Question: glueing a rock back together

[toad857]

I have a really cool sandstone formation (unique, as far as I have seen) that has unfortunately broken into pieces and needs to be glued back together. I need to know how to go about this in the best way, to do it right the first time. Imagine this, if you can:

The whole piece (about 30 lbs, ~2 feet long) is made entirely of round chunks of stone, about the size of tennis balls. Each "ball" is attached to its neighbor--about 15 or so total. A few are only attached to 1 neighbor, whereas others are adjacent to several. But they're all just "balls" that have very small attachment points (as if you were to glue together, well, a bunch of balls). Before it broke, it seemed pretty solid. The individual balls/chunks are still intact, just in pieces.

The whole apparatus is basically 2-dimensional, and can sit flat on a table and be only 1 "ball" in height; a few feet long. 15 or 20 balls, all attached. Definitely the coolest thing I've ever seen come out of a creek bed. Made for a great mantle piece before it fell over.

So, anyway, what is the BEST way to glue this thing back together? What works best with sandstone? Epoxy cement or something else? Who's a glue nerd? Keep in mind that some of the pieces of this thing will have small attachment points with little surface area. Also, I don't want to ruin it by leaving noticable globs that seep from every mend.

Thoughts? Thanks. I'll try to get a picture up here. It will blow your mind.

[Andrew]

Gorilla glue is by far the best choice. Just ask Kipp Trummel the gluing god.

[pigsteak]

lmao...that is the last story you ever get to hear....ever.

[Andrew]

lmao...that is the last story you ever get to hear....ever.

Feel free to share my decking while standing on the ground story.

[pigsteak]

or how Big E and I borrowed your draws and proceeded to get our rope stuck......sigh.

[toad857]

get back on topic--what glue or epoxy works the best on sandstone per unit of surface area?

gorilla glue expands like a mofo, and it's ugly when it does.

[Andrew]

get back on topic--what glue or epoxy works the best on sandstone per unit of surface area?

gorilla glue expands like a mofo, and it's ugly when it does.

Has anyone mentioned Gorilla Glue yet?

[pigsteak]

toad, why not just use come hilti glue or some regular sika from Lowes? I am bet either would be fine

[dustonian]

Hilti RE150, Simpson StrongTie, Epcon A6. Hilti RE500 is strongest but heinous bright pink colored & toxic.

[Clevis Hitch]

For small stuff and to keep it from detracting from the rock. Use two part liquid epoxy. Even the smallest amount is incredibly strong.