Friday 11 February 2011

Frayed nerves

I'd never made a bomb disposal expert. Not that I want to be one of course. My nerves are well and true frayed after glueing the first veneer top panel to my ply linings.
Don't laugh. Everbuild Smart Tack glue came with every sort of health warning from around the boatyard. Knowing chuckles echoed around my ears. "Oh, hoh. You've got to get that right first time! Once it's touched the other surface you'll never separate them."
While the experts in the joinery shop insisted it wasn't hard to use...followed by that damning start to any bit of advice "you've just got to...". 'Just'. How I hate that word. Invariably it means completely the opposite. Rather like 'simply' which tells you you're facing a nigh on impossible task.
Smart Tack's makers call it an 'aggressive bonding agent' which means it grabs and sticks. Fast. Once the two surfaces touch you will not be able to get them apart. And that's a potential problem when you're trying to accurately stick an eight feet long sheet of flappy 4mm ply into place.
I decided to practise on a shorter, four feet board that would be hidden behind the galley units so any mistakes would hopefully be out of sight.
The glue is strange stuff. It's in a spray can but what comes out is a fine spider's web of adhesive rather like one of those party sprays. You spray to both surfaces, wait five minutes until the glue looks dry and 'just' press them together.
I made up some vertical guides to keep the sheet in the right position, a prop to keep the bottom away from the side and a slim batten to keep the top edges apart until everything was lined up. Then I pulled the batten away and worked my way down the sheet smoothing it into place.
And there it was - stuck.
The only thing I remain puzzled by is how I got the stringy glue on the back of my jumper. Good job I didn't lean back against another glued surface or I'd still be shouting for help from inside Harry.

1 comment:

Andy Tidy said...

Contact adhesive - wicked stuff!