Glue

[wallyb10]

I broke one of the jaws on my gaff last season and need to repair it. What epoxy/adhesive provides the strongest wood-to-wood bond? I will be reinforcing with screws.

[Nicholas Carey]

West or System III will do you well. Coat each half with unthickened epoxy and let partially cure. Then coat with epoxy thickened with silica or wood flour and clamp.

The epoxy bond should be stronger than the wood, so you really don't need the screws. In fact, adding screws may ultimately reduce strength because it adds hard spots that concentrate forces (I assume the gaff jaw broke along the grain and not across the grain).

But it may be easier to clamp it with screws. If that's the case, pre-drill for the screws, coat the screws with wax or mold release prior to installing them. Then you can remove them, fill the hole with epoxy and a syringe, countersing and plug them.

Done right, it'll be nearly invisible.

[Nicholas Carey]

Or you could make a new jaw. A piece of wood, some steam.

Square it and rough-cut to shape. Steam it an hour per inch, maybe a bit more. Bend it between pieces of pipe (you'll need to overbend it to allow for springback) and let it cools and dry for a day or two.

Bring to final shape with a saw (bandsaw preferred) and spokeshave.

Remove the rivets that hold the old jaws in place. Drill the new jaw to match (and back out the faying surface on your new jaw to match the surface of the gaff—carbon paper and a dowel wrapped in sandpaper is your friend here.)

A little varnish (well, 12 coats or so anyway :D )

Bed with Dolphinite and re-rivet. Good to go and better than new.

A good project for winter evenings.

[Jim H]

If for some reason the screws won't release after the epoxy cures, hold a hot soldering iron to the screwhead for about 30 seconds. You should be able to back them out with a screwdriver.