: A disconcerting discussion re gluing aluminum. I just finished a
: yard for my lugsail with has a 12mm aluminum tube glued to the
: wood part as a sail track with a sawn slot for the sail slugs.
: Then I covered it with a sleeve of light fiberglass and cut away
: the bit that covered the slot. I only cleaned the surface with
: acetone. Here's hoping.
: Peter Lord

One of the problems using a mix of materials including aluminum is that aluminum change size fairly dramtically with changes of temperature and other materials often don't. Stretches the glues which often can't compensate and thus break the glue lines. Some fairly flexible epoxies work better than others like G-flex, but still best to try to match the coefficient of expansion of the materials you're working with to eliminate this as much as possible. Aluminum to aluminum isn't really a problem, aluminum to wood is more of a problem. Then much depends on where you live and the expected changes in temperature. If you're in the tropics where it's generally warm and stays that way it's less of a problem, in the temperate north/south it's more of a problem with hot summers and often very cold winters.

Bill H.