Which Glue???

[Wade Samuelson]

Hello,

This relates to my never-ending workbench project. I have been advised to assemble it with 3" screws and glue. (It's constructed out of KD Fir 2x4's and 4x4's). Is there a specific brand/type of glue that's best for this sort of thing or does it not really matter much??

Thanks yet again!

Wade

[Wes Bischel]

Wade,

I use Titebond II for most items (indoors). I would think it should work well for this application.

Wes

[Todd Burch]

Wade, I would recommend yellow glue and not polyurethane glue. Yellow glue is stronger. Coat both surfaces, let them get a slight bit tacky and put them together. If you move too fast, they will slide around all over the place. The screws are merely hold the boards together until the glue dries. A framing nailer would be faster, if you have one.

Todd

[Dennis Peacock]

Titebond II should do the trick just fine. That's what I'll be using when I start my bench. :D

[Chris Padilla]

The new Titebond III is out. I have a bottle but have yet to open it but is even stronger than the II. That said, I have a little under 1/2 a gallon of II left so I'll use it up first regardless. II is good stuff.

Even though the polyurethane glues have been shown to not be as strong as the yellows (PVA), they are all still stronger than the wood they bond and frankly, that is all that matters. One nice thing about polys is their open time...you have time on a complicated glue up. One bad thing about polys is that they are messy with the foam-out and will turn your hands black unless you were gloves and they are expensive.

[Joseph N. Myers]

Wade,

If you want to know about glues, last month's Wood Magazine had a big article about the different type and brands of glue. Strange results as Elmer's Glue came out top in almost all categories (if I remember correctly).

I've started to use Titebond III and love it especially the stronger tack and open time. I was using Tilebond II but like the III so much, gave about 1/2 gallon away to friends. If you buy any glue, check the prices --- I bought a 16 oz bottle of III for almost $10.00 from a local Woodworking store ($80.00/gal) and after finding out I liked it, bought a gal of it from Lowe's for around $27.00.

Incidently, there are many times when I rely on screws, dado, rabbits, pocket hole joints, etc rather than glue. This is because of assembly time, just don't need the extra strength and more commonly, the ability to take the thing apart in case I screw up something (or for easy repair down the road).

Regards, Joe

[Byron Trantham]

Wade, I'd glue (type II) them and put them in a couple Besseys till they dry. Once dried, they'll be very strong.

[Greg Heppeard]

I've used the Titebond III and it's awesome.

[Jerry Olexa]

Titebound 2 or 3>

[Steve Clardy]

Titebond. Regular,or #2. Haven't used #3 yet. It will all do the job. Never did like elmer's.

Steve

[Wes Bischel]

We just got a flier in the mail that Lowes (commercial services) has $5.00 off (with the flier) on a gallon of Titebond III total $21.78 - lots of other stuff as well. Hopefully others have received one as well.

FWIW, Wes

[Michael Perata]

I took a laminations class from David Marks in July.

He uses a plastic resin glue called URAC 185 ( http://www.cytec.com/pdf/URAC185.pdf )

It has great open time, fills gaps, is waterproof and VERY strong. Although it is a two part glue, mixing it is no problem.

No more wimpy yellow glues for me. ;)

[Greg Heppeard]

Titebond III has a 10 min open time and dries about the color of red elm.

[Chris Padilla]

Mike,

Isn't that URAC pretty smelly?

[Dennis Peacock]

Mike,

Isn't that URAC pretty smelly?

I don't know....I'm trying to find some is a smaller quantity as I have only found it by the "gallon". Price was $21.99 for the Gallon and the hardner. I'd like to try some before I committed to buying a large container of that stuff.

[Chris Padilla]

Dennis,

Well, Mike is a stone's throw from me so I'll check it out for you. I bet I could even siphon some off of him for you and send it to Arkie land if you like. I'll return the box you are sending me! :D