# Best wood glue?



## OCEdesigns (Jan 31, 2019)

I know I could have put this in a different area but since I use a CNC I figured I would ask here.
I'm starting to make a few things that will need to be glued together. Some before milling and some after milling. Is there a "Best" wood glue to use? I'm not making cutting boards (yet!) but something similar. How long should I wait after gluing before I mill? Any thing else I need to be careful of when milling after gluing the boards?


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

I use TB original for most things, Chad, and usually wait a couple of hours. It depends on what and how the pieces are glued and I probably wait longer than necessary. For cutting boards, and we've built about 75 so far, I use TB III and wait 3-4 hours, sometimes overnight.

David


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## OCEdesigns (Jan 31, 2019)

Thanks David! The stuff I'll be gluing are boards 2-3" wide 3/4" thick and will glue 3 or 4 together at a time. I planned on waiting 24 hours but didn't know if that was enough or not. 
I'll pick up some TB III this weekend.


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

I typically glue cutting board pieces all at once. TB III has enough open time to do this if you're organized in your glue up.

















David


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## OCEdesigns (Jan 31, 2019)

That looks awesome David!


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Depends on which glue makes you happiest. I don't care for Titebond original, never tried Titebond III, just use Titebond II. I'm sure other wood glues would work as well, but I'm happy as is. I normally glue whatever, go on to something else, and let the glueup sit until the next day.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

The answer is it depends on the glue you are using. No one glue is the best for every job. I keep at least 6 different glues around. Cyanoacrylate and hot melt are good if you need a really quick bond so you can keep working. Polyurethane is good for waterproof but joints have to be tight, the foam has no strength. Fiberglass resin is also waterproof and makes an excellent wood glue and it dries fairly quickly especially if you add a little extra catalyst and it will fill gaps. Titebond 3 is almost waterproof but it leaves a brown glue line which really shows on light colored woods. Most glues have some level of water resistance and I prefer using something like Weldbond which dries clear. I always have a bottle of Titebond Melamine glue around for gluing particle board and mdf. And I also always have a bottle of Lee Valley fish glue around too. It's stays water soluble and there are a lot of jobs I use it on.


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## TimPa (Jan 4, 2011)

like Chuck said, there is no one best glue. in our shop, Titebond II is our go to for most all glue-ups. clamp time is 1/2 hr min, and full strength in 24 hours, we keep clamped overnight. tbIII for exterior, and TB or hyde glue for more open time. all have their pro's and con's.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

I use Titebond II blue light glue for everything.
Herb


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

@didalkner

David: great looking board!

I assume each of the horizontal rows was glued up prior to the entire board being put together. 

Cheers
Jon


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## OCEdesigns (Jan 31, 2019)

Thanks for all the responses!! I guess I have a lot to learn about glue!


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## ger21 (Feb 10, 2019)

Titebond original for almost everything.
It's stronger than the wood, and is the cheapest of the Titebonds.


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

JFPNCM said:


> @didalkner
> 
> David: great looking board!
> 
> ...


 @difalkner

David, sorry about the spelling error in the first missive which probably kept it from being delivered.


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

JFPNCM said:


> @difalkner
> 
> David, sorry about the spelling error in the first missive which probably kept it from being delivered.


Hey, at least you didn't put a 'u' in Falkner! :grin:

Yes, the rows were first glued up individually and then cut to the desired height (thickness) of the cutting board.

















David


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

Thanks David.

Nice looking rows that’s hould turn into some great boards.


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

JFPNCM said:


> Thanks David.
> 
> Nice looking rows that’s hould turn into some great boards.


Thanks, Jon! That's the glue up for the board with the cross (that I posted earlier).

David


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## OCEdesigns (Jan 31, 2019)

ger21 said:


> Titebond original for almost everything.
> It's stronger than the wood, and is the cheapest of the Titebonds.



Thanks Gerry!


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

I am getting away from TB II because of it's short set time. I used Elmer's glue on this project but I am going to start using Weldbond because of the longer set time. I have used it before and really like it.


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## Pro4824 (Oct 17, 2015)

difalkner said:


> I typically glue cutting board pieces all at once. TB III has enough open time to do this if you're organized in your glue up.
> David


Organization is the key!! Do a dry run first and have enough clamps and paper towels close by and make sure your glue bottle is full. I use TB-2 and clamp for 45 minutes, one hour if it's going on the lathe. Joe.


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## gdonham1 (Oct 31, 2011)

I use Titebond III mostly for general woodworking. Titebond 1 (Red) sets more pliable and tends not to break under stress and use it for segmented bowls. Titebond II (Blue) is more brittle than I but depending on what the piece is going to do. The Titebond III has a longer open time and gives complicated or hard projects more time to get assembled and squared. If required for ultimate strength I use 2 part epoxy. If you use epoxy stay away from 5 minute types because the bond is not very strong. CA glue works but is expensive if you use very much of it at once. I use CA on pen tubes and have good success. 

Like others said above it is about what you are gluing and what it will be used for. Furniture Titebond III, Boat parts Exoxy and pens and things that need a quick set time CA. 

For wood almost all PVA glue is stronger than the wood itself.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

I use the TiteBondII flourecent. Blue light shows any smears and can be removed before finishing.
Herb


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Pro4824 said:


> Organization is the key!! Do a dry run first and have enough clamps and paper towels close by and make sure your glue bottle is full. I use TB-2 and clamp for 45 minutes, one hour if it's going on the lathe. Joe.


Here's one Sandy and I glued up yesterday. I waited until she got home to help because she's a good helper and often a second set of hands makes a difference.

This will be an 18" round x 2" thick all Walnut cutting board and usable on both sides, so no feet. The Sharpie lines are to make certain we got the pieces arranged exactly like I wanted and the glue is TB III - 








David


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## Pro4824 (Oct 17, 2015)

David. I really like my Bessey pipe clamps. The legs make them really nice. 
I spent a small fortune on my collection of Jet parallel clamps but they rarely get used since I got the pipe clamps.


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

Currently using parallel clamps but i’m Coming around to the pipes.


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Well since I posted the photo of the cutting board above at glue up time I figured it was only proper to post a photo of the board cut to shape, drum sanded, card scraped, and sanded to 400, ready for mineral oil and Beeswax.









David


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

Wel done David. Never thought about making a round one. Just never got-a-round-tuit. Sorry couldn’t pass that up.


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

Looks too too good to cut on!!!!!


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

honesttjohn said:


> Looks too too good to cut on!!!!!


He requested no feet so that he can use both sides. My guess is he's going to use one side and show the other. I've had a lot of folks want that, as well, and I'm thinking about going up on the price when they want that. It's a LOT more work to make both sides pristine and perfect than it is to sand the bottom to 120 and add feet.

David


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## TimPa (Jan 4, 2011)

I thought you would use the cnc to flat top it...

looks very nice, really pops when you get the mineral wax on it!


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## pungent333 (Mar 28, 2019)

I just happened to watch a video by King's Fine Woodworking about this very topic. He also has a free pdf discussing various glues and some research that was done.

https://kingsfinewoodworking.com/co...all-about-woodworking-glue-information-packet

I have no affiliation with him - just happened to read the material recently.


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

TimPa said:


> I thought you would use the cnc to flat top it...
> 
> looks very nice, really pops when you get the mineral wax on it!


I have in the past, a couple of times. The drum sander leaves a much nicer surface to prepare for the ROS. 

I actually 'cheated' on this one, though. My 100 grit belt broke after two passes so I loaded it up and headed to a friend's cabinet shop about 10 minutes away. They have a wide belt sander, 36" I think, and since this piece before cutting the circle was 22" wide it made more sense than using my 19/38 drum sander anyway. It took them all of about 10 minutes with 80/100/120 and a few minutes of talking to get this level both sides.

Yes, putting the mineral oil on is like a big reward each time we do a cutting board - they look awesome! :grin:

David


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Ok, finished, boxed, and shipped so after sort of hijacking this thread on glue by showing one of our cutting boards I'll post the final photo. 

Back to the glue, it is glued with TB III, the joints are very tight and the board, sanded to 400 on the entire surface is very smooth (no feet on this one). And I'm glad it's gone!! :grin:









David


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## OCEdesigns (Jan 31, 2019)

pungent333 said:


> I just happened to watch a video by King's Fine Woodworking about this very topic. He also has a free pdf discussing various glues and some research that was done.
> 
> https://kingsfinewoodworking.com/co...all-about-woodworking-glue-information-packet
> 
> I have no affiliation with him - just happened to read the material recently.




Thanks!


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## OCEdesigns (Jan 31, 2019)

difalkner said:


> Ok, finished, boxed, and shipped so after sort of hijacking this thread on glue by showing one of our cutting boards I'll post the final photo.
> 
> Back to the glue, it is glued with TB III, the joints are very tight and the board, sanded to 400 on the entire surface is very smooth (no feet on this one). And I'm glad it's gone!! :grin:
> 
> ...


David. 
I have no problem with the hijack!! Actually your Hijack has helped me for sure and probably others. Especially seeing this I want to try making a few cutting boards now!! So Hijack all you want! :grin:


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## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

I'm a little late to this discussion - I've made end grain cutting boards and used Titebond III. Here's a pdf from Titebond's website that describes the various glues, etc.


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

difalkner said:


> Ok, finished, boxed, and shipped so after sort of hijacking this thread on glue by showing one of our cutting boards I'll post the final photo.
> 
> Back to the glue, it is glued with TB III, the joints are very tight and the board, sanded to 400 on the entire surface is very smooth (no feet on this one). And I'm glad it's gone!! :grin:
> 
> ...



I get those (more and more it seems). Glad to get it done and gone!!


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

One property of glue often overlooked is viscosity which with water based glued is an indication of how much dissolved solids are in it. The more solids contained the wider the gap it will bridge making it a better glue if your joint is a little on the loose side. Joints also don’t tend to get starved for glue with high viscosity glues since a smaller percent is water. If you use a high viscosity (cps) glue on a tight joint like a dowel or m& t joint you need to make sure that air and excess glue can escape. I split a few joints using Lee Valley’s 202GF glue. One of the Titebonds has a higher cps than the other two but I couldn’t find that data prior to writing this. Besides waterproofness and glue line colour, viscosity is also something that needs to be considered.


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## Ronron09 (Jan 10, 2021)

I personally use Gorilla glue, but I have read that Titebond is thought of as a better glue.
I did read about a comparison of various glues and yes, Titebond did come out on top, but only just.
Go with what you got is my feeling.. Read reviews here Best Wood Glue (January, 2021) – Tested and Reviewed


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## Rebelwork Woodworking (Sep 11, 2004)

Almost all of them. Have you ever looked at the varieties of glue titebond offers. I've used a lot of them. 

Favorite ....Original Titebond


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum @Ronron09


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

95% of the time TB 2, then Weldbond


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## MarkJonesRanger (Aug 14, 2020)

Last week I started using a new product made by Dap. Its a CA like glue that will allow you to position for up to 4 minutes and cures ready to plane in 30 minutes. We are making some Wooden Canteens and 18 of them now on the CNC and the glue seems good so far. Use good ventilation when using it as it will burn your nose and eyes a bit. Here is a link to the build. I have 17 canteen spouts to get glued in wed night with our Royal Rangers (church scouting group)
(6) Wooden Canteen build continued - YouTube


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Long ago original post. Don't think anyone mentioned selecting a glue that dries clear. TB I dries yellow. Waterproof is the second important issue, whether for food or for outdoor display.


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## Rebelwork Woodworking (Sep 11, 2004)

Waterproof isnt required in food.

For exterior use yes...


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## papasombre (Sep 22, 2011)

Hi, David.
Your cutting board collection is awesome. I just started to make some of them as Christmas gifts but never I'll reach that beauty.
Thank you for posting them.


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