What adhesive to attach wire tie downs to rock prior to planting.

[Dav4]

Hey, I'm wondering what people have used to attach wire tie downs to some lace rock in preparation for planting. I'm thinking 2 part epoxy but am open to other thoughts or specific product recommendations. Fwiw, I'm using steel wire as I want it to eventually rust away.

 

[HENDO]

Hey, I'm wondering what people have used to attach wire tie downs to some lace rock in preparation for planting. I'm thinking 2 part epoxy but am open to other thoughts or specific product recommendations. Fwiw, I'm using steel wire as I want it to eventually rust away.

I've had very good success using JB Weld "ClearWeld" 2-part Epoxy. As long as the rock/stone area for bonding to has been cleaned properly, and the anchors are secured in a way that give them proper leverage strength when anchoring, it should be a rock-solid connection every time.

I've seen Rodney Clemons use more of a QuickCrete type connection but never used it myself.

Pre-bending the anchors into the direction that they will see the most tensile during tightening, before epoxy hardens, has really helped. This way you don't pull the actual anchor wire out of the epoxy during tightening, but just rely on it to hold the "loop" connection to the rock. Shout-out to Mr. Rodney for this shown wire "loop" structure.

 

[Pitoon]

JB Weld putty works wonders......

 

[leatherback]

Drilling a small hole. Put the folded wire in the hole. Then hammer a fishing-lead of the right size in the hole to hold the wire.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Epoxy or lead. Seen them both work, depending upon the circumstances.

 

[William N. Valavanis]

I’ve been using Epoxy Putty for about 30 years now with great success. It comes in a long tube. The putty is dark grey with a white center. Kneed the two until it is a uniform color and simply put your wires inside. It is available at Home Depot and Lowes in the plumbing department.

Clear two part liquid epoxy also works. But, if you use this type make sure you sprinkle a little stone dust to discolor the clear expoxy, it looks much better. This type runs and is not as good or as easy as the putty type.

By the way I would NOT recommend using steel wire because it might rust and the planting would lift off the rock. I use copper wire, but have seen aluminum wire work just as well.

Good luck!

 

[johng]

Ok Dave....here is the trick. It is probably not as strong as the hydraulic cement I have traditionally used but it works pretty well on most surfaces. Cover the wire tied down loop with a nice pile of baking soda...leaving the loop exposed. Then, add a bunch of drops of super glue and it will instantly harden....no need to wait 24 hours.

 

[William N. Valavanis]

Baking soda and super glue works great. Masakuni in Japan originally started selling this combination about 40 years ago. We finally figured out the adhesive was simply super glue, not the gel. But, we had a difficult time figuring out what the white powder was. One time I returned home from Japan with pockets of small plastic bags of the white powder... but had no problems at all going through customs. Then we figured out baking soda works great. Makes for a wonderful quick demo as it smokes a bit too!

 

[Dav4]

Well, I guess if I don't have super glue and baking soda, I'll pick up some 2 part epoxy. Thanks for all the input!

 

[PiñonJ]

I’m planning to use these - two part epoxy (opaque grey) and stainless steel rings as anchors.

 

[Pitoon]

For those of you planting on slabs how did you work the drainage?

 

[PiñonJ]

For those of you planting on slabs how did you work the drainage?

The problem usually is not being able to keep the roots wet enough. If the slab has a bowl that the tree will sit in, it needs to be thin enough that you can drill drainage holes with a carbide or diamond masonry bit. In which case, you don’t need to glue on tie-down anchors.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

+1 for JB weld epoxy putty. I keep that stuff around like cut paste.

 

[0soyoung]

I haven't tried rock (yet), but had success using thick superglue on a porcelain floor tile where epoxy didn't seem to work. Helpful thing with superglue is that you can toss on some baking soda and it is set (no more waiting)..

For those of you planting on slabs how did you work the drainage?

I drill drainage hole(s) using a diamond hole saw. I've also done this with thick concrete basins. With commonly available hole saws one can get through about 1 inch thicknesses. One can chisel out the plug and keep going and/or also drill from the opposite side if you're good at blind alignment.

 

[johng]

For those of you planting on slabs how did you work the drainage?

I never drill holes for slab plantings....completely unnecessary. typically the issue with slabs are not enough water.