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I have been attempting to glue horizontal girders to H columns (uprights) and not having much success.  In the prototype, you often see girders that have been "coped", i.e. notched to fit into the web of the column.  I have done this for the roofs of ovens in the open hearth.  The process is not easy and does not yield uniform results.

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The temptation is to just butt-end the pieces together.  Yes, it's easier, but the joint is brittle.  I did this with my pipe bridge structure and I have had to re-do a lot of failed joints.

Last night I had a thought about how to improve those joints.  I'm pretty sure someone else has come with this previously;  I don't claim to be the first.  Here's the tip:  Insert a piece into web that makes it flush with the edges.  That creates more surface area for the glue.  In this case, we are inserting Evergreen No. 176 (.100 x .125") rectangular strips into the web of Plastruct H-8 columns.  They fit perfectly.

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After gluing them into place, I can glue the girder to column and the joint has more area to grip.  So far, it seems to make a much stronger joint.


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Hope that helps anyone in the same situation.

George

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