Wide plank glue-up question

[Marty Tippin]

I'm gluing up a sandwich of 3 8" wide planks for a 3-D cutting board. I'm wondering how much drying time I should allow before starting to cut them?

I'm guessing significantly more than when gluing a 1.5" wide strip. I'm using TiteBond 3 if that makes any difference. The glue-up is in my 60 degree shop.

[Howard Acheson]

I give any cutting board I make at least overnight to dry to the point where I can work with them.

[Steve Peterson]

Titebond 3 has a recommendation to not stress the joint for 24 hours. The joint will be fully cured at 24 hours, although this might only be true at "room" temperature of 75 degrees. If you are really worried you could wait 48 hours because your shop is 60 degrees.

Steve

[Marty Tippin]

I guess the point of my question was really whether I needed to allow longer dry time for an 8" wide plank sandwich (i.e., 8" wide by 30" long, 3 layers) - seems like maybe it would take longer for the glue in the center of the plank to dry than out toward the edges were air might be more able to penetrate. Or maybe that's not a concern.

[John Schweikert]

Glue in the joint will cure faster and harder than a glob sitting out in the air. Wood glue is formulated to react to the cellular structure of wood. Also the joint will have a very thin amount of glue ultimately. Wood glue is not a gap filling glue. So inside those wide plank joints will be no different than a small joint. Air is not the main curing factor.

[Marty Tippin]

Good information, thanks John!