How strong is Elmer's white glue?

[Rich Engelhardt]

Is it strong enough for using on jigs and fixtures and small stuff around the shop?
The stuff sure is cheap enough - compared to TBII.

IIRC, we used plain old Elmer's white glue way back when - the 1960's - when I took shop class.

[Tom McMahon]

I believe Elmer's glue is more than adequate for most wood working that doesn't need to be water proof. I no of at least one well known wood worker that uses it for every thing.

[Tony Bilello]

lmers glue is more than adequate for repairs and new construction as far as strength goes. I went to the 'brown' glues because of faster curing time.

[Joe Kieve]

I have some cherry furniture that I built back in the late 60's using Elmer's white glue and it's still together. No problems.....yet.

joe

[Phil Thien]

Both white and yellow are PVA glues. The yellow glues have a faster tacking time (they dry faster). I think this is because the yellow carpenter glues contain less water (at least I've noticed they're thicker).

Some yellow glues are water resistant and some are even claimed to be water proof.

Both white and yellow joints are stronger than wood itself.

I use white. I like the longer set-up time for complicated glue-ups, and I prefer the clear glue line.

Elmers recently reformulated their all-purpose white glue and I believe it is now as strong as any yellow glue, it just won't handle water exposure as well as some of the Titebond products.

[Joe Chritz]

It is fine and what I go to when I have a complicated glue up and need more time.

In fact the mission style bed I made for myself was assembled with elmer's white glue.

Joe

[Don Alexander]

its all about allowing the glue to cure long enough to be strong

i tend to use fater curing glues on most things because in my small shop i don't have much room to put things that need long curing times and therefore if i want to keep working faster curing glue is helpful ; i also tend to glue and screw joints as much as possible for the same reason
i.e. glue for long term and screws for short term so i can continue to work with it right away

nothing wrong with any of the types of glue just match their strengths to what you need to do and you will be happy with the results :)

[Rich Engelhardt]

Thanks gents!
I'll be picking up some next time it's on the back to school specials where the final cost is -$0- . Cant beat it @ that price!

[george wilson]

Do not use ordinary white glue for things like guitars. It will creep under pressure,and let the heel of your neck come out from the body a bit,even with a good dovetail.

[Phil Thien]

Thanks gents!
I'll be picking up some next time it's on the back to school specials where the final cost is -$0- . Cant beat it @ that price!

Be careful. You want the Glue-All, not the School Glue.

[Jay Yoder]

What is the difference between the all-purpose and school glue from a performance standpoint?

[Dave Lehnert]

Thanks gents!
I'll be picking up some next time it's on the back to school specials where the final cost is -$0- . Cant beat it @ that price!

Like one of the other post said. Do not use the white school glue. Glue-All is what to use for woodworking.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:GHLoY5MfIJZCmM:http://robertfinkelstein.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/elmersglue.jpghttp://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:NEWNmJbMRjtoKM:http://classroomessentials.net/images/Elmers%25207%2520or%252080z%25202008%2520lg%2520pi c.jpg

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

About 40 years ago I made a maple butcher block set of living room furniture. I used Elmer's white glue with Elsie the cow on the label.

The coffee table is still in service today.

Other pieces have been removed from the set and may - or not - remain in use. I kept and have cut up the 2" thick sides from a love seat and couch for jigs and fixtures only in the last few years.

[Dave Cav]

When I glued up my workbench top (ash about 1" thick and 3" wide, face glued) I used white glue for the longer open time during assembly and clamping. No problems.

[Rich Engelhardt]

What is the difference between the all-purpose and school glue from a performance standpoint?

Good question!
I'm wondering the same thing?

The "Elmer's" website doesn't give much detail.

Cliff's post also has me wondering if the "old" Elmer's was just a relable of what they call School Glue now.
I don't remember what was on the market back then...

I have some stuff planned that I may give the School Glue a tryout on. Nothing critical - some shop stuff that's going to be screwed and glued & a couple of jigs.

[John Denture]

Keep in mind that Elmers has made Glue-All in the USA, Canada, and China. I can assure you that the Chinese made stuff could've been accurately labeled "Glue-None". I haven't seen any for a year so- perhaps Elmers realized that they weren't doing themselves any favors by selling the stuff- but be alert.

[Dave Lehnert]

Elmer's School glue is made to be very washable. To breakdown with water to clean the kids clothing.

Yes, you find the school glue on sale soon for cheap but the Glue-All is still just a buck or two. Why risk it for a buck? You buy your Hardwood lumber, You take your time to build a project. To skimp on the glue to save a buck does not make much sense.

[Thomas S Stockton]

Just use original titebond, unless I need some water resistance it works fine. I was curious so I went to officedepots web site and elmers is about $17 a gallon which is pretty close to the same price as titebond at the big box stores so i don't think the cost savings is great.
I find glue is cheap if it seems like something is wrong with it I chuck it, not worth the hassle.
Tom

[Dave Lehnert]

Well I always say "If you don't know the answer, Ask the person who makes it" So I took my own advice. Official answer from Elmers below.

"Both the School Glue and Glue-All are very similar and can both be washed from things like clothing. However, the Glue-All will usually form a stronger bond to surfaces. The Washable School Glue was formulated for light craft work involving things like paper and cardboard and tends to be more flexible once dried. "

[Rich Engelhardt]

Dave,

Thanks!

It sounds like the School Glue would probably work for some in shop uses.
Not furniture ir anything,,,mostly some simple jigs and such.

I have a small sample piece in the garage that I glued up on Saturday.
Nothing fancy, just a couple of scraps glued together.

[Jay Yoder]

Well there you have it folks! Thanks for researching that Dave!

Sounds like from all this discussion, there are applications where GlueAll is good, otherwise, Titebond for me!

[Kent E. Matthew]

I use is exclusively. I like the extra time to square things up that it provides.

[Mark Elmer]

Hi all,

You can imagine the "imaginative" jokes that people make about my last name.

I am glad to be associated with such a fine product. One that just about eveyone has some good childhood memory associated with it.

[Rick Fisher]

I have used Elmers, Titebond and Lepages.. I have never had a problem with any of them.

I like the Lepage's bottles the best.. I don't see what all the fuss is with Titebond, I always figured it was just marketing.. Nothing wrong with any of them..

I usually buy which ever brand is cheaper..

[Lee Schierer]

When I first learned woodworking Elmers white glue was all we had. My mother still has a plant stand, cutting board and knife rack I made that were glued with Elmers 45+ years ago.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Update on the Elmer's School Glue.

A day or so after this thread, I glued some scrap pieces together using an old bottle of School Glue.
Since the stuff had been sitting in the garage since last Summer, I'm sure it froze over the Winter - maybe a few times.
It was more goo than glue. I had to scoop it out since it was too thick to pour.

Anyhow - I forgot about it until a couple of hours ago when I ran across the scraps.
Try as I might, I couldn't pull them apart by hand. I'm sure if I pry hard enough, the wood will give before the glue does - I could hear the wood splintering while I was pulling at the scraps.

It seems to be pretty strong. Much stronger than I would have thought.
I'm pretty convinced it would work just fine for some things - such as jigs.

YMMV.

& I'm still going to use TBII for anything "good".