Noo! Vintage Coticule/BBW separated - advice please!

**Brush_with_Fame** · 07-19-2011, 09:14 AM

Hi everyone...

Been loving my Old Hickory vintage coticule,
but last night the two pieces separated right in my hands
(could have been very bad).

Anyone have advice on the best way to re-seal the two?
Thought I should ask you guys before I use epoxy, etc...

Size is 7" x 1.25" and pix are below..

Thanks everyone!

**rwb** · 07-19-2011, 09:31 AM

i had one do this and i laped the sides thay were glued clean then re glued them back and it worked fine

**MajorBurnz** · 07-19-2011, 09:36 AM

Yeah, lap the sides to be glued and use a cyanoacrylate glue to stick them back together.

**honed** · 07-19-2011, 09:47 AM

Not an uncommon problem according to the various threads that pop up about the subject every now & then.

I think Yohann is spot on!

**ADRSPACH** · 07-19-2011, 09:49 AM

I had simmilar problem last week. However mine was glued originaly with pine resin. A bit of heating up in the oven. Few pegs to hold halves together while cooling down and job done.

**honed** · 07-19-2011, 09:51 AM

Originally Posted by ADRSPACH

I had simmilar problem last week. However mine was glued originaly with pine resin. A bit of heating up in the oven. Few pegs to hold halves together while cooling down and job done.

That's a really neat solution!
I had no idea, wonderful information being shared here

**MajorBurnz** · 07-19-2011, 10:42 AM

Yep, they used to use pine resin for hones a lot. Charnley Forest hones used to be stuck in their wooden boxes with pine resin too. The heating in the oven works well if you want to remove the hone from the box.

Coticules used to be stuck to the BBW using beeswax too. It's generally amazing that they stayed together for as long as they did. CA is a more permanent solution (if less traditional).

**honed** · 07-19-2011, 02:11 PM

Originally Posted by MajorBurnz

Yep, they used to use pine resin for hones a lot. Charnley Forest hones used to be stuck in their wooden boxes with pine resin too. The heating in the oven works well if you want to remove the hone from the box.

Coticules used to be stuck to the BBW using beeswax too. It's generally amazing that they stayed together for as long as they did. CA is a more permanent solution (if less traditional).

Great, I learned something new today too!

**Legion** · 07-19-2011, 06:09 PM

I would use epoxy rather than CA. I think it would bind better when the stones will be wet-dry-wet-dry all the time. The five minute stuff should be more than strong enough.

Bart might know what they currently use, if you want to be true to tradition.

**danjared** · 07-19-2011, 08:15 PM

Originally Posted by legion

I would use epoxy rather than CA. I think it would bind better when the stones will be wet-dry-wet-dry all the time. The five minute stuff should be more than strong enough.

Bart might know what they currently use, if you want to be true to tradition.

I've used CA many times without any problem. The hold is very strong. I'd think that it'd be most problematic when used on a slurry stone, but I've not experienced any such problems. On the other hand, I'd be more concerned about how stable a thicker layer of epoxy would be, especially since coticules can be brittle. (I really don't know.)

**Legion** · 07-19-2011, 10:15 PM

I'm just thinking the thicker epoxy goo will fill any gaps or voids that exist between the two stones. The stuff that my modern coti is glued to slate with looks more like a resin than CA.

**Bart** · 07-22-2011, 06:18 PM

In case of separation of a natural combo (it can happen), the fit is tight and CA will work very well, quick and clean.
I case of an old glue joint that failed, the fit generally is not very tight and you need a glue with filling capacity. Yesteryears glue was a 50/50 mixture of hide glue and beeswax. You need to scrape off whatever is left of it, before you can reglue. Make sure that the pieces are well supported, before you start scraping/sanding the remains of the old glue. If the pieces are dead flat, a flat surface will do for support. Otherwise, use a plastic bag filled with damp sand, to support the pieces.
Once the surfaced to be bonded are clean, almost any waterproof glue will filling capacity will do. Ardennes uses a modern tiling cement, but regular epoxy glue will work just as well, as will hot glue (glue gun).

The old hide glue/beeswax joint is bound to fail eventually, so this problem is quite common with old Coticules.

Good luck,
Bart.