Best Glue for Oily Wood

[Bill Reed]

My neighbor asked me to repair a cutting board that had split apart. I jointed the two halves and realized that it had quite a lot of oil that had soaked into it over the years. Does anyone know what glue would be best for this application? I need something that will stick to slightly oily wood and also be waterproof.

[Mark Engel]

I have always used TiteBond II or III for cutting boards.

If the wood is oily, best to wipe it down with mineral spirits, or something similar, to remove the oil prior to gluing.

[Al Killian]

What about putting in a decrotive butterfly pulg? If the wood is that oily, it might not accept glue.

[Mike Parzych]

For what it's worth I read somewhere that resorcinol is a good glue for oily exotic species. I've got some but have never actually tried it. on't know about its safety for food contact.

[Jack Briggs]

You really need to use acetone to prep oily woods for glueup. Mineral spirits won't remove the oils/resins. Lacquer thinner will work to some extent, but acetone is best.

Epoxy is usually the adhesive of choice for difficult oily woods, especially if subjected to any kind of moisture in service. There are specialized formulations for those tough to glue woods like cocobolo and teak. System III is one that comes to mind.