Best glue for wood-to-wood segmenting?

[hannah]

I recently obtained some old ebony piano keys. They're too narrow to use a single key as a blank, so I need to fix them together length-wise.

Those who do a lot of segmenting - what is your preferred glue? CA? Gorilla glue? Epoxy? Does it depend on the wood?

I was thinking of tinting some epoxy black in the hope that there wouldn't be a visible stripe of glue.

 

[mark james]

Tightbond Translucent.

Other iterations of Tightbond are also excellent, I just prefer the least visible glue-lines as possible. Tight clamps are also your friend (tight, but not squeezing all the glue out).

 

[lorbay]

I use Titebond II.
Lin

 

[ramaroodle]

No question. Titebond. The glue is stronger than the wood. Rough up the glue surfaces with sandpaper. and clamp.

 

[GaryMGg]

Titebond II for my indoor use wood glue.
Wipe the surfaces with acetone if there's any oils.

 

[John Eldeen]

Titebond III for me if it can be clamped and CA medium or thick if I can't clamp it.

 

[ramaroodle]

Titebond II for my indoor use wood glue.
Wipe the surfaces with acetone if there's any oils.

+1 about the acetone especially since you're using ebony. It's oily. And when you drill it keep the bit cool with DNA and clear of chavings. As long as you're using Titebond I'd suggest Titebond Hide Glue as a test. Just let it cure overnight.

 

[jttheclockman]

I am going to differ with all above because I have used ebony and it is a oily wood. Normally I would use Titebond II for wood to wood adhesion. Titebond III is just a weather version of the glue. But I would use epoxy with some black paint mixed in. I would roughen the surfaces to add some tooth to them. Never had a segmented pen fail yet.

 

[jttheclockman]

No question. Titebond. The glue is stronger than the wood. Rough up the glue surfaces with sandpaper. and clamp.

Not always the case. Just my opinion. Especially exotic woods which are naturally oily.

 

[ramaroodle]

I am going to differ with all above because I have used ebony and it is a oily wood. Normally I would use Titebond II for wood to wood adhesion. Titebond III is just a weather version of the glue. But I would use epoxy with some black paint mixed in. I would roughen the surfaces to add some tooth to them. Never had a segmented pen fail yet.

I can't say as I would disagree. Epoxy might do the trick too. I use epoxy between wood and metal but have had the best luck with tight bond when joining wood segments. CA is useless for this kind of stuff in my opinion. It has no sheer strength and dries too brittle.

 

[hannah]

Thanks everyone, I have quite a few piano keys so I'll give both methods a try.

@jttheclockman you posted a Celtic knot pen somewhere on here with tinted epoxy and I loved the faint black border it gave. Going to have to try that on my next segmenting project.

 

[jttheclockman]

Thanks everyone, I have quite a few piano keys so I'll give both methods a try.

@jttheclockman you posted a Celtic knot pen somewhere on here with tinted epoxy and I loved the faint black border it gave. Going to have to try that on my next segmenting project.

Here you go. Black acrylic and aluminum and epoxy System3 T88 glue with system 3 black epoxy dye.