves. I don't think I'm ever going to use 12 tubes. I'd hate to see them go bad. I use a lot of G-flex epoxy from Jamestown Dist. The metal tubes always seem to crack before you use it all up like the Ambroid tubes.
Greg Nolan
enthusiast
I've got a couple of tubes that are several years old, and I would guess that they are good as long as the stuff stays liquid. It is essentially cellulose nitrate dissolved in a solvent that is basically acetone. As far as I can tell, it is a glue that dries, rather than curing, and it seems to work as long as the solvent is present.
It is far from the strongest glue around, but it is fine for patching a tear in a canoe's canvas, because it dries rapidly, is a bit flexible, and is waterproof (or for gluing plastic model airplanes together where it gets its strength by actually melting the plastic, creating a welded joint when the acetone dries off.)
The history of Ambroid can be found at http://www.ottertooth.com/Canoe_pages/ambroid.htm, where it is reported that " Old-timers have told the Ambroid Company that it lasts for decades in the tubes."
As far as I know, it is no longer made -- but Devcon's Duco cement seems to be almost identical.
It is far from the strongest glue around, but it is fine for patching a tear in a canoe's canvas, because it dries rapidly, is a bit flexible, and is waterproof (or for gluing plastic model airplanes together where it gets its strength by actually melting the plastic, creating a welded joint when the acetone dries off.)
The history of Ambroid can be found at http://www.ottertooth.com/Canoe_pages/ambroid.htm, where it is reported that " Old-timers have told the Ambroid Company that it lasts for decades in the tubes."
As far as I know, it is no longer made -- but Devcon's Duco cement seems to be almost identical.