Laminating Glue

[Mike Burke]

I am laminating rocking chair rocking rails and wondering what kind of glue to use. I read Uni Bond 800 gets a lot of use for this. I have seen that some use Old Brown Glue.
Looks like Uni Bond needs to be used at the right temp to cure correctly.
My basement work shop is chilly this time of year so it's only 60 to 65 deg. I do have access at my work place that is warm enough.
I have bought some Uni Bond but just wondering if there is another alternative for glue to use for my laminating project .

Wood is Red Oak
Strips are 1/8 thick x 2" wide x 36" long
8 total strips.

What glue should I use for this lamination ?

Thanks for any suggestions.

492148492149

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Thanks to SMC I have become a disciple of Titebond III. If you need more time consider one of the epoxy's.

Titebond Extend is also a good laminating glue

[Andrew Hughes]

I would use title bond 2.
Coat both sides with a 4 inch roller evenly and quickly leave them in the clamps for a minimum 24 hrs the longer the better.
I stopped using plastic resin glues. Because the glue is very hard and will badly nick jointer knives and handplane blades.
If your a wood grinder might not matter to you.
But I believe you will get a dark glue line with resin glues
Good Luck

[Jamie Buxton]

I use epoxy for that kind of work. By selecting the correct hardener, you can get it to cure at 60 degrees. Also, it is a glue which doesn't creep, and that's important for bent lamination. It mixes up to a consistency of pancake syrup, and has a long working time to get everything into the clamps. https://www.westsystem.com/

[Aaron Rosenthal]

I had a failure with old brown glue last year and asked the manufacturer what the problem could have been.

I found that while best adhesion temperature for the glue is over 170 degrees F. While in my case the glue was flowing due to high ambient temperature, it didn’t allow the glue to reach that high temperature.

I would follow the advice here and not use OBG in this particular situation.

[Cameron Wood]

I had a failure of Tightbond III in cold temps- 40s˚, so watch out for that...

[John TenEyck]

Titebond 2 would be my choice, and leave it in the form for 24 hours, as said above. Epoxy or Unibond 800 would work well, too, but you would want to throw a heating blanket over it with Unibond to make sure the cure temperature is at least 65 F. Those two resins are hard and brittle, but I've never had an issue with them knicking my jointer knives as long as I scrape off the squeeze out first.

No to TB III as it has too much creep for bent lamination work.

John

[mike calabrese]

Tite bond II or Elmers white glue.
Coat both surfaces of each piece have you form and clamps ready to go and possibly sprinkle a little bit of salt between each layer , not much just enough to help eliminate the creep from the glue slide against the clamp pressure. Your basement temps in the mid 60's should not be a problem.
mike calabrese

[Jim Eddy]

For me, Unibond 800 hands down. Or the urea formaldehyde glue sold by JoeWoodworker/VeneerSupplies.com. A urea formaldehyde glue such as these, or Cascamite have zero creep in the glue joint. Which means little to now springback. All the PVA glues are subject to creep in the joint under tension and won't retain the shape of the form as well.
I have problems with the temperature in my shop so I lay an electric blanket on my veneering bag. Or create a little tent with a shipping blanket and put a small heater in it when the shop is cold.
Hot hide glue also has very little creep. The cold temp versions like Old Brown glue or Franklin Liquid Hide don't really share the characteristic. I've always used Unibond 800 for my bent laminations and the resulting piece stays very close to the form.

[John TenEyck]

For me, Unibond 800 hands down. Or the urea formaldehyde glue sold by JoeWoodworker/VeneerSupplies.com. A urea formaldehyde glue such as these, or Cascamite have zero creep in the glue joint. Which means little to now springback. All the PVA glues are subject to creep in the joint under tension and won't retain the shape of the form as well.
I have problems with the temperature in my shop so I lay an electric blanket on my veneering bag. Or create a little tent with a shipping blanket and put a small heater in it when the shop is cold.
Hot hide glue also has very little creep. The cold temp versions like Old Brown glue or Franklin Liquid Hide don't really share the characteristic. I've always used Unibond 800 for my bent laminations and the resulting piece stays very close to the form.

I used to think the same way, that PVA glues all creep, but I found out that TB I and II, and Elmer's White Glue, have very good creep resistance if you let them fully cure in the mold. My friend makes Hal Taylor style chairs; the back slats of which are curved, laminated glue ups. He uses TB II and there is no spring back if he leaves them clamped in the form for 24 hours. You can't go wrong with Unibond 800 or other UF glues, or epoxy, but some PVA glues are up to the task, too.

John

[Jim Eddy]

Thanks John. Old dogs get set in their ways, I guess. I'll take another look at PVAs next project.

[Mike Burke]

Thanks everyone for their suggestions. I have one piece in the form right now with TB ll
Thanks.

[Mark Rainey]

Thanks to SMC I have become a disciple of Titebond III. If you need more time consider one of the epoxy's.

Titebond Extend is also a good laminating glue

I use Titebond 3 for outside laminations. So far so good. Michael Fortune uses Titebond 3.

[Steve Demuth]

I would second this. I've used Titebond III for most of my glue laminations, indoor and outdoor, wet and dry environments, for a decade. Never had a creep or delam problem if I let it cure fully in the form. But cure fully means minimum of 24 hours, and that's assuming that the wood was thoroughly dry and freshly surfaced, and the temperature 70oF or more. If you can't match those conditions, add extra cure time. Titebond III will cure adequately pretty much anywhere above 50oF, but the cooler you go, the longer you need. Ditto if the wood surface's ability to wick moisture is in any way impaired. Needless to say, PVA glues are appropriate only if you are able to achieve complete layer-to-layer contact between your lams. If there is any doubt that you're getting everything tightened down, then use epoxy.

[Myles Moran]

I went through this same question when i did some chairs probably about 2.5 years ago. The laminations we're thinner but my radii were a bit tighter. I used titebond extend and left them in the clamps for at least 24 hours (honestly it might have been 48 in a part of the shop I could leave those while working on the rest of the chair parts). So far they've held up great. They're the back slats and we're intended to flex a little in use, so they definitely get abused.

[Andrew Hughes]

The bit of lamination work I’ve done. Spring back could be eliminated by the thickness of laminates. Too thin they could even collapse. I shoot for 3/32 and thin my glue saturation and heavy clamps.
I asked the docent at the maloof foundation about the glue they used for the maloof rocker. He kinda chuckled because it’s a frequently asked question. His answer Sam was very practical and whatever glue they had. Not sure if he was being evasive the answer was unsatisfactory.
What I took from Sams work is to saturate and clamp heavy.
Good Luck