What glue to use

[Tom Bender]

I have a complex glue up that will require a long open time, maybe 30 minutes. And glue a little thicker than Titebond would be better.

[William Fretwell]

One option I have tried is taking the whole glue up into the Canadian winter. Get it all down to -2C. It slows the whole thing down. When it’s assembled take it inside to warm up. Not sure you will get 30 mins but it will get you a lot more time.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I use West System epoxy when I need to control open time and thickness. Hardener's and thickener's can be selected according to your needs. I clean-up epoxy with denatured alcohol.
Hyde glue has a long open time.
Titebond Extend is very useful too.

[Prashun Patel]

Consider a slow setting epoxy.
I've had good luck with System 3 T88. It has about 45 minutes open time and is much thicker than PVA.

As an aside, panels I've done with it tend to have less glue creep than when I've used PVA. Maybe that's just coincidence.

[Kevin Jenness]

Epoxy. You can extend the pot life by pouring out the mix into a flat tray, or even putting the tray in an ice bath. Most epoxy vendors have slow and fast hardeners. Epoxy doesn't swell your parts and eases sliding them together, plus it is gap-filling. Be aware that epoxy is somewhat toxic so use gloves and adequate ventilation.

[mike stenson]

I prefer dealing with liquid hide glue to dealing with epoxy. So if my glue up is going to be under 30 minutes, that's what I'll use first. It's just easier to deal with. No mixing, easier to clean up, isn't toxic at all, and can be reversed if need be.

[Jerry Olexa]

Titebond has an "extended" work time version that might work for you....Cant remember name....G Luck.

[Mel Fulks]

Plastic resin Weldwood has fallen off the list ? That’s bad. All it asks for is a room temp of 70 degrees or more.

[Kevin Jenness]

Plastic resin Weldwood has fallen off the list ? That’s bad. All it asks for is a room temp of 70 degrees or more.

If you use it a lot you surely have a good feel for the maximum practical working time. The Weldwood data sheet gives a 15 min. open time and 25 min. closed time at 70*F with the note that if the full 15 min. open time is used the closed time is not to be used. That may or may not work for Tom's project.

Unibond 800 is a plastic resin glue with variable working time depending on the hardener/resin ratio.

I like both those adhesives but rarely use them as the shelf life is limited and they are impossible to get locally. I can keep epoxy on hand for years. I may start using liquid hide glue more for a combination of working time and reversibility.

Titebond Extend is useful but not suitable for 30 min. open time.

[Tom Bender]

T88 looks good, the website says 60 minutes gel time and 72 hours to full cure. Those numbers work. My basement shop stays around 70 F. It should not cause the wood to swell so that's good, and since my joinery is not perfect it helps that it does not shrink. I'll have to get some to practice with.