# Gluing to stained wood?



## Synon (Aug 26, 2011)

So this is a sort of a combination of topics… I'll explain.

I'm making a toy box for my nephew and the faces are birch plywood, I'm planning to give it a dark red stain. I've also cut some Celtic knot designs out of oak (won't be stained) and want to attach them to the sides/front. I've never actually done any finishing before so I really don't want to screw this up… will there be an issue gluing my oak designs to the birch after it's been stained or is that a no-no? I've thought about putting some screws in from the inside of the box into the design but the design is pretty thin and I'm not sure that's the best method. Any suggestions on how I should approach this? I can provide pictures if that would make it easier to see what i'm trying to do.


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## MrsN (Sep 29, 2008)

Gluing stained parts produces a less strong joint, but strong enough for many purposes. I would have no problem with gluing the celtic knots to the front of the stained box, since they are decorative and probably not going to see lots of stress in normal use.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

If you have not stained the toy box yet all you have to do is put some tape masking on where the Celtic knot designs will go. Given that it's a toy box there could be a more powerful force involved (kids  )to be considered .


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## jumbojack (Mar 20, 2011)

Use construction adhesive. It does seem to care about what it sticks to as much as good ole' glue.


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