"Davebt" wrote in message
...
dan wrote:
What's that Lassie? You say that Brian Lawson fell down the old
rec.crafts.metalworking mine and will die if we don't mount a rescue
by Fri, 23 Jun 2006 16:05:18 -0400:

Can anyone suggest a "for sure it's permanent" way to "glue" 1/8"
thick stainless steel maple-leaf solid profile about 6" X 6"
vertically to tombstones of granite or stone.

Use GE silicone II caulk. Sticks real good and is flexible.

Dan H.

If you want it to be permanent, use epoxy. Silicones may "stick" but they
can be removed - by force .You have to burn epoxies before they will
fail, and upto that point they have a shear strength of 15tons per square
inch!.

Daved (UK)

I have to disagree with both of those. Room-temperature-cure epoxies, which
are mostly amine-cured, don't have that much strength and aren't that
permanent. Maximum strength runs around 5,000 psi and they're very
vulnerable to ultraviolet light, which pipes in from the edges and will
degrade the epoxy in just a couple of years if it isn't protected. I'm sure
the strength is far more than required, however, but I don't know what it
would look like after 20 or 30 years of exposure to the elements.

Room-temperature-vulcanizing silicones aren't what I'd consider permanent,
either.

The high-strength epoxies are the A-B cure types, which require stepped,
elevated temperatures (around 250 deg. F for the B-cure). And they still
have to be protected from ultraviolet. High-strength, long-lived silicones
also are industrial types that have a different curing mechanism from the
RTV types, and they also require elevated temperatures.

I don't know what to recommend for a permanent bond. Also, keep in mind that
stainless requires scratch-in techniques to get a strong bond. The
protective chromium oxide layer, which is weak, starts forming in less than
five seconds of exposure to air at room temperature.

There are ceramic bonds that may be permanent. One is Portland cement. g
But I think this requires a bit more research.

--
Ed Huntress