New transom wood filling voids?

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

I glued together 2 pieces of 3/4" BCX plywood that looked good but when I cut it to size I found several voids, one of which went all the way from the top to the bottom of the transom. I plugged one side of the void that went all the way thru and injecting tite bond III glue into the voids to fill them up.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Re: New transom wood filling voids?

Don't know what sort of a boat you're working on, but that would concern me if I was repairing and I/O and there was any chance of there being voids around the keyhole. I wouldn't want to be cranking down the transom shield studs if there voids in the area... seems there would be a good chance the wood around the voids would cave in and you'd have a good chance for a bad seal.

If it's a transom for an outboard, maybe not such a big deal, but I'd leave that for someone with an OB boat to answer.

I'm pretty sure Titebond III shrinks enough as it dries that it won't completely fill voids. After seeing how much work it is to fix the transom, I know I wouldn't risk it by using wood I knew to have voids. Too much work to risk it, for my liking anyway...

Jim

 

[jigngrub]

Re: New transom wood filling voids?

Fiberglass or aluminum boat?

If aluminum, what do you plan to seal the transom with? Epoxy resin for filling the voids and sealing the transom wood would be ideal with no worries.

If fiberglass, I'd seal them with some PB. Then the PB fillets, tabbing, and glassing would take care of everything.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Re: New transom wood filling voids?

The boat is a 1968 Starcraft Falcon. I'll be running a 1973 Mercury 402. I'm not trying to fill the voids in one shot, putting in a little at a time so it can dry. I'm sealing all the wood in oil based spar urathane.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: New transom wood filling voids?

Titebond is an adhesive and not a filler.

 

[minuteman62-64]

Re: New transom wood filling voids?

What about a tube of 6-10? Drill 2-3 holes along the void, maybe 1/4" diameter, and use a gun to inject the 6-10 till it comes out top/bottom/adjoining hole.

I repaired some termite holed sill plates on my shed that way. Worked fine.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Re: New transom wood filling voids?

The voids are just about full now and I'm happy with how it turned out. I was worried about water getting in not so much about strength. I think the plywood as is will hold up better then what I pulled out.
I'm not familiar with 6-10?

 

[Grub54891]

Re: New transom wood filling voids?

Theres a reason they make marine grade plywood. No voids. I wouldnt even consider any other plywood just to save a dime. You just bought stuff to fill in voids,how much did ya save??
Grub

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Re: New transom wood filling voids?

Theres a reason they make marine grade plywood. No voids. I wouldnt even consider any other plywood just to save a dime. You just bought stuff to fill in voids,how much did ya save??
Grub

We buy tite bond by the gallon for the shop.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: New transom wood filling voids?

What's done is done, but... using TBIII to fill voids is not a good idea. For future readers of this thread this is not advisable and should not be copied. Thickened resin would be the preferred material to use for filling voids in plywood. Or better yet, when a void of this magnitude is discovered, it would prolly be better to not use the piece and start with a better piece of plywood. As always, It's your boat and you can always do as you see fit. All of us here on the forum are here to assist and let you know what we have learned from experience and or research on the subject.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Re: New transom wood filling voids?

What's done is done, but... using TBIII to fill voids is not a good idea. For future readers of this thread this is not advisable and should not be copied. Thickened resin would be the preferred material to use for filling voids in plywood. Or better yet, when a void of this magnitude is discovered, it would prolly be better to not use the piece and start with a better piece of plywood. As always, It's your boat and you can always do as you see fit. All of us here on the forum are here to assist and let you know what we have learned from experience and or research on the subject.

How would you get the thickened resin into an opening one ply wide about one quarter inch long 2 or 3 inches deep?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: New transom wood filling voids?

Drill it out with a 3/8" drill bit and fill it using Ketchup consistency resin. It will flow into a 3/8" hole.

 

[zool]

Re: New transom wood filling voids?

How would you get the thickened resin into an opening one ply wide about one quarter inch long 2 or 3 inches deep?

If you just thicken it to a thin catsup consistancy, it will bleed its way into the void if verticle, and be stronger than the surounding lams of ply. Gravity helps if possible. If its a small thin void, just use it straight..it will fill. If horizontal, thicken it more and force it in with a putty knife as best u can..

I filled a few that were verticle with slightly thickened epoxy...

 

[jigngrub]

Re: New transom wood filling voids?

How would you get the thickened resin into an opening one ply wide about one quarter inch long 2 or 3 inches deep?

Force it in with a putty knife for thickened resin.

I personally would've had the 635 thin epoxy resin from USComposites on hand and it would've been the perfect material for the job. It's a very thin flowing/penetrating epoxy that cures rock hard and exceptionally durable. I'd have had this on hand because it would be what I'd seal my transom with in a tinny, 3 or 4 coats is like a sheet of Lexan bonded to your wood.

I've used the exterior grade urethane sealer in a few marine and outdoor applications, and the more I used it the less satisfied I became with it. It is weak and not as long lasting as you would think.

Now I always keep some of the 635 with the 3:1 medium hardener on hand, it'll last a very long time if you protect it from freezing. If the application I'm using it for will be exposed to the sun it get 3 good coats of paint on it. Yeah, it's twice as expensive as the urethane... but it's 10 times better.

Your 14' tinny will be fine with what you've done to it and plan to do to it, but there are better builds and you'll see what I mean about the urethane in a few (3 or 4) years.

 

[minuteman62-64]

Re: New transom wood filling voids?

How would you get the thickened resin into an opening one ply wide about one quarter inch long 2 or 3 inches deep?

If you use the West Six-10, it is already thickened and comes in a cartridge that fits in a standard caulk gun. Just drill 2-3 holes and shoot it in. Your void, one ply thick, is similar to some of the termite runs I've filled this way.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Re: New transom wood filling voids?

I finished filling the 6 voids, it too less then 36 mL of the tite bond III.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: New transom wood filling voids?

Once again, TB III is NOT a filler. It is a glue/adhesive and will not cure to a hard filler consistency. It is not advisable to use it for such purposes.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Re: New transom wood filling voids?

Once again, TB III is NOT a filler. It is a glue/adhesive and will not cure to a hard filler consistency. It is not advisable to use it for such purposes.

I think 1.25 oz of tite bond III injected into 6 voids over 3 days will harden fine.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: New transom wood filling voids?

I finished filling the 6 voids, it too less then 36 mL of the tite bond III.

I don't understand why you posted this thread, especially with the question mark at the end of the title if you weren't going to consider any of the advice that was given to you?

Maybe a good example of a bad example?

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Re: New transom wood filling voids?

I wasn't filling the voids b/c I was worried about the strength of the new transom. The voids are very small, I was concerned with water getting into the voids. So filling them with waterproof glue will do exactly what I wanted.