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Working With Urea Glue and Finishing Acrylic Information

Web extra information from host Amy Devers

From "Freeform Furniture"
episode DFFF-109

In this final "Web extra" segment host Amy Devers shares information on working with urea formaldehyde glue and finishing an acrylic tabletop.

Host Amy Devers shares tips on using urea formaldehyde glue, ...

and dispenses advice on finishing acrylic.

Working with Urea Formaldehyde Glue

Urea formaldehyde (UF) glue is classified as a "probable" human carcinogen. The rate and extent of off gassing varies widely with heat, humidity and material combinations. Formaldehyde is present in the air at about 0.03 parts per million (ppm). The raw materials for UF glue are derived from natural gas through the intermediates of ammonia for urea and methanol for formaldehyde.

Be sure to take the proper precautions by wearing a ventilator and gloves when working with this type of glue.

Urea-formaldehyde is a resin based glue. It looks like a thick, creamy syrup and it cures to a colorless solid. Urea formaldehyde glue is highly water resistant. This adhesive has excellent bond strength and high heat and humidity resistance. It can be easily sanded and it accepts stain or lacquer very well. UF glue is very economical and fast curing but is not suitable for damp conditions. In addition, UF glue does stain and will not blemish wood.

Urea formaldehyde glue is often used in joining solid timber (i.e. tabletops, legs, posts) and in furniture construction. Some of the most common uses are chair frame assembly, and curved plywood.

Apply the glue to one surface, smooth the glue out on the surface, bring the pieces together, and apply pressure by clamping the pieces together. Work quickly so that the glue does not set up before the surfaces have been adhered.

Finishing Acrylic

The tabletop on Freeform Furniture is a unique acrylic resin. Acrylic is a type of plastic. You can use standard wood working equipment to machine it including a jigsaw, router, sander and the table saw. The acrylic piece used on this episode was covered by a protective film. Leave that on until finished machining the entire tabletop.

When the tabletop is cut to size, you'll need to finish the edges to take away the hard, crisp edge that the saw leaves behind.

On this episode the edge of the acrylic was rounded over with a hand held router and a bull nose bit. This gives a nice profile on the edge. The bull-nose bit sits inside a bushing. The bushing needs to run against the fence so when it's clamped down to the table, clamp in a hard board fence for the bushing to ride along. To begin the finishing process, clamp the homemade hardboard fence to the acrylic resin and check to make sure everything lines up. Clamp the acrylic to the work table and run the router against the material softening the edge and creating a nice profile. The router has a bushing on the top that follows the template and cuts off the unwanted material.

You can also use scraping and filing to smooth the hard edge.

Scraping--the back of a hacksaw blade is perfect for scraping. Draw the corner of the square edge of the blade along the edge of the acrylic.

Filing--a 10" to 12" smooth cut file is recommended for filing edges and removing tool marks. File only in one direction. Keep the teeth flat on the surface, but let the file slide at an angle to avoid putting grooves in the work.

To further smooth the edges of the table, apply an abrasive specifically designed for finishing acrylic based solid surfaces. The soapy water creates a paste, which helps polish the sides and makes the sandpaper work better. A linear sander with a radius profile sanding pad works well for this project. A sanding block will also work. Start with 120-grit sandpaper. Then switch to a 220-grit paper. Finish with a 400-grit wet/dry paper. Grits as fine as 600 can be used.

To avoid moisture seeping inside the layers and de-laminating the acrylic resin, seal the edges of the table with a polyurethane clear coat.

Finally, remove any protective covering from the finished acrylic.

RESOURCES :

Delta Woodworking Power Tools
Website: www.deltawoodworking.com

Festool
Website: www.festoolusa.com

Gladiator Garageworks by Whirlpool
Website: www.gladiatorgw.com

Stanley Tools Product Group
Website: www.stanleytools.com

Lie-Nielsen Toolworks, Inc.
Website: www.lie-nielsen.com

WMH Tool Group
Website: www.wmhtoolgroup.com

Power Tools (Porter Cable)
Porter Cable Power Tools
Website: www.portercable.com

Hand Tools
Garrett Wade Co., Inc.
Website: www.garrettwade.com

The Peck Tool Company
Website: www.pecktool.com