Thread: Best way to glue blackbean timber?

Its quite an oily timber. I wipe it down with acetone just before gluing. The type of glue doesn't matter so much.

Nail gun?

Originally Posted by Cliff Rogers

Nail gun?

Been watching Norm again, have you?

Not having any acetone, just prior to glueup I used a small paintbrush to liberally wash the ends of the mitre joints of my blackbean box with METHYLATED SPIRITS. After 10 mintues I came back and found these badly stained runs on the faces of the box sides next to the edge faces I had washed.

To get around this, I then proceeded to wipe the whole sides down with method in the hope of removing the runs. This worked to a certain extent, with the runs near the mitre surfaces mostly disappearing, but it made a mess of the whole board, as can be seen in the pics below. I have added a photo of a left over piece that wasn't washed to show the difference with and without washing.

My hand that was holding the board while I was liberally applying the metho has a nice rusty brown stain on it that is hard to remove.

Can anyone please advise where I have gone wrong, and what I might be able to do to recover this? Aggressive sanding is not an option as the sides are down to their minimum thickness for the hinges I have

Appreciate any and all suggestions and ideas


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Has there been anything else applied to the surface, sanding sealer, etc.

Looks like it may be oil effected or has had something else on the surface like shellac. Try wipe on wipe off with metho, may have to do it a few times. If it doesn't work try a mix of metho and mineral turps shaken well in a bottle before applying and wiping off or even pure metho. This should draw out and remove some of the oil. Make sure you wipe it off well every time, don't leave it sit on the surface. You may find the same problem with the blotches if you use shellac or any sort of lacquer as a finish.

Haven't had a lot of experience with blackbean but the encounters I have had weren't too good. Pretty sure the dust is pretty bad stuff as well so use a good dust mask and other dust protection or don't breathe.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers - Neil

Thanks for taking the time to reply, Neil, very much appreciated. This is timber I bought just after we were married 45 years ago, and I was going to make the child bride a nice coffee table. Never did quite get around to it. The timber was purchased dressed and it has never had anything applied to the surfaces in that time, except for large amount of dust.

I did let the metho settle after wiping the whole board - will take your advice , and this time wipe the liquid off with some paper towels, and have several goes at it.

Will keep y'all posted

Hi all, after a couple of more washes with metho, then immediately wiping everything dry by vigorous rubbing with paper towels, things don't seem to be getting any better.

The problem appears to be the end grain where I have done the mitre cuts, and also the dado cuts. Any exposed edges seems to ooze oil when metho is applied. Also, the mitre edge faces are still not properly dry after an hour either.

Will now try and just wipe the surface with a minimal amount of metho on a rag with a view to removing the oil stains left after flooding in previous efforts.

Most frustrating, as this was the last step before gluing the box. Perhaps I should have left it alone, and used polyeurethane glue, as this is supposed to excel for edge joints

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You probably don't want to hear this but it is starting to look like a nicely aged patina Have you considered going for an antique look

Hi TTTT, no problem with a patina and antique look. Trouble is gluing the mitres with the buildup of oil on them that the metho released

how about acetone based glue??? Like perspex glue... ??? Acetone should deal with the oil residue... not sure how strong would it be though...

Hi Dengy

my local Green shed stocks acetone in 1/2 litre containers
maybe worth a look