Laminating salad bowl blank?

[Jim Underwood]

Is it a good idea to laminate layers of 3/4" kiln dried stock for a salad bowl?
I had a large roughout for this project that turned out to have a crack and now I'm up against a deadline.
I'm thinking maple, cherry, or beech.

[Barry McFadden]

Lots of salad bowls in stores are laminated....I would use something like Gorilla Glue or another waterproof glue and you would have no problem...

[David Walser]

I agree with Barry in everything but the choice of glue. I'd use Tightbond III. It's waterproof and has a stronger hold than Gorilla glue. But, Gorilla glue should work fine.

[Barry McFadden]

I agree with Barry in everything but the choice of glue. I'd use Tightbond III. It's waterproof and has a stronger hold than Gorilla glue. But, Gorilla glue should work fine.

I have never used Tightbond III but I have cutting boards that I made using Gorilla Glue over 5 years ago and they get soaked in water almost daily and I have never had a joint come apart.... not saying anything against any other glue just saying I have never had a problem with Gorilla Glue...

[John Grace]

Most of my salad bowl commission work is done with laminated wood. I'm fortunate to live near a high end wood mill that deals in most species of wood and they sell their 'cut-offs' at a $1 a pound. Laminated bowls allow me to make interesting and one of a kind pieces for folks at bargain prices. Agree on the use of Titebond III.

[Pat Scott]

I don't know, it might work for a while but everything I've been taught from Mike Mahoney and Glenn Lucas says that eventually one of the joints will fail. I can still hear Mike saying: "Glue, wood, and water don't mix". Depending on how often it's used and washed, it might last 5-10 years, but eventually it will fail. Yeah I hear all of you with your waterproof glues, but there's a reason Glenn and Mike use sound wood for their bowls that are defect free. They don't glue cracks or splits, if a bowl has anything like that it goes in the firewood pile. Just saying.

I turned down a commission piece recently where the customer wanted a 13" salad bowl with a turquoise rim. I make smaller bowls like that, but mostly for decoration or as a candy dish, etc. I use epoxy with the turquoise which is waterproof, but I told the customer that my name is on the bottom and I guarantee my bowls for life. I didn't want them to be disappointed 10 years from now if the turquoise started coming loose and the bowl starts looking bad. And I didn't want someone else to look at the bowl and see my name on the bottom and think that's the kind of quality product that I make.

[David Walser]

I don't know, it might work for a while but everything I've been taught from Mike Mahoney and Glenn Lucas says that eventually one of the joints will fail. I can still hear Mike saying: "Glue, wood, and water don't mix". Depending on how often it's used and washed, it might last 5-10 years, but eventually it will fail. Yeah I hear all of you with your waterproof glues, but there's a reason Glenn and Mike use sound wood for their bowls that are defect free. They don't glue cracks or splits, if a bowl has anything like that it goes in the firewood pile. Just saying.

...

I've heard Mike say the same thing. But you need to understand that he's a production turner who gets his wood for free. His cost is labor. Laminating bowl blanks wouldn't do him any good unless the laminated bowl blanks took less time or allowed him to charge a premium for his bowls. Neither of those conditions are likely to be true -- laminating takes more time than simply rounding a blank on the bandsaw and a simple lamination (as opposed to a decorative segmentation) is unlikely to produce a bowl someone is willing to pay more for. So, I'm guessing Mike hasn't spent much time trying to get laminating blanks to work.

On the other hand, Tightbond II and III and Gorilla glues have been used to make many cutting boards and other common kitchen items without problems. Our kitchen drawer is full of ice cream scoops and pizza cutters that have handles I've made from laminated blanks. Some of those items have been through the dishwasher with no discernable ill-affect. Tightbond III has been holding up well over the last several years. Bottom line: It works if the walls of the bowl are not too thin and you have good glue joints. Is it ideal? It depends on the look you're after and what your options are.

[Bill Boehme]

.... But you need to understand that he's a production turner who gets his wood for free. His cost is labor...

I wold say that his cost is the selling price if he has to refund or replace a bowl that has failed. It could also be argued that labor and selling price are essentially the same thing. Materials are only a very small part of cost.

... Tightbond III has been holding up well over the last several years...

Titebond III is a very good glue, but according to the manufacturer, it is not waterproof as some others have stated. It is water resistant but may not work for things that are too frequently exposed to water.

Epoxy and resorcinol-formaldahyde glue are both waterproof, but it's not just the glue that needs to be considered. If the two species of wood have dissimilar properties for expansion and shrinkage, the best glue in the world won't matter if the wood immediately adjacent to the glue fails and that is generally what happens when glue joints fail ... it's a misnomer because neither the glue nor the joint fail ... the immediately adjacent wood where the glue hasn't penetrated is what fails. One of the advantage of PVA glue is that it remains slightly pliable, so the glue in a joint under stress is able to relieve a bit of the stress by allowing a microscopic amount of movement.

Because of grain orientation in a bowl, it presents a different situation than gluing up a cutting board. Personally, I would yield to Mike Mahoney's wealth of experience in woodturning. He has a great deal of experience in many areas of woodturning, but when he was at our club for a week, he said that production turning is what puts food on the table while having pieces in a gallery is nice for the ego while starving.

[Tom Giacomo]

According to Titebond, Titebond 2 is water resistant and Titebond 3 is waterproof.

[David Walser]

...

Titebond III is a very good glue, but according to the manufacturer, it is not waterproof as some others have stated. It is water resistant but may not work for things that are too frequently exposed to water.

...

Well, I guess it all depends on what is meant by "waterproof". Titebond III passes the ANSI Type I water-resistance test. Here's what that test requires:

Type I testing involves cutting the 6" by 6" assemblies into 1" by 3" specimens, boiling them for 4 hours, then baking the specimens in a 145°F oven for 20 hours. They are boiled for an additional 4 hours, then immediately cooled using running water. The specimens are sheared while wet, and the bonds must pass certain strength and wood failure requirements to pass the Type I specification. [Source: http://www.titebond.com/frequently_asked_questions.aspx]

How many salad bowls will be boiled twice for 4 hours each time? If a bowls going to be boiled for 5 hours, Titebond III might not be up to the task.

Here's a link to Titbond's explanation of the differences among Titebond original, Titebond II, and Titebond III: http://www.titebond.com/news_article...Big_Three.aspx

[daryl moses]

I've used titebond III for years on my Hickory edge grain cutting boards. I've sold a bunch of them and given many away as presents and have NEVER had a problem with them de-laminating. Before III came out I tried Gorilla glue and every board I used it on came apart.
I suppose many people have had great results with Gorilla glue but you'll never see a bottle of it in my shop again.
BTW Titebond III is waterPROOF.

[Reed Gray]

Well, simplified, "water resistant" means it can get wet, but not for long. "Water proof" like Gorilla and Titebond III, means you can pretty much keep it outside, in most climates, but not for years on end, and "not for submersion". Then there are marine glues, which are for boats...

The biggest problem I can see with segmented bowls for daily use bowls is that different woods will move at different rates, and than can/will cause eventual failure. Also, all of the joints have to be PERFECT. Close just doesn't cut it. It would help to have a glue that will fill tiny gaps as well.

robo hippy

[Michelle Rich]

there is a difference between a cutting board and a salad bowl. A salad bowl gets soaked in vinegar. Vinegar is used to break chair glue joints, etc. how long will it take to delaminate a salad bowl? I have no clue.

[david privett]

glue is important of course but how well the finish is maintained on the bowl has to be considered , I have been using with good results beeswax and mineral oil mix. I have even used it on wooden beer steins that get used and had good luck.