Glue Applicators - What do you REALLY use?

[Archie Hendrick]

As a nascent woodworker I've read a lot about the importance of applying the proper amount of glue in different applications. However, I haven't seen much discussion about the various devices for applying the glue. I see so many products for sale in catalogs that I'm wary of how many are just gimmicks. I'd appreciate hearing from experienced folks about what you really use to apply and spread glue: Special brushes? Disposable brushes? Rollers? Commercial bottle kits with mutiple tips? Pieces of bandsaw blades (like a serrated trowel)? Fingers?

So, what do you use to apply glue for:

Glueing edges of boards for panel glue-ups?

Glueing faces to laminate boards?

Mortise and tenon joints? Dovetails?

Etc...

Thanks for any recommendations.

Archie

[Myk Rian]

I blop it out of the bottle and spread it with a small acid brush.

[Jim McFarland]

I blop it out of the bottle and spread it with a small acid brush.

+1

But I use one of these when I have a really large area to cover:

http://www.mcfeelys.com/product/PGB-7329/Pro-Glue-Dispenser

[doug faist]

Acid brushes in places I can't reach and good old fingers when I can.

Doug

[Billy Trinh]

thin wood scrapes

[Ken Whitney]

Silicone kitchen spatulas, from the dollar store.

Ken

[Brian W Evans]

+1

But I use one of these when I have a really large area to cover:

http://www.mcfeelys.com/product/PGB-7329/Pro-Glue-Dispenser

Jim,

I got one of those for Christmas and haven't used it yet. How do you clean it?

[Philip Johnson]

I picked up one of these bottles with a roller at Rockler for 10 bucks between that and a finger seems to get the nob done. Once the glue dries you can squeez the roller enough to break the glue and peel it off.

Phil

[Mike Henderson]

You mean there's something other than fingers?

Mike

[Dave Lehnert]

I ordered some from Lee Valley and they work very well and reusable. A pack last a long time.

http://www.leevalley.com/images/item/woodworking/adhesives/99k5010s1.jpg

[Ron Kellison]

For standard woodworking, I tend to use flux brushes for edges and joints, and cheap bristle brushes for larger surfaces. Both get washed in hot soapy water until the glue is gone. For epoxy I tend to use either the wide toothpicks used in club sandwiches for small stuff and the flexible plastic ones sold by Lee Valley for larger jobs. When dry the epoxy just pops off the plastic ones.

I've also been known to use my finger when gluing edges!

Regards,

Ron

[glenn bradley]

Gluing edges of boards for panel glue-ups?

- Glue-bot.

Gluing faces to laminate boards?

- Silicone pasta roller.

145027

Mortise and tenon joints? Dovetails?

- Glue-bot and small spreader like a Popsicle stick sized scrap or one of these:

145028

On the plastic spreaders; I have used the same one for over a year. The others are in a drawer. Great for mortise walls but not much else and a stick will do as well ;-)

[Josh Bowman]

thin card board
When glue gets tacky, after the clamp up use an old scraper to scrap the globs of glue off.

[Fred Voorhees]

I blop it out of the bottle and spread it with a small acid brush.

same here. Pretty much how I do it. I do have a roller type applicator and occasionally use it to edge glue, but generally, it's the acid brush technique and nothing else. Works for me.

[Paul Steiner]

90% of the time i use my finger. Recently I have been using a 1" chip brush along with a maxwell house plastic coffee can. The type of can that is blow molded plastic with the handle built into the can. I fill the can with water and put a sponge in the large portion to clean up excess. The hole on the inside of the can formed by the handle is a perfect fit for a 1" chip brush, the water keeps the brush from hardening. Works great for application and clean up.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

Sometimes a small acid brush. Sometimes rubbing the two mating surfaces together to spread the glue. Mostly (95+%) its fingers.

[Glen Butler]

I just plop it down thick enough to squeeze out. If I have a large surface I run several zigzagging beads then rub the pieces together to spread the glue before clamping.

[Charles Wiggins]

I blop it out of the bottle and spread it with a small acid brush.
+2

I used to save those fake credit cards that came in the mail for spreading over large areas like laminate. We stopped getting those offers a few years ago after we opted out with the credit bureau, so I don't know what I'll do when I get the shop going again.

[Karl Card]

I use the glue applicators to glue up wood when i am making cutting boards. Makes it alot easier...faster... and I dont waste as much glue..

[Kent A Bathurst]

Acid brush + 1" chip brush + 1-1/2" chip brush + 2" chip brush.

Cut off half the bristles to make them shorter and stiffer, and whack the bristles back and forth on the bench edge to dislodge stray bristles. Tried the roller-type things, and others, but not as easy to clean, and not as easy to get a consistent glue layer down fast.

[Peter Quinn]

Edge gluing boards? Any thin scrap in the bin. More critical joinery, I have a variety of acid brushes. For larger surfaces, its foam rollers from the paint department or some rubber rollers for silk screening from the art store a la David Marks. I stay away from the fingers as it seems to spread every where for me.

[Jeff Monson]

Glue bot and I use the disposable glue brushes from woodcraft to spread glue, I also keep an old cup half full of water to put my glue brushes in.

[Jim Rimmer]

Acid brush, fingers, wood scraps. I hadn't thought about cleaning the acid brushes - I just toss them - but I'll try cleaning them. I've got some cheap chip brushes but haven't used them for glue yet.

[Dave Cav]

Acid brush + 1" chip brush + 1-1/2" chip brush + 2" chip brush.

Cut off half the bristles to make them shorter and stiffer, and whack the bristles back and forth on the bench edge to dislodge stray bristles. Tried the roller-type things, and others, but not as easy to clean, and not as easy to get a consistent glue layer down fast.

That was pretty much what I was gonna say but you beat me to it. Cut off acid/chip brushes from H.F. I toss them in a pail of water when I'm finished for the day.

[johnny means]

Quality artist brushes. They come in all shapes and sizes and apply media in a very precise manner. For larger surfaces I like those foam mini rollers.

[Tri Hoang]

I saved some thin cuts from my band saw. Otherwise, my favorite ones are cut using construction lumber (2 by X stuff to about 1/16 to 3/64" thick). If I need special shapes, i just shape it with a chisel.

[Norman Pyles]

I blop it out of the bottle and spread it with a small acid brush.
+1 me too..

[Jim McFarland]

Jim,

I got one of those for Christmas and haven't used it yet. How do you clean it?

Brian, I pop off the roller and rinse if the glue is still wet, else wait for it to dry and peel off the glue.

To be honest, I don't put glue in the bottle now -- just use the roller part. Likely much cheaper ways to get just the roller!

[Van Huskey]

Gluebot, acid brushes and fingers. Just depends on what works at the moment.

[Eric DeSilva]

To be honest, I don't put glue in the bottle now -- just use the roller part. Likely much cheaper ways to get just the roller!

+1 I don't think glue has ever been in the bottle part of mine. Just squeeze a bunch out from the glue bottle, then spread it around with the roller. Dried glue comes off the roller easy.

I also use those silver disposable brushes from WC, but I'm inches from throwing the whole package away. Even if I whack the ends of those things and pull on them a bit, invariably I get bristles in my glue up, which means I have to use my fingers to get the bristles out, which means I should have just used my fingers to spread the glue anyway.

[John Coloccia]

I lay down a bead and use my pinky. There's some masking tape on my bench that I can clean my pinky off with when it gets too messy. Even when it's messy, though, I can still manipulate clamps without making a mess because the only thing that's messy is my pinky, and I can easily avoid using that if I have to.

[Paul Girouard]

I got one of these glue rollers ,
http://images.rockler.com/rockler/images/21951-03-500.jpg

Works great for long edge banding , or other long glue roll outs . Clean easy in the sink with warm water , the head disassembles into 3 pieces easily to allow for good clean up.

For gluing in plugs I just use a standard type small glue bottle that tight bond 2 comes in. Put in a dab of glue sweep it around in the hole with a nail set or a finish nail , what ever is handy. Stick in the bung / plug , move on to the next one.

Over the years I tried all types of things , that big glue bag some one posted they had was junk. It was to big , fell over when it shouldn't have , was hard to clean and cost WAY to much.


I like small glue bottles that I can keep full so I'm not waiting for the glue to get out of the tip . Also I can carry the bottle in my nail bags either in the shop of out on the job site.

Acid brushes have there place as well , so it depend on what your gluing up. Oh, and yes, your finger , if you're "lucky" / careful you'll aways have one handy :D

[Archie Hendrick]

Thanks for all the input. Looks like a plurality go with the brushes and fingers. I have brushes.

Anyone interested in trading me some fingers? I have eight extra thumbs I can swap you.

Archie

[Andrew Joiner]

I just plop it down thick enough to squeeze out. If I have a large surface I run several zigzagging beads then rub the pieces together to spread the glue before clamping.

Glen I do the same thing. Looks like we're in the minority.

The fastest( on edge gluing or solid banding) is to run one bead on one edge touch the edges together flip and touch again. This puts 2 light beads down. Just enough to bond solid and leave minimum squeeze out to scrape or sand.
I've tested this method many times to joint failure and the spread is uniform.

I do use a thin wood scrap to spread glue in a mortise or dowel joint.

[Bryan Morgan]

Fingers, old AAA card, tiny disposable paint brushes... I like the card the best because its easier to get a consistent amount of glue over a bigger area.

[Brian Tymchak]

I got one of these glue rollers ,
http://images.rockler.com/rockler/images/21951-03-500.jpg



I got one of those and it didn't work worth a darn for me on a large job. The roller didn't roll smoothly and pushed the glue around instead of spreading it evenly. Maybe just a bad roller.

I borrowed an idea from Bob Lang in PWW and used a disposable 3" trim paint roller. Worked great. It spread glue nice and even on 8' by 3.5" faces in about 30 seconds. Covered the roller in the little plastic dish that came with it with plastic wrap and the glue stayed fresh for days while I laminated up bunches of boards for a bench top. Done with the job, the whole thing went to the trash bucket.

Brian

[Matt Day]

I didn't have much like with the glue applicator roller/bottle.

When I have large surfaces to glue up like for veneering or bent lamination, I use a paint roller (from 2" and up). I thought I'd have to use a new roller each application, but aAfter the first use with the roller, the glue sets up and turns semi-hard and works great.

I also use cc's and my finger.

[Sam Blanchard]

Hey Archie:

A few years ago, after watching DJ Marks for the umpteenth time, I made my way down to the art supply house and bought 2 ink brayers. One is about 2" wide and the other is like 4". I don't know what kind of rubber they use on the roller part, but it spreads glue so evenly, I've never gone back to anything else for wide glue ups. Still with the acid brush for box joints, DT's etc.
My $.02 :)

[Keith Harrell]

I have used acid brushes and a finger for edge gluing and has worked great in the past . I had some lamination's built out of 9 strips of 1/8" and tried the glue applicator roller/bottle and it saved me a lot of time in the glue up. Pain to clean for small jobs but a real time saver for bigger or limited time glue up.

[Paul Ryan]

1st the tools God gave me, then brush (when needed tight places), and when a lot to spread I have 1 of those fancy schmancy bottles with a roller on it, cost me 1.99 from mynards.

[Josiah Bartlett]

If I can't use my finger or an old credit card, I use popsicle sticks or qtips.

[John Coloccia]

I use popsicle sticks for spreading over large surfaces. Sometimes, I use business cards too. If anyone is wondering why I haven't called them back, know that I at least found your business card useful.

[Roger Pozzi]

Acid brush from HF for small areas. Large areas, my wife's credit cards. :D:D

[Bill Huber]

I got one of these glue rollers ,
http://images.rockler.com/rockler/images/21951-03-500.jpg



I have 3 or 4 of these but I don't use the bottle that came with them, I unscrew the roller and screw it right on the bottle of TB III glue. I don't clean them with water, I just let them set for a day and the glue will just peal right off.
I then use acid brushes for most of the things that are not that big. for dowels I put some glue in the hole and push the dowel in until I get squeeze out and us an acid brush to spread the glue on the top of the dowel and the surface around it.

[Prashun Patel]

Business cards from my last job, and cheap, childrens' watercolor paintbrushes. You can often get these on clearance @ Michaels (at least that's what I PLAN to do, once I steal the last one from my daughter.)

[Andrew Gibson]

I always forget to grab a brush or something, so I just use my finger...

I should get a small towel and hook it to my shop apron with a small d-link. Dang that's a good idea and I just thought of it. I'm picturing something like the towel that hangs from my golf bag.

[Dave Gaul]

For large area glue ups, I use a bottle with a roller top, all others I use foam brushes, with the foam remove! Once a foam brush is ruined or beyond its useable state, I rip off the foam, and there is a plastic "paddle" left... works awesomely for spreading glue!