Help with unusual slide problem

[dallasrules]

My bedroom slide has rollers on the bottom that the slide goes in and out over. On one side a soft spot has developed in the wood in the path of the roller. The wood everywhere else seems to be solid. As the slide goes in and out, the roller is getting bogged down in this soft spot cause damage to the wood and the plastic sheeting. I don't want to rip out the whole bottom of the slide and replace the whole piece of wood. I don't have the time for that kind of repair right now and the rest seems good.

I saw someone was using epoxy to repair some wood on slides, but this repair would have to be done from the bottom,so I can't just pour epoxy.. I have some pieces of aluminum sign material and thin sheet metal. I am thinking about screwing a piece over the soft spot, but wondering if 1/8 to 1/4 inch extra thickness is going to be a problem or if it will catch and bind on anything. Also maybe fill in the damaged portion with some wood filler or something. Maybe I could just bonds it or is there some other kind of fiberglass filler. The soft area is about 4x4 inches.

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated. I know we have some very creative members on this forum.

[Robusto]

Dallasrules,
Did you ever fix the "soft spots" the roller goes over? Sounds like you had basically the right idea of how to fix the problem.



I would suggest repairing the soft spot by removing the soft, splintered out material then building the depression up with epoxy flush with the existing wood surface around it. Epoxy you might look into is what is called thixotropic epoxy, which is sort of a gel like epoxy compound that has a heavy body and will 'hang' on vertical surfaces, as well as overhead surfaces to a certain degree, unlike the typical. quite liquid, higher viscosity epoxies.



You might even be able to use something like Bondo for filler. The epoxy however, could be absorbed into the adjacent loose wood fibers in the area and kind of resurrect the wood structurally.


Then your idea of a thin metal plate over the area I believe has merit. However, I would use something thinner, not aluminum though unless something like a T-6 structural alloy, not mill aluminum, but possibly stainless steel of 1/16" to 3/32". Using a thinner material shouldn't pose any challenges for the roller to pass under it, and it should only need to kind of provide a 'smoother' track for the roller with the epoxy providing the necessary strength back to the wood. You might even grind down the front and back edges of the metal plate to a taper to give the roller a 'gradual' transition. Good success with your project.

[Aussieguy]

determine if soft spot is caused by water? If it is rotten you need to find why it is leaking into that area.
If you don't fix the leak it will become soft again.

Epoxy... You use a THINNED epoxy to soak into the wood.

Total boat https://www.totalboat.com/product/pe...BoCDNAQAvD_BwE

OR Git-rot https://www.wholesalemarine.com/boat...RoC2eMQAvD_BwE

good article here for using thinned epoxy https://www.boatlife.com/boatlife-bl...o-use-git-rot/

Use layers fiberglass matting to fill any depression
pre-cut each piece of matting before mixing the epoxy

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbT...yEt2pFJcMLrUDA

search for total boat videos on youtube for more precise instructions

Use thickened epoxy as a paste to final FILL any areas ... You can increase the filler thickness by using different types of epoxy fillers.

Bondo type products ... polyurethane will not stick to epoxy very well

Epoxy will stick to polyurethane no problems

[BRinSCupstate]

I’ve used very similar epoxy products that I purchased from The Rot Doctor online. They work very well repairing damaged wood.

https://www.rotdoctor.com/

[dallasrules]

Originally Posted by Robusto

Dallasrules,
Did you ever fix the "soft spots" the roller goes over? Sounds like you had basically the right idea of how to fix the problem.
.

I haven't fixed it yet. I need to do it soon though. Probably this week. I still need to figure out how to jack up the slide. It is the bedroom slide, so it is high off the ground. I have a floor jack and a bottle jack. I guess I need to build something to span the distance.

I don't really have time to order a product unless it's from Amazon. I was going to check Lowes for epoxy. I have bonds and wood filler. I need to get on this, but I am ripping rotten wood out of my son's slide right now and I have a funfinder that I need to get a roof on before winter.

[Phreak480]

Originally Posted by dallasrules

I haven't fixed it yet. I need to do it soon though. Probably this week. I still need to figure out how to jack up the slide. It is the bedroom slide, so it is high off the ground. I have a floor jack and a bottle jack. I guess I need to build something to span the distance.

I don't really have time to order a product unless it's from Amazon. I was going to check Lowes for epoxy. I have bonds and wood filler. I need to get on this, but I am ripping rotten wood out of my son's slide right now and I have a funfinder that I need to get a roof on before winter.

best bet is some cribbing to place your jacks on top of instead of trying to balance something on top of the jacks to span the distance.