Driftwood

[handcrafted]

I have a load of little bits of drift wood that a friend collected for me. They would look lovely put together to make frames or candle holders etc, but i dont want to have to nail them. Could i just glue them? Also do i need to varnish them? They look very pretty as they are.

[bodrighy]

Hot glue is possibly your best bet as other glues will have very few contact points. Just make sure the gun is hot enough.

Pete

[beadsbydesign]

as Bo says, hot glue works best and the other thing is to slightly sand the area where the glue will contact and then make sure the dust is removed.

I think you have a great friend!

[wendy]

I made a few frames with driftwood a few years back and used a hot glue gun - it worked well and they are still stuck down (well, the ones still in my possession are - I did sell a few and can only hope it worked as well for them!).

I didn't varnish any of mine - I like the finish of driftwood too, and I know it's maybe a personal preference but I think varnish would spoil it.

Oh to have a friend who collected driftwood for me!!!

I remember collecting driftwood one day, with a teenage daughter lagging behind, hissing at me: "Stop it, Mum, people are looking!"

[handcrafted]

:D yeah she is very lovely. There are some unusal shapes in the bag of it. All are the size of my palm with some long thin bits.

Il look into the hot glue gun. Thanks.

[bodrighy]

If you can get some sanding sealer, it will paint on & soak into the wood but leave a matt or satin finish that can be buffed a bit. Helps to seal the wood as driftwood often has soft, loose bits. Make sure that it is well dried before using it mind.

Pete

[shiner]

I have fixed pieces of driftwood together using secret dowel fixings. Where the pieces of wood make contact guestimate the angle for drilling the holes for a fixing dowel, if need be drill the hole slightly oversize to allow for error and use a filler/adheasive such as no nails or gripfill

[craftybeader]

Not tried it but how about 'no nails'?

[Scorch]

I can't get hot glue to work worth a damn, and always use epoxy, like Araldite...

[bodrighy]

I had problems with a gun for ages Scorch until someone showed me how.You simply need to leave the gun on until the glue is more or less dripping out the end before using. Works a treat then. I've seen it holding really large pieces weighing a good few kilos spinning on a lathe.

Pete

[TePe]

I agree about the gun. Another tip is to warm up the intended glue surfaces using a hairdryer, get them fairly warm then use the glue gun. You may have to hold the pieces together till they cool a little, but it is more effective. Hot glue on a cold surface just don't work very well.

PS Mornin' Pete, thought it was you when I saw your ID (bodrighly), confirmed when I saw your photo in another post. Only found this forum a few weeks ago while looking for craft fairs. regards Tam

[bodrighy]

Hi Tam,
I found this some time ago when doing the same thing. Good place to get a different slant on things as well as a few commissions. Some interesting people and crafts on here. Some talented pyrographers here. Scrums is on here as well.

pete

[Works-in-Wood]

Hi Tam,

...another few Turners and we could have quite a thriving place here...

Chris/scrums/works-in-wood

[TePe]

And hi to you Chris. Quite a helpful little site you have here, loads of ideas. Don't now how I didn't find it before.

[bodrighy]

Useful for ideas and a source of clients. Chris does the psoh stuff and I do the leftovers...he was here first:sm:

Pete