Laminating wood and foam

[ezhitz]

I was wondering has anybody tried using Gorilla glue to laminate wood over foam to build sponsons rather then using epoxy.

[NativePaul]

Yes it works well, on the plus side it is lighter than epoxy, but it is also messier, with a longer cure time than fast epoxies, needs more clamping pressure, and is not waterproof, although the insides of your sponsons shouldn't be getting wet anyway. UHU Por can contact cement also works well if you coat the foam and most of the wood with it but leaving the edges of the wood clear, for an instant bond with no clamping needed and then when you epoxy the outsides of the sponons it will wick into the joints resulting in a VERY fast build that is nearly as strong as a full epoxy one.

[ezhitz]

Thanks Paul I think I will try it. If I have a problems with them I can make a new set. My thought was it would save some weight over using epoxy.

[NativePaul]

It is indeed lighter especially if you can spray a mist of water over the surface to be joined, which makes it foam more, meaning you can use less glue to get a good bond.

Check regularly for excess glue oozing out of joints and wipe off as best you can before it dries, it dries softer than epoxy and it is harder to sand off after the event as it clogs the grit.