Wood glues
Welcome! / Forums / General Woodworking Discussions / Wood glues
- This topic has 18 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 10 years ago by António.
-
AuthorPosts
-
Anonymous19 November 2012 at 8:04 pm #3457
Hey Guys, I have always used Titebond wood glue, just recently I tried Gorilla white wood glue, and really impressed with it.
I’m busy planing up some stock to make the legs for a workbench, and was thinking of trying the Gorilla Polyurethane glue for these. I have never used it before but it sound very good. I know Gary used it on his saw bench, so I think it must be ok 😉
Very Best
Ken
19 November 2012 at 8:43 pm #3461Hey @ken,
I have never used the white Gorilla glue but I used the original a couple of times. The things I glued never came apart but I found it a bit messy and hard to control. It may be that I just need to spend more time with it to get used to it.
Just my $0.02. I am sure you will get a more complete picture from others.
Anonymous19 November 2012 at 9:29 pm #3463Hi Ken 🙂 I’m a comparatively recent convert to White Gorilla glue after tripping over some being offered on evilbay 😀 The reason I’d opted for polyurethane glue was two-fold. Firstly because the saw horse will spend much of it’s life outdoors and secondly because I couldn’t find my bottles of PVA and Gorilla white glue. 😀 I hate the potential mess that accompanies poly glues, but once you’re used to handling them they’re darned good if you want bomb proof construction or maybe something with gap filling capabilities.
I normally float between Evostik “Resin W” or Titebond (Titebond Original for musical instruments) to suit the use and location of the finished piece. For remedial work on old instruments/furniture I’ll tend to opt for Hide Glue (From loose flakes or purchased in the form of Liquid Hide Glue) as it more closely matches the oringinal materials and can bond to existing glue without too much need for an immaculate clean up.
Polyurethene glues are NOT gap filling in a structural manner and per-ounce, it is on a par with the better epoxies in cost (as in high). The foamy, open-cell structure that results when it is allowed to cure in the presence of air just doesn’t have any sheer strength of which to speak. When cured, polyurethene glues do not exhibit glue-line creep like PVA formulations (Titebond III is rumored to be the worst for creep).
As some have noted, the polyurethene glues are messy and the squeeze-out from them can be quite a bit of trouble to clean up.
That said, they are waterproof in a way similar to epoxy formulations. This is not to be confused with water resistance (type I, II or III) which stops short of retaining its bond when submerged for extended periods. For incidental water contact type II or III PVA glues are sufficient when applied correctly. That includes taking into account such things as temperature, possibility of creep, glue color, etc.
If it was simple, we would only have one sort of adhesive and never need to make a choice.
(Personal preference is for hide glue, hot or cold unless the situation just doesn’t warrant.)
20 November 2012 at 4:11 am #3488I’ve used Titebond for as long as I can remember, with no issues. I have used Gorilla poly glue on a couple of projects that needed to be waterproof. Good stuff but very messy. I’ve been meaning to try the White Gorilla glue but just haven’t got around to it yet. For those of you that have, what do you like about it?
Anonymous20 November 2012 at 8:09 am #3490Hi Rob,
Nobody mentioned air curing in terms of Poly adhesives, or it’s use as a gap filler, although gap filling tends to accompany – as a side effect – the foaming nature of the adhesive and not necessarily the intent behind it’s use. As always, it’s best to use closely fitting joints, but slight undulations upon internal surfaces will be taken up by the adhesive as it expands/foams. At times this can prove useful and not a hindrance.
————
Squeeze out is typically best dealt with immediately or left until the glue has cured for several hours and then sliced away cleanly without attempting to wipe it away prior to setting. this allows the surplus to expand away from exposed surfaces and can help minimise cleanup problems.
Anonymous20 November 2012 at 8:14 am #3492Hi Gregory,
I like Gorilla wood glue as it works well on hard and soft woods, dries clear, has low grab and clamping times, is water resistant (Indoor and outdoor use) and is very easily cleaned up. 🙂
“I hate the potential mess that accompanies poly glues, but once you’re used to handling them they’re darned good if you want bomb proof construction or maybe something with gap filling capabilities.” <- mention of gap filling…
Polyurethene glues need moisture to cure, “air curing” is a side-effect of that as the air is supplying the moisture…
At any rate, the foam has no structural strength (near zero shear strength, which is why it is so easy to scrape away) and should not be relied upon. A tight fitting joint with just a thin-film of glue will always be best, no mater what type of glue is used.
If there is a gap to be filled and it cannot be addressed by re-working the joint line then an epoxy is probably a better choice. However, just any old epoxy may NOT be the best choice as they are widely varied in their adhesion properties and modulus of elasticity. Translation, some are more sticky than others and some flex while others are brittle.
VERY much a generalization, but the shorter the open time (i.e. 5 minute vs 60 minute formulations), the more flexible it epoxy remains. This is good in that it lets you control aspects like slumping and allow for some flex in a joint. This is also bad because it allows for slumping and some flex in a joint.
You can do crazy stuff to glues and epoxies by messing about with the atmospheric pressure, we’ve made good, high-end West Systems epoxy turn to a jelly-like goo just by the application of pressure. A non-woodworking experiment where we needed to pot some equipment to be placed about 1km down a water filled hole which would later freeze solid. The steel test vessel was nicknamed “the bomb” due to various behaviors exhibited during pressure tests. 🙂
We now return you to your regularly scheduled tangent on gluing for woodworking.
Anonymous20 November 2012 at 6:58 pm #3521I’m sorry if you feel you’ve something to prove Rob. I don’t.
20 November 2012 at 11:11 pm #3533I use EvoStik resin stuff. I don’t care about the weatherproofing but it holds extremely well and grabs quickly. I struggled with it at first because the open time isn’t very long but now I’m more confident it’s less of a problem.
George.
Anonymous20 November 2012 at 11:20 pm #3535You’re right George, as it becomes easier to co-ordinate glue-up after a little practise regarding dry fitting and glue-up sequence. I used to panic like crazy at first and would have glue everywhere – bar where it was supposed to be – but the how’s and why’s soon began to fall into place. 😀
The only reason I’d mentioned waterproof properties (Most often water resistant rather than waterproof) was through recently making myself a new sawhorse that will primarily be kept and used outdoors. Had it been for indoor use I’d have avoided glue and opted for mechanical fixings in the form of two hardwood dowel stitched into each joint. 🙂
Anonymous20 November 2012 at 11:50 pm #3538I used the Gorilla Polyurethane glue for the first time today. I spread a thin coat with a plastic spreader on one pice, and wiped they other with a damp sponge, clamped them up, It did foam some, but no drips no mess job done 😉
21 November 2012 at 4:34 pm #3664I use Titebond II and Hide Glue mostly depending on what I am working on. I am not a fan of Gorilla Glue as i find it to messy. Just my $.02.
Steve
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.