# Gluing wood to slate



## LittleMy (Jan 30, 2007)

I bought a piece of spiderwood on Saturday and glued it to a piece of slate with E6000. Today I popped it into a bucket so it would absorb some water/leach out anything it was going to leach out before putting it in my tank.

After about 2 hours in the water it came off of the slate.

I thought E6000 would hold rock to wood. 

Should I have used silicone? Crazy glue?

It only has a couple of smaller attachment points... should I try sanding it so there is a larger surface area for attachment?


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## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

Did the e6000 stick to the slate or the wood?


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

gorilla glue works until the wood is completely waterlogged.


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## Linwood (Jun 19, 2014)

If you don't find a glue you like the looks of that holds (I'd probably try silicone), you can easily drill a hole in slate and tie thin monofiliment line around the wood and through the hole.


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## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

Linwood said:


> If you don't find a glue you like the looks of that holds (I'd probably try silicone), you can easily drill a hole in slate and tie thin monofiliment line around the wood and through the hole.


As crazy as spiderwood can be, tying it off to the slate may work best.

Most adhesives form surface bonds. As wood becomes waterlogged, wood beneath the contact area can get weak depending on the species; so that tying it off to rocks, slate, etc. is the only permanent way to keep it in place. I would simply drill two small holes near the biggest contact point and simply tie it off. Slightly larger holes can handle a cable tie which may be a better choice for bigger pieces.


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## GraphicGr8s (Apr 4, 2011)

Silicone doesn't adhere well to slate. That's part of the problem restoring old Metaframe tanks.


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## LittleMy (Jan 30, 2007)

Ah! Thank you!

The glue stuck to the wood like crazy (had a really hard time prying it off) but it seemed to peel right off the slate.

I'll try drilling the slate and tying it down.

Would tying it down work better than screwing it in?


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## GraphicGr8s (Apr 4, 2011)

I've used stainless screws on all of mine. Once it's screwed it ain't moving.


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## Linwood (Jun 19, 2014)

LittleMy said:


> Would tying it down work better than screwing it in?


I think it depends on whether you have adequate wood (that won't show the screw) to screw it in. If it's smaller pieces like roots, I would think tying is better. If it's a big chunk you can get a long screw into (remember the surface will soften) it probably will work better. Stainless only!


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## lochaber (Jan 23, 2012)

I like to use nylon machine screws. If it's going into a thick piece, I tap the hole in the wood, if it's a thin piece, I just use a nylon bolt and cover it with the substrate.

If the monofilament won't work for you, zip ties are another option.

I think a mechanical attachment (screws, zip ties, etc.) is much better then an adhesive. Even if you find something that will adhere to both wood and slate well, the slate may just flake apart due to it's structure.


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