Titebond III Now Rated #1 By Wood Magazine

[Joseph N. Myers]

Just got my November, 2004 issue of Wood Magazine and in their "Sounding Board", page 8, they devoted almost a full page on the many errors in their testing/reporting the results in testing glues, September, 2004 issue, pages 80-85. As a result, "In light of thses findings, we feel it is only fair to designate Titebond III as the overall woodworking glue".

For those that didn't get the article, it basically rated Elmer's glue the best, not much difference between Titebond II and III, little differences in open time, etc, things that manufactures and readers question their findings.

I've generated at least 3 posts on how much I like Titebond III and continue to like it. I even gave away almost a gallon of Titebond II which I liked but .... One of the main things I like about III is how tacky it is --- for glue-ups, it great.

Regards, and good gluing, Joe

[Donnie Raines]

I look forward to reading that post. I have always been a Titebond Extends fan myself. It always seems to give that little extra time to get things into place.

[Gene Collison]

I look forward to reading that post. I have always been a Titebond Extends fan myself. It always seems to give that little extra time to get things into place.
___________________________________

Donnie,

I am also a Titebond Extend fan. When gluing up an entry door I just finished, I called Franklin and asked which product would give me the longest setup time. Their answer was Titebond 3, if I'm not mistaken their new brochure also indicates this but I thought it might be a mistake. I used it and had no problems from a time standpoint.

Gene

[Wes Bischel]

Well, that's certainly good news since I just bought a gallon of the stuff for the sale price at Lowes. :)

Yeah, I meant to do that!
Wes

[Rich Konopka]

I haven't received my issue yet so I have to ask. Is the full page add for TB on the back cover?? In the issue with the Glue Debacle there was a full page back cover ad "The Best Glue Ever". It disappeared from the magazine in the October issue.

[Chris Padilla]

You also have to look at who sponsored the event! :)

IMO, there is no "best glue". There is, however, a best glue for your situation. :D

[Joseph N. Myers]

Those interested in open time, from the Nov, 2004 issue:

"Speaking of open time, the article lists different open times for Titebond III on pages 84 and 85. The actual open time in our tests of this product was 20 minutes (a figure that will vary depending on the humidity and temperature of your shop)".

Looking back at the September, 2004 issue, page 84 listed (in text) the open time as 20 minutes, page 85 (in chart) the open time as 12 minutes. The way they ran the test was not too accurate to say the least --- they would apply the glue to different pieces and start clamping them at different times and then see if the wood would hold. So if they glued it after 12 minutes and it did not hold, its open time was less than 12 minutes; if it held, its open time was greater than 12 minutes.

The times for PVA's (yellow glue) were 4, 8, 12 and 20 minutes. So any glue that was rated at 20 minutes could be 22, 25, 30, etc minutes (again, not too accurate).

One other thing mentioned in the Nov issue was that the "glues excel in edge-grain to end-grain joints" chart had Titebond III wrong --- they had it listed failing at around 1,500 psi whereby it should be "off the chart" or greater than 2,000 psi (the wood failed before the glue).

(I know this is redundant for those that get Wood Magazine but meant rather for those that do not get the magazine. And for those that do not get the magazine, get it --- rated by far the best woodworking magazine).

Regards, Joe

[Gary Max]

Chris has a real good point---It depends on what you are doing----that why I have more than one kind of glue in my shop,
Titebond may be the most used in my shop but it aint the only glue we buy.

[Matt Allan]

I think any products compared in a magazine based on tests they get to conducted.. Well not to be a pessimist here, but I think they are always skewed towards whoever has the most advertising bucks in the magazine.. Merely a coincidence of course =) But you aren't going to trash the bigger sponsor.

Sure some magazines can say they are pure, etc, etc, but lets get real. If I made a glue tomorrow that was even remotely similar and threw a jillion dollars at them I bet I would have the best glue ever under some conditions they could make. Just the way things works, I am sure they all work well enough to get by saying good/best/blah. Pretty much a preference thing at this point.

Sorry for the negativity towards things, just how I read most tests these days.

[Jim Becker]

Having personally viewed and experienced the way that WOOD does it's testing, I can assure you there is a firewall between the testing and the advertising. Even the time frames are very different. Most magazines take great care to "separate church and state" to avoid improprieties 'cause they know there is always suspicion...such as that expressed in this thread.

[Dennis Peacock]

Chris and Matt.....both of you have excellent points.

When I was in R/C Aircraft.....I really liked one particular publication because they did a "no holds bared" type of reviews. This is the kind of reviews that I like doing.

I have heard good and bad about Titebond III....I use a lot of titebond glues, but I like using it even less now due to its ability to "creep" even weeks after assembly.

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

I don't have personal knowledge of how Wood Magazine conducts the testing of various products, but with the test products I am familiar with, they seem to be pretty straight-up, IMO. I think Wood is a good publication with great credibility, and I would like to think the readers could trust them to give unbiased review results. Now, I may be looking at the world thru rose colored glasses here, but I tend to trust people until I have a good reason not too. But, that is just me.........your opinion or view may differ from mine, which is OK by me too! ;)

[Jerry Olexa]

I've used Titebond 3 on several projects and very pleased w the results. Testing procedures can always and easily be second guessed, I think WOOD magazine is quite credible and I usually accept most of their conclusions. But as a former marketing guy, I also understand the unwritten but strong influence of $ advertisers! Anyway, its a good product!

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

Have they fixed the problem with 'creep'? That's the reason I don't use yellow (any of them) any more except for 'tacking' something in place.

KC

[Dennis Peacock]

Have they fixed the problem with 'creep'? That's the reason I don't use yellow (any of them) any more except for 'tacking' something in place.

KC

Kirk,

I don't know.....but I try to use as little PVA glue any more due to the "creep" problem. I didn't belive it until it showed up on the LOML's new kitchen table I made for her.!! :eek: :confused: I had to rub it back out again with some 4 aught steelwool and paste wax to get the surface back smooth again. Hasn't reappeared since then, but I still check it once in a while. :D

[Chris Padilla]

Could you guys define 'creep' again? Does the glue really "soak" through the wood or is it more of a problem for veneering?