How would you join this?

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

This is the corner section of the top rail on my back cockpit. It joins (previously) with a glued butt joint to the piece which runs along the back of the cockpit... so they form a 90 degree angle over a few inches. The rail frame is stainless, with the mahogany slipping over the top piece of tubing, then bolting through it with the bolts you see. It's plugged on top. The whole rail has a curved shape to it. There isn't a lot of strain on this joint, but the butt joint, even with epoxy, is more fragile than I'd like.

I know the real thing to do would be to reform the piece with a long scarf joint, but that means making a whole new piece... I'd prefer not to do that...(if possible) so... A mending plate underneath? biscuits? small dowels? I'm refinishing the rail, and I took the joint apart...at both ends.. it didn't take much :rolleyes:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid201/p466a0f6156c301fac52a1e4f94459071/f00ae6c0.jpg

[Ron Williamson]

The rail is continuous underneath?So it's not structural?
A butterfly would be cool.
R

[Gordon Bartlett]

I propose not joining it at all. Instead, ease all the sharp edges with a decent size radius and leave a slight gap between each of the three pieces. This is for two reasons:
First, it's hard to imagine the varnish lasting long where it spans this plain butt joint. It will almost certainly crack and let water penetrate beneath the varnish. Radiused edges will allow a continuous coat of varnish all the way around the end of each piece, thereby giving the varnish a longer life.
Second, treating it as three separate pieces will allow you to dismantle it easily and varnish it well, including the (well sealed) endgrain.
As long as the two gaps are somewhat uniform and look purposefully done I think it would look nice.

[Ken Hutchins]

If you have a good cutter, biskets glued with resorcinol would work if you can fit 4 or 5 of them in the space.

[JimConlin]

I'd try a couple of dowels of SS or bronze threaded rod, set in epoxy.

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

I thought the dowels might be the answer. The rail is continuous, and would look strange if it were not. The rail is about 3 inches across the top, so biscuits would have to be very small. I don't have a biscuit joiner either... but hey... any excuse for another tool :D

[Lew Barrett]

I just got a screaming deal on a used Lamello you'd be welcomed to borrow if you got to Seattle, but I think dowels might be more reliable(and possibly easier) given that the rail lives outside.
Lew

Originally posted by Peter Malcolm Jardine:
I thought the dowels might be the answer. The rail is continuous, and would look strange if it were not. The rail is about 3 inches across the top, so biscuits would have to be very small. I don't have a biscuit joiner either... but hey... any excuse for another tool :D

[RonW]

Agree with Gordon's post.

[S/V Laura Ellen]

Kreg pocket screws might work well to hold the joint together and will still allow the joint to be taken apart in the future if required.

[WFK]

Gordon is right on the money, if left as a butt joint, your varnish will fail. If you insist on connecting it without altering the piece, I'd probably use a spline cutter and join it that way. .........another thought would be to take both pieces, flip them over, rout off the bottom halfs, glue in a connecting piece, rout out the dado, and you've essentially made a half lap joint, and with a good match on the grain, really only visible on the bottom.

Bill

[guillemot]

I like Gordon's suggestion becuase I think it will look sharp and will avoid the problem of a varnish failure. If you must join them and they're not structural, I like the idea of a butterfly aesthetically.

edited for spelling

[ 02-26-2006, 12:41 PM: Message edited by: guillemot ]

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

Thanks for all the options... smile.gif

[sdowney717]

yes, I have joined pieces with long bronze and stainless screws and epoxy and it works well.
One way is to overdrill both sides of the hole where the metal 'dowel' or screw will go. Then pack in some thickened epoxy with the screw dowel inside the hole.
The other is simply
screw in several long screws into the end of the board,
cut off the screw heads
line it up to the other piece, mark where the hole needs to go.
drill it out with a larger drill than the screw shank
glue it together with thickened epoxy packed into the dowel hole.
If you have enough metal dowels, the joint should be stronger than the wood. Think of it like reinforcing concrete with metal rods.

[Mrleft8]

KV Tite-joint fasteners.
Not only are they adjustable, but when you decide to replace part of the rail, but not the whole thing, you can just loosen the joint and remove the offending part, leaving the other parts in place.

[ishmael]

What Lefty said. I think I'd seal the ends well and use a tight joint fastener. I assume they can be had in stainless.

[Alan D. Hyde]

Maybe just some 3-M 4200 compound between them, with the excess wiped-off nicely by your finger in a rubber glove...

Alan

[ 02-27-2006, 01:30 PM: Message edited by: Alan D. Hyde ]