Clamping time

[Matthew Curtis]

How long does everyone leave their clamps on for glue-ups??

[Lee Schierer]

At least one hour, usually longer.

[Jerome Hanby]

I usually clamp up before I stop for the day, so it's almost always overnight.

Pretty sure that's overkill, but I don't think it can be too long.

[Von Bickley]

Depending on the job. One hr. minimum. Prefer several hrs. or overnight.

[Philip Rodriquez]

Depends on the glue and the type of joint (open vs. closed).

I think TBII and TBIII are about 1/2 an hour. As a practice, I try to plan my glue-ups so I can leave them clamped for as long as possible. For an open joint, I give at least 1/2 an hour. For a closed joint, I aim for 2 hours.

[sean m. titmas]

it depends on the glue, the application and my schedule but at least 1 hour with 3 hours being ideal for most setups.

when time is of the essence i use Titebonds red cap and can remove the clamps after about 30 minutes.

with furniture pieces i use their liquid hide glue i give it a full nights clamp.

[Darius Ferlas]

One hour to overnight, depending on the glue, material, job and weather (my garage is not heated). For TBIII I got burnt a couple times so it's minimum 2 hrs for that glue.

[Steve Clardy]

1/2 hour, with Titebond original

[Kent A Bathurst]

45 - 60 minutes with TBIII. This leaves the squeezeout still plastic enough to remove with a scraper. I will put it right back into the clamps if I am building up a panel, but I won't do anything else with it (saw, plane, etc) until next day.

[Joe Wiliams]

Depends on the glue and the type of joint (open vs. closed)....
Newbie question....:o

Which joints are open & closed?

[Joe Jensen]

I do 20-30 min with either Titebond II or Elmers Carpenters glue. I'm in AZ where it's dry so maybe that changes things. I am sure it's enough. Here is an example. Tonight I glued 2 small pieces of oak together edge to edge. 1/2 thick pieces. I glued one wrong, realized it about 20 minutes later. Tried to break the joint by hitting it hard with a hammer all along the length of the joint. At least 50 firm blows and it would'nt separate. Any harder and I'm sure it would have cracked the wood.

Do some tests. Even when aligning joints, if clamped for 3 min or so I can't slide the pieces, it grabs so fast.

I actually wish for slower dry times.

[johnny means]

15 minutes, assuming my joint doesn't need to be forced shut, 30 minutes if it does.

[glenn bradley]

TB-II, 30 minutes minimum. Like many others I try to time my clamping to allow overnight or as long as possible. If you are doing something low stress like frame and panel doors and are short clamps, I would think it would be OK to clamp for 30 minutes, set aside and re-use the clamps for 30 minutes, set aside, etc. IIRC most PVA glues reach full cure in 24hours.

Here's from the Franklin website:

What is the clamping and drying time of Titebond Wood Glues?
For most of our wood glues, we recommend clamping an unstressed joint for thirty minutes to an hour. Stressed joints need to be clamped for 24 hours. We recommend not stressing the new joint for at least 24 hours. For Titebond Polyurethane Glue, we recommend clamping for at least forty-five minutes. The glue is completely cured within 6 hours.

[Glen Butler]

Depends on what I am gluing, when it will be stressed, and the tempurature. I have run a cupped panel glue up through a planer within five min. of clamping and no problems. Tightbond is fast. In fact, I have end grain glued craft project picture frames in less than a minute. Stick the four pieces in the frame clamp, wipe excess glue, unclamp. And they could be picked up by one corner without falling apart. Do I recommend it, no. But I think most people leave their clamps on way too long.

In the summer 10 minutes has always worked for me. In a cold shop at least 30 minutes seems to be the case.

[Rick Fisher]

I use Titebond 2 and leave it for 45 minutes to an hour..

Also like Lepages Yellow Glue, same amount of time...

[Harold Burrell]

Newbie question....:o

Which joints are open & closed?

Man, I'm glad you asked...I want to know too.

[glenn bradley]

Newbie question....:o

Which joints are open & closed?


Man, I'm glad you asked...I want to know too.

A mortise and tenon and a blind dovetail are examples of a closed joint. A bridal joint and through dovetails are examples of an open joint.

[sean m. titmas]

Newbie question....:o

Which joints are open & closed?

open joint = two flat faces together. ie miter joint, butt joint

closed joint = where the joint applies the pressure by locking and aligning the pieces. ie mortise & tennon joint, lap joint, dovetail joint.

[John Coloccia]

I clamp for about an hour and work the piece the next day. Oddly enough, someone had mentioned a long clamping time for hide glue. As I understand it (and have practiced it) you need practically no clamping at all with hide glue as it will shrink as it dries, and will draw a joint tight on it's own. If I remember correctly, PVAs can expand as they set and therefore require clamping or it will push the joint apart and you end up with a thick, weak, glue line. I also believe there's no significant movement after they're set so clamping during full cure doesn't buy you anything unless the joint is stressed and the clamps are necessary to hold the joint together until you get to full strength.

Is all this correct or am I going on old wives tails?