Glues and Gluing

Woodworking adhesives, used correctly, are stronger than wood

by R. Bruce Hoadley

The general term "adhesive" covers any substance that can hold two materials together by surface attachment. Those most commonly used for wood are called "glues," although materials described as "resins," "cements" and "mastics" are equally important in the assembly of wood products. Today's woodworkers use adhesives in a number of ways: to make pieces larger than available stock (such as carving blocks or laminated beams), to create combinations or composites for physical or esthetic improvement (such as plywood, overlays or marquetry) and to join parts to create a final product (as in furniture, sporting goods or structures). Certain basic considerations which may be overlooked or misunderstood are too often the cause of serious gluing problems and are worthy of systematic review. A logical starting point is to wonder why glue sticks at all. It is sometimes assumed that adhesion results from the interlocking of minute tentacles of hardened adhesive into the fine porous cell structure of the wood surface. However scientific research has shown that such mechanical adhesion is insignificant compared to the chemical attachment due to molecular forces between the adhesive and the wood surface, or specific adhesion. The assembled joint, or bond, is often discussed in terms of five intergrading phases, each of which can be thought of as a link in a chain. The weakest phase determines the success of the joint. Phases 1 and 5 are the pieces of wood, or adherends, being joined. Phases 2 and 4 are the interpenetrating areas of wood and adhesive, where the glue must "wet" the wood to establish molecular closeness for specific adhesion. Phase 3 is the adhesive itself, which holds together by cohesion. Fundamentally, then, gluing involves machining the two mating surfaces, applying an adhesive in a form which can flow onto and into the wood surface and wet the cell structure, and then applying pressure to spread the adhesive uniformly thin and hold the assembly undisturbed while the adhesive solidifies. The typical adhesive is obtained or mixed as a liquid but sets to form a strong glue layer, either by loss of

solvent, which brings the adhesive molecules together and allows them to attach to one another, or by a chemical reaction that develops a rigid structure of more complex molecules. A wide and sometimes confusing array of adhesive products confronts the woodworker. A common pitfall is the dangerous belief that some glues are "better" than others; the notion that simply acquiring "the best" will ensure success tempts disastrous carelessness in using it. With certain qualifications, it can generally be assumed that all commercially available adhesives will perform satisfactorily if chosen and used within their specified limitations. An important corollary is that no adhesive will perform satisfactorily if not used properly. Within the specified limitations, most woodworking adhesives are capable of developing a joint as strong as the weaker of the woods being joined; that is, the wood, rather than the glue or its bond, is the weak link in the chain.

Wood
Wood is a complicated material. Due to the cellular arrangement within the wood and, in turn, the reactive cellulose within the cell, adhesive bonding is maximum at sidegrain surfaces, and minimum at end-grain surfaces. This is especially important to realize in view of the large longitudinal-to-transverse strength ratio we are accustomed to in solid wood. Thus end-grain attachment should be considered only in conjunction with appropriate joints or mechanical fastenings. With side-to-side grain combinations, lamination of pieces with parallel grain arrangement is most successful. With cross-ply orientation, the relative thicknesses of adjacent layers must be considered in relation to the dimensional changes the composite will have to restrain. Different woods have different gluing properties. In general, less dense, more permeable woods are easier to glue; for example, chestnut, poplar, alder, basswood, butternut, sweetgum and elm. Moderately dense woods such as ash, cherry, soft maple, oak, pecan and walnut glue well under good conditions. Hard and dense woods, including beech, birch, hickory, maple, osage orange and persimmon, require close control of glue and gluing conditions to obtain a satisfactory bond. Most softwoods glue well, although in uneven-grained species, earlywood bonds more easily than denser latewood. Extractives, resins or natural oils may introduce gluing problems by inhibiting bonding, as with teak and rosewood, or by causing stain with certain glues, as with oaks and mahogany. Since most adhesives will not form satisfactory bonds with wood that is green or of high moisture content, wood should at least be well air-dried. Ideally wood should be conditioned

R. Bruce Hoadley, 44, is associate professor of wood science

and technology at the University of Massachusetts in Am-

herst. He is writing a book about wood science from the

cabinetmaker's point of view, to be published next year.

dated package styles are an obvious tip-off. It is wise to mark a bottle or can with your date of purchase. It is amazing how fast time can pass while glue sits idle in your workshop.

The adage, "when all else fails, read the instructions," all
too often applies to glue. It is unfortunate that instructions

are so incomplete on retail glue containers. Manufacturers usually have fairly elaborate technical specification sheets but

supply them only to quantity consumers. Too often, many

critical factors are left to the user's guesswork or judgment.

Mixing proportions and sequence are usually given clearly; obviously they should be carefully followed.

Glues with a pH above 7 (alkaline), notably casein resins,

will absorb iron from a container and react with certain woods
such as oak, walnut, cherry, and mahogany to form a dark

to a moisture content slightly below that desired for the finished product, to allow for the adsorption of whatever moisture might come from the adhesive. For furniture, a moisture content of 5% to 7% is about right. For thin veneers, which take up a proportionately greater amount of moisture, an initial moisture content below 5% might be appropriate.

stain. Coffee cans or other ferrous containers can contribute to

this contamination. Nonmetallic mixing containers such as plastic cups or the bottoms of clean plastic bleach jugs work
out nicely. Once glue is mixed, the pot life, or working life, must be

Machining is especially critical. In some cases, especially for

multiple laminations, uniform thickness is necessary for uniform pressure. Flatness is required to allow surfaces to be

regarded. Most adhesives have ample working life to handle

routine jobs. The period between the beginning of spreading the glue and placing the surfaces together is called open
assembly time; closed assembly time indicates the interval

brought into close proximity. The surfaces to be glued should have cleanly severed cells, free of loose fibers. Accurate hand planing is excellent if the entire surface, such as board edges, can be surfaced in one pass. On wide surfaces, peripheral milling (planing, jointing) routinely produces adequate surfaces. Twelve to twenty-five knife marks per inch produce an optimum surface. Fewer may give an irregular or chipped surface; too many may glaze the surface excessively. Dull knives that pound, heat and glaze the surfaces can render the wood physically and chemically unsuited for proper adhesion even though it is smooth and flat. Planing saws are capable of producing gluable surfaces, but in general (with exceptions, like epoxies) sawn surfaces are not as good as

between joint closure and the development of full clamping pressure. Allowable closed assembly time is usually two or three times open assembly time. With many ready-to-use adhesives, there is no minimum open assembly time; spreading and closure as soon as possible is recommended, especially in

single spreading, to ensure transfer and wetting of the other

surface. If the joint is open too long, the glue may precure

before adequate pressure is applied. The result is called a dried joint. In general, assembly time must be shorter if the wood is porous, the mixture viscous, the wood at a low moisture content, or the temperature above normal. With some
adhesives, such as resorcinol, a minimum open assembly may

planed or jointed ones. Surface cleanliness must not be overlooked. Oil, grease,
dirt, dust and even polluted air can contaminate wood surface and prevent proper adhesion. Industry production standards usually call for "same-day" machining and gluing. Freshly

be specified for dense woods and surfaces of low porosity, to allow thickening of the adhesive and prevent excessive squeeze-out. Whereas commercial operations usually have routine procedures for clamping, the nemesis of the amateur is not having his clamps and cauls ready. In the scramble to adjust

machining surfaces just before gluing is especially important

for species high in resinous or oily extractives. Where this is not possible, washing surfaces with acetone or carbon tetrachloride is sometimes recommended. One should not expect

screws or find extra clamps, parts may be shifted and assembly

time exceeded. It is worthwhile to clamp up an assembly dry to make sure everything is ready before spreading the glue.

a board machined months or years ago to have surfaces of

suitable chemical purity. If lumber is flat and smooth, but obviously dirty, a careful light sanding with 240-grit or finer abrasive backed with a flat block, followed by thorough

Spreading
Glue should be spread as evenly as possible, even though some degree of self-distribution will of course result when pressure is applied. Brush application works well with thinner

dusting, can restore a chemically reactive surface without seriously changing flatness. Coarse sanding, sometimes thought to be helpful by "roughening" the surface, is actually harmful because it leaves loose bits. In summary, wood should be surfaced immediately prior to gluing, for cleanliness and to minimize warp, and should be kept free of contamination to ensure a gluable surface.

formulations. A spatula, painter's palette knife or even a flat

stick can be used as a spreader. A small rubber roller for inking print blocks does a great job in spreading glue quickly and evenly. Paint rollers and paint trays can be used with some adhesives. Proper spread is difficult to control. Too little glue results in a starved joint and a poor bond. A little overage can be tolerated, but too much results in wasteful and messy squeeze-

Time

out. With experience the spread can be eyeballed, and it is

useful to obtain some commercial specifications and conduct an experiment to see just what they mean. Spreads are usually
given in terms of pounds of glue per thousand square feet of

Shelf life is the period of time an adhesive remains usable

after distribution by the manufacturer. Unlike photographic films, adhesives are not expiration dated. Beware the
container which has been on the dealer's shelf too long. Out-

single glue line, or MSGL. A cabinetmaker will find it more

29

convenient to convert to grams per square foot, by dividing lbs./MSGL by 2.2. Thus a recommended spread of 50

lbs./MSGL, typical of a resorcinol glue, is about 23 grams per square foot. Spread it evenly onto a square foot of veneer for a
fair visual estimate of the minimum that should be used. Usually, the recommended spread appears rather meager.

mined by the lowest-density layer. In gluing woods with a specific gravity of about 0.6, such as maple or birch, 200 psi is appropriate. Thus gluing up one square foot of maple requires pressure of (12 in. x 12 in. x 200 psi) 28,800 pounds.
Over 14 tons! This would require, for an optimal glue line, 15 or 20 cee-clamps, or about 50 quick-set clamps. Conversely,

Double spreading, or applying adhesive to each of the mating surfaces, is recommended where feasible. This ensures full wetting of both surfaces, without relying on pressure and flatness to transfer the glue and wet the opposite surface. With double spreading, a greater amount of glue per glue line is necessary, perhaps a third more.

the most powerful cee-clamp can press only 10 or 11 square

inches of glue line in maple. Jackscrews and hydraulic presses

can apply loads measured in tons. But since clamping pressure in the small shop is commonly on the low side, one can see the importance of good machining and uniform spread.
But pressure can be overdone, too. Especially with low-viscosity adhesives and porous woods, too much pressure may force too much adhesive into the cell structure of the wood or

Clamping
The object of clamping a joint is to press the glue line into a continuous, uniformly thin film, and to bring the wood surfaces into intimate contact with the glue and hold them undisturbed until setting or cure is complete. Since loss of

solvent causes some glue shrinkage, an internal stress often

develops in the glue line during setting. This stress becomes intolerably high if glue lines are too thick. Glue lines should be not more than a few thousandths of an inch thick. If mating surfaces were perfect in terms of machining and spread, pressure wouldn't be necessary. The "rubbed joint," skillfully done, attests to this. But unevenness of spread and irregularity of surface usually require considerable external
force to press properly. The novice commonly blunders on

out at the edges, resulting in an insufficient amount remaining at the glue line, a condition termed a starved joint. Some squeeze-out is normal at the edges of an assembly. However, if spread is well controlled, excessive squeeze-out indicates too much pressure; if pressure is well controlled, undue squeeze-out suggests too much glue. Successful glue joints depend on the right correlation of glue consistency and

clamping pressure. Excessive pressure is no substitute for good

machining. Panels pressed at lower pressures have less tendency to warp than those pressed at higher pressures. Additionally, excessive gluing pressure will cause extreme compression of the wood structure. When pressure is released, the cells spring back and add an extra component of stress to the glue line. The second troublesome aspect of clamping is uniformity,
usually a version of what I call "the sponge effect." Lay a

pressure, both in magnitude and uniformity. Clamping pressure should be adjusted according to the density of the wood. For domestic species with a specific gravity of 0.3 to 0.7, pressures should range from 100 psi to
250 psi. Denser tropical species may require up to 300 psi. In

sponge on a table and press it down in the center; note how

the edges lift up. Similarly, the force of one clamp located in

bonding composites, the required pressure should be deterTo find out just how much pressure typical woodworking clamps could apply, Hoadley attached open steel frames to the crossheads of a universal timber-testing machine. With a clamp positioned to draw the frames together, the load applied was indicated directly. The clamps are described in the table, with the last column giving

he were trying to get maximum pressure in a gluing job. The quickset clamp listed first in the table was used to calibrate the setup: A secretary squeezed 330 lbs., a hockey player squeezed 640 lbs., and
Hoadley squeezed 550 lbs. Repeated trials by each person yielded

the average of three trials by average-sized Hoadley, tightening as if

Brand, size,
handle style

readings that agreed to within 10%. An asterisk indicates that the

Load,
550 400 420 355* 2060 1120* 2110 1100 25 920 560

clamp began to bend and the test was stopped at the value listed.
pounds

Lust, 5-in. jaw,

straight handle

Hartford, 4-in. jaw, straight handle Jorgenson, 4-in. jaw, straight handle Stanley, 6 in.,
T-bar handle

Screw dia., thread type .645 in., square .370 in., square .375 in., V .375 in., V .625 in., square .625 in.,

S.H. Co. bar, crank handle

Sears 3/4-in. pipe, butterfly crank Jorgenson, 4 in., T-bar handle Jorgenson 8 in.,
butterfly handle
Pony, 8 in.

square

square

.610 in., square .750 in.,

spring

straight handle Unknown C-clamp

2-in. jaw, T-bar

Craftsman, 10 in.,

square

.435 in.,

.310 in., V

cipated gluing conditions, performance and strength, and, of course, cost.

One interesting adhesive is water. It is easily spread, wets

wood well and solidifies to form a remarkably strong joint. It
is delightfully inexpensive. However, it is thermoplastic and

its critical maximum working temperature is 32 F. At

temperatures at which it will set it has a very short assembly time. But due to its temperature limits water will never capture a very important position among woodworking adhesives. the middle of a flat board will not be evenly transmitted to its edges. It is therefore essential to use heavy wooden cover

Glues made from natural materials have been used from

earliest times. Although synthetic materials have emerged to the forefront, traditional natural adhesives are still in use.

boards or rigid metal cauls to ensure proper distribution of

pressure. Clamp time must be long enough to allow the glue to set

well enough so that the joint will not be disturbed by clamp

removal. Full cure time, that is, for development of full bond strength, is considerably longer. If the joint will be under immediate stress, the clamp time should be extended. Manufacturer's specified clamp times are established for optimum or recommended shelf life, temperature, wood moisture content, etc. If any of these factors is less than optimum, cure rate may be prolonged. It's best to leave assemblies overnight. Most glue specifications are based on "room temperature" (70 F). Shelf life is shortened by storage at above-normal temperature, but may be extended by cold storage. Normal working life of three to four hours at 70 F may be reduced to

Hide glue (LePage's Original Glue, Franklin's Liquid Hide Glue) is made from hides, tendons, and/or hoofs of horses, cattle and sheep. It is available in granules which must be soaked in water, but more commonly in ready-to-use form.

Hide glue sets by evaporation and absorption of solvent. It

has a moderate assembly time and sets in a matter of hours at room temperature. It develops high strength but is low in moisture resistance. Hide glue is used mainly for furniture. Its popularity in recent years has declined drastically with the development of synthetic glues. Casein glue is primarily a milk derivative although it contains lime and other chemicals in various formulations. It is
purchased as a powder that is mixed with water; after mixing,

less than one hour at 90 F. Closed assembly at 90 F is 20

minutes, against 50 minutes at 70 F. A curing period of 10 hours at 70 F can be accelerated to 3-1/2 hours by heating to 90 F. Finally, cured joints need conditioning periods to allow moisture added at the glue line to be distributed evenly through the wood. Ignoring
this can result in sunken

it must be allowed to set for about 15 minutes. Casein glue has the advantage of fairly long assembly time (15 to 20 minutes) but cures rather slowly (8 to 12 hours at room temperature). The glue line is neutral in color but may stain many woods and is somewhat abrasive to cutting tools. The claim of
being a good gap-filling adhesive seems somewhat doubtful.

Casein has moderately good heat resistance and bonds show significant short-term moisture resistance, but it is not recommended for exterior use. Casein is used extensively for

laminating and large carpentry jobs.

Polyvinyl resin emulsions are probably the most versatile
and widely used wood adhesives. These are the white glues

joints. When edge-gluing pieces to make panels, moisture is added to the glue lines

(1), especially at the panel

surfaces where squeeze-out contributes extra moisture. If the panel is surfaced while the glue line is still swollen (2, 3), when the moisture is finally distributed the glue line will shrink (4), leaving the sunken joint effect. Adhesives

(Elmer's Glue-All, Franklin's Evertite white glue, Sears' white glue), also called PVA because of their principal constituent, polyvinyl acetate. White glues have a long shelf life and can be used as long as the resin remains emulsified. Setting is by water absorption and quite rapid at room

temperature; clamping time of less than one hour may suffice

if the joints are not to be stressed immediately. The white glues are non-staining and dry clear. The glue does not dull

tools but excess squeeze-out may clog or foul sandpaper

under frictional heating because the adhesive is thermoplastic. These glues develop high strength but have low resistance to moisture and heat. An important characteristic is their "cold flow," or creep under sustained loading. This is an asset where dimensional conflict is involved, as in mortise and tenon joints. However, in edge gluing and lamination, "shifting" of adjacent pieces may in time produce visible

No truly all-purpose adhesive has yet been manufactured

and probably never will be. A general-purpose adhesive
cannot hope to attain all the individual capabilities and attributes of closely designed ones. Although any of the standard commercial glues will do a satisfactory job if the moisture

unevenness at joints. In chair seats, joints may open along

end grain due to drastic moisture change. Numerous modified PVA glues give greater rigidity and improved heat resistance. The so-called aliphatic resin glues, commonly called yellow glue (Franklin's Titebond, Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Glue) fall into this group. The low
viscosity of the white glues was always troublesome in furni-

content of the wood is below 15% and the temperature remains within the human comfort range, there is an increasing trend toward development of special adhesives. Adhesive selection must therefore take into account factors such as
species, type of joint, working properties as required by anti-

ture assembly, since any dribble of glue from joints caused difficulty in later finishing. The aliphatic glues are much

more viscous and greatly reduce this problem. Some consider these glues as representing an intermediate position between the white glues and the urea-formaldehyde glues. However, yellow glues are not sufficiently weather-resistant to replace
urea resins in carpentry. The development of modern plywood and laminated products that have outstanding durability under extremes of outdoor exposure was possible only with the thermosetting resin adhesives. Several of these types are available to the woodworker.

great-grandfather's double boiler glue-pot used hot animal glue in just this way. Modern hot melts are new chemically, however, and include polyvinyl esters, acetals, cellulose esters or polyamides. Their principal advantage is the rapid development of initial strength upon cooling; a disadvantage

is the very brief open assembly time. Hot melts are convenient for applying edge banding, furniture reinforcement, blocking, toy parts, and the like. They are easier to use if the wood is heated to extend assembly time.
Epoxy glues (Elmer's epoxy, Devcon clear epoxy) are among the modern "miracle" adhesives. There are several chemically different types, but all involve two liquids, a resin and hardener, which are mixed in equal amounts to initiate curing. The rate of cure varies widely. In the rapid-set types (Devcon 5-minute epoxy) open assembly is limited to a couple of minutes, but stiffening takes place quickly and a

Resotcinol-formaldehyde (Franklin or U.S. Plywood Resorcinol Waterproof Glue, Elmer's Waterproof Glue) are the woodworker's mainstay because of their high strength and resistance to heat and moisture. The most common form is a dark reddish liquid resin with a tan powdered hardener, paraformaldehyde. The mixed resin has four or more hours of
working life at room temperature and its ample assembly time allows for complicated clamping operations. With highdensity woods, double spreading with open assembly of 10 or 15 minutes is recommended to prevent starved joints. The adhesive will set at room temperature; cure periods are 8 to 12 hours, but can be drastically shortened by elevating temperature, which also ensures maximum durability. Use of the adhesive below 70 F is not recommended. Resorcinols are invaluable for room-temperature bonding of laminated

high percentage of full-bond strength is developed in less than ten minutes. Other formulations have up to an hour of working life but take up to 24 hours or more to cure. Epoxy resins will bond to glass, ceramics, tile, brick and many plastics (but not polyethylene, polypropylene and Teflon). They cure by chemical reaction rather than loss of solvent,
and are excellent gap fillers. It has been reported that epoxy bonds better on clean, sanded surfaces or even sawn surfaces than on smoothly planed wood. Most glue lines are clear or nearly clear and waterproof. The major disadvantages of
epoxy are relatively high cost and rather short pot life.

timber and of assembly joints that must withstand severe conditions, such as marine and outdoor use. Phenol-formaldehyde adhesives have the superior durability of resorcinols but require heat for curing and are thus not readily suited to the average cabinet shop. They are used mainly for commercial production of plywood and particleboard.
Urea-formaldehyde glues (Weldwood or Craftsman Plastic Resin Glue), often marketed as "plastic resin adhesive," have become extremely important for the woodworker. The ureas represent perhaps the most versatile resin type, capable of bonding at room or elevated temperatures and curable with electronic gluing equipment. They are widely used in cabinetmaking, veneer work, plywood, interior particleboard and furniture. They can be modified with filler to form excellent gap-fillers. They commonly come as a tan powder consisting of both resin and hardener, activated by mixing with water. Liquid ureas are also available. Working life of mixtures is 3 to 5 hours at 70 F. Use with wood at moisture contents below

Contact cements (Goodyear Pliobond, Weldwood Plus-10, Elmer's Acrylic Latex Cabinetmaker's Contact Cement) are thermoplastics applied by double spreading and allowed to dry until no longer tacky. When the adhesive layers are

touched together, cohesive bonding forms up to two-thirds of the ultimate strength immediately, hence the term contact
cement. They will bond to many materials in addition to

wood. Although contact cements have lower strength than

conventional adhesives they are suited to many applications where clamping pressure would be difficult to apply and sustain and where high strength is not a requirement. Contact cements are perhaps best known for applying plastic laminates to counter tops. They are liable to fail about 120 F. Water-soluble formulations are available but have relatively low moisture resistance. A major disadvantage is the zero
closed assembly time: surfaces bond immediately and cannot be repositioned once contact is made. Mastics include a variety of thick, pasty cements. They are commonly marketed in caulking cartridges and many are

6% is not recommended, because of the rapid rate of water

absorption from the glue. Assembly time of 15 minutes is allowed and the inconspicious white-to-tan glue lines cure in

6-8 hours at room temperature. Glue bonds are highly waterresistant but lack durability at temperatures above 120 F.
Melamine adhesives are similar in appearance and mixing

termed "construction adhesives," intended for use in bonding subflooring to joists or plywood wall paneling to studs. They vary widely in rate of cure, usually developing slowly and retaining some flexibility in the adhesive layer. Their

properties to ureas. They are very strong and resistant to water

and heat. They are especially useful where the dark glue line of phenolic or resorcinol resins is undesirable. However, they require heat for curing, and find greatest use as a fortifier for
urea in industrial applications and for high-frequency edge gluing.

gap-filling capability is an additional advantage. Acrylic adhesives (Franklin's Rexite) are used by applying the thick resin to one adherend, the activator to the other.
Within minutes after bringing the surfaces together, amazingly high strength develops. I bonded together two maple dowels 1 in. in diameter and 4 in. long, end-to-end. After allowing a full half-hour for curing, no one was able to break the joint apart by hand. Another outstanding feature of the adhesive is that it cures by polymerization, and so it is a great gap filler. On the other hand, this adhesive so far has only about a six-month shelf life and has therefore not been made
available for retail distribution.

Hot melts (Sears Glue Gun, Franklin's hot melt) are thermoplastic synthetics marketed as solid sticks that are softened in an electrically heated gun. These glues are applied hot, the assembly quickly closed, and rapid setting effected as cooling takes place. Hot melts are not a new concept, for

Gluing with Paste

Simple to make, nontoxic and reversible
by Keith Davis

dhesives lining woodshop shelves range from traditional animal-hide glue to modern epoxies. But theres one adhesive that gets scant attention: flour-based paste, a material that has bound books for centuries and will adhere leather and felt to fine furniture. Paste can be just a blend of white flour and water. But if you combine flour, alum and water (see the photo above) and cook it, youll get a paste that has several unique characteristics: It is reversible and removable. It sets up and dries slowly, so you have plenty of working time. It soaks into many materials, softening and filling pores. It contains no hazardous solvents and is nontoxic. Paste wont edge-glue boards, but it has no equal for sticking labels on wooden storage boxes, lining drawers with paper, covering the interior of a jewelry chest with felt or adding a leather surface to a writing desk.

Basic cooked paste

Ask 10 paste users how to make paste, and youll likely get as many answers. Some add sugar to the mixture, so it will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. Wallpaper can be hung with a simple wheat paste thats made cold. Other recipes call for rice flour, which makes a light-colored paste. And laundry starch can make an especially tough paste. I usually use the basic cooked-paste recipe shown in the box at right.

when still wet with paste often will shrink and buckle when they dry. But stretching can be helpful when you want paper to conform to contours and leather to be formed into irregular shapes. To apply paste, I use an inexpensive bristle brush with the bristles cut off about half length. Use single, one-way strokes of the brush to minimize stretching. If youre gluing porous materials like leather, coat both surfaces, and leave them wet-side up for several minutes. Wipe off any excess globs, and apply a thin second coat of paste. Again, wait a few minutes. Paste the two materials together, pressing down evenly. Extremely thin leathers or pigskin may weep paste when pressed down. Wipe off any squeeze-out with a dampened cloth or paper towel. Labels and thin covers glued with paste must be rubbed down well. I cover the label with plain paper and use a stick of hardwood or a bone folder (a small book-making tool made for folding and pressing paper) to rub out the label. Then I lift off the RECIPE FOR PASTE paper and throw it away. If you have lots of pasting to do, such as drawer labels, This recipe yields about 1 cup of paste. you can brush the paste onto a piece of 1 glass, place labels on the paste and lift 4 cup white flour them from the glass with a knife point. 1 16 tsp. kitchen-grade alum (to prevent spoilage) If youre lining drawers with felt or vel1 cup cold water veteen, use a stiff batch of paste so it doesnt bleed through. Mix the paste Combine the flour and the alum. Add 1 4-cup wawith a few less tablespoons of water, and ter, and stir well to eliminate lumps. Add about apply the paste to the wood only. Press 3 4-cup water, and stir well with a wire whisk. Bring the precut material in place, and smooth the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil it using a print roller, a dull straightedge for one minute, constantly stirring the paste. The or an old credit card.
mixture may thicken when cooled, but you easily can thin it as needed with tap water.

Tips for smooth paste

Materials stretch with paste, which can be a curse and a blessing. Papers stretched

Keith Davis repairs musical instruments in Iron River, Mich.

Photo: Scott Phillips

80 Fine Woodworking

How to get a strong, square assembly

by Ian J. Kirby

Gluing Up

luing up is unique among woodworking operations. It's an irreversible, one-shot deal and has to be got right. You may have done accurate work up to this point, only to find that a small error in assembling or clamping has produced all sorts of inaccuracies that will be difficult, perhaps impossible, to fix. A common lament in woodworking is that "everything went perfectly until glue-up, then everything went wrong." When you think about it, this is not surprising. How often do we systematically consider gluing up, and how much time do we give to dry clamping? Usually very little, and then halfheartedly. To get the best results, we should bring a studied method to this operation and practice it more. We ought to have a table especially prepared for this purpose, its top surface flat, clear of debris and well waxed to resist glue penetration. A piece of varnished plywood over your benchtop will do, but a sturdy table, 36 in. high with a Formica surface, is better. Before gluing up, you should dry-clamp each assembly exactly as you would clamp a glued assembly. This means positioning and tightening all the clamps, with correct glue blocks, and checking the whole assembly for accuracy. Gluing should proceed calmly, in an atmosphere of preparedness, with the glue and necessary applicators ready, clamps standing by, and you and your assistant decided on the order of events. The time of day you glue up is important. Most woodworkers like to glue up in the evening and let the glue set overnight. To meet this goal, a lot of work often gets rushed, dry clamping gets short-circuited and we have all the necessary ingredients for a disastrous glue-upfatigue, unpreparedness and anxiety. The only reason to proceed under such conditions lies in the spurious notion that glue cures only while the moon is out. Consider the alternative. Leave the work dry-clamped overnight. The next morning, check the clamping to see if everything is still properly aligned. Then collect all the tools and materials you need and begin to glue up. The light is better, your mind is fresh, the pressure to complete the job is gone. If you can't leave the work dry-clamped overnight, at least let it sit for an hour while you attend to other things. Gluing up actually begins with a decision about what to glue together and in what order. The more subassemblies you can get together, the easier the total operation will be, especially the final glue-up. But before gluing any parts, always clean and prefinish surfaces that cannot be reached later with a plane. It's much easier to work on a piece of wood while its entire surface is exposed and accessible than to try to remove mill marks and other blemishes once other parts are permanently in the way. You must also weigh the inconvenience of having three or four finishing sessions as the job proceeds against one grand and difficult cleanup after final assembly. Prefinished surfaces will resist glue penetration from squeeze-out. When the

excess glue is dry, simply lift it off with a sharp chisel. When finishing prior to gluing up, take care to keep the finishing material off joint interfaces. Bar clampsThe type of bar clamp you use has considerable bearing on the ease and accuracy of the glue-up. For general cabinetmaking applications, quick-action bar clamps with a circular pad at the screw end are no substitute for a standard bar clamp. A good clamp should sit on a glue table without falling over at the slightest touch. The bars should be identical in section, and the heads should move easily, but not flop around. When pressure is applied, the face of the head should be at 90 to the barthis way we know exactly where pressure is transferred. A collection of clamps is an investment no matter which you choose, but it is a long-term investment you can make by purchasing one or two clamps at a time. The combined value in the end may equal that of two major machines. The best choice in the main is between Jorgenson, Wetzler and Record clamps. I prefer the last. Applying the glueThe amount of glue squeeze-out is an important signal. Since it is waste, it is best to have as little as possible, but we still want assurance that there is sufficient glue in the joint. The smallest bit of squeeze-out is enough. This results from getting the glue in the right place in the right amount. For different jobs you will need different applicators. White glue (polyvinyl acetate) and yellow glue (aliphatic resin) can be stored in and dispensed from a squeeze bottle. But a squeeze bottle is not a good applicator, and won't guarantee that the surfaces being joined are completely wetted by the glue. There is no reliable adhesion if joining surfaces don't get completely wetted. Since the future of the piece depends on the quality of its joints, we need to take a close look at the business of applying the glue. Manufacturers try to lower the surface tension of the glue so it will spread easily. Nevertheless, the glue should be rubbed or rolled on, not merely squeezed out onto the surface. A set of stiff-bristle brushes of different sizes (I use plumber's flux brushes) will suffice in most instances. If you use white or yellow glue, brushes can be stored in a jar of water, but it is just as easy to wash them out and begin next time with a dry brush. If you use urea-formaldehyde glue or resorcinol, you must clean the brush after each use, for these will set hard even in water. When edge joining boards, white or yellow glue can be squeezed from a plastic bottle onto one surface. If the boards are clamped or rubbed together and the clamps are removed immediately and the joint broken, chances are you will find that the glue has covered both surfaces uniformly. That this happens in edge joining does not mean that it will happen in other joining situations. In fact, it's not a good method for edge joining either. A better way would be to run a very light

The size and position of the clamping block can make the difference between success and failure when gluing up. The block should be the same dimensions as the section of the rail, and placed directly opposite the shoulder area, centering the clamping pressure on the joint.
bead on each surface, and then with a 1-in. wide paint roller, spread the glue thinly. Now we know that the surfaces are
evenly wetted and that when the joint is clamped we won't have gobs of the stuff dripping on the floor, the table and the

into the clamps and slight pressure applied, place the remaining clamps over the top of the panel and begin to tighten all

clamps. Spreading glue with your fingers is a bad practice. You need fingers for other things, and the grease and dirt you add to the glue won't help adhesion. If you insist on using your fingers, wash your hands first.

the clamps. Having an equal number of clamps top and bottom prevents the panel from bowing under pressure. Ideally you should be able to edge-glue boards without
having to rely on any mechanical means of holding them

flush. But when the boards are even slightly warped this isn't
possible. It is common to use dowels for aligning and registering boards; if you're going to do this, use a doweling jig to align the holes. Another method for registering edge-glued boards is the Lamello joining plate (FWW #29, July '81, pp. 79-80); the machine that cuts the slots is expensive, but worth the investment for the professional woodworker. The quickest solution is to lightly clamp battens across the width of the panel. Don't overtighten the bar clamps. This can squeeze out most of the glue and starve the joint. Moderate pressure is all that is needed when edge gluing.

make a case side, tabletop or framed panel, there are four important considerations: the position of each board in the composite piece, the grain direction of each, the number of
clamps to be used and the means for aligning and registering

Edge gluingWhen gluing up several narrow boards to

the boards to keep them from swimming about when pressure is applied. Assuming that all of the boards are dimensionally stable and free of defects, the first thing to decide is
how to arrange them to get the best appearance. This involves shuffling the pieces around to achieve visual harmony and
continuity in the figure. Remember that after gluing up you will have to clean up the surfaces with a smoothing plane, so try to decide on an arrangement that permits the grain of all the boards to run in the same direction. If this is not possible,

Gluing up mortise-and-tenon jointsMortise-and-tenon

joints usually get little attention when gluingmost woodworkers want to assemble them as fast as they can. But the

pace ought to be less hurried; ideally there should be two people at a glue-up, one to direct the order of events and to

then you will have to plane in both directions and carefully avoid tearing the grain on an adjacent board. Having decided on their arrangement, mark the boards so their order can be recalled when they are put in the clamps.
Dry clamping will determine the number of clamps you need

tighten the clamps, the other to manage the shoe end of the clamps. Both apply the glue. One coats the tenons thoroughly while the other puts glue in the mortises. Because the mortise and tenon goes together in a sliding fit you can't expect to apply glue to the tenon alone and still have enough in
the joint. You will have to spread glue in the mortise as well. Don't just squirt in some glue and push it around with a stick or pencil, because the excess glue can impede fitting the joint. Visualize the glue as a fluid pad of considerable thickness. The pressure exerted by an excess on one side of a tenon can misalign the members. So apply glue thinly and evenly to all surfaces. Better than squeezing lots of glue into the mortise and stirring it with a stick is using a stiff-bristle brush.
During dry clamping pay close attention to dimensioning and positioning the clamping blocks. Their purpose is not so much to protect the stock as to transfer the pressure from the clamp to the workpiece in exactly the area required. The fact

and where to put them. As shown in figure 1 on the next page, clamping pressure is diffused in a fan of about 90 from the clamp head. You will need enough clamps to ensure that

the lines of diffusion overlap at the first edge joint. The number of clamps then is a function of the length of the boards and of the widths of the two outer boards. Since the boards themselves transmit and spread the pressure, clamping blocks are unnecessary in edge gluing. Plan to joint and
rip the composite piece to width after glue-up. This will remove any depressions the clamps leave. When you know how many clamps the job calls for, put half the number (half plus one if the total number is odd) on the table, evenly spaced. If the bars are not bent or damaged, they will register the boards in the horizontal plane. Coat each edge to be joined with glue, wetting all the surfaces thoroughly and uniformly. When the boards have been put

that the clamp heads can lean away from a right angle under pressure, that they may have been put onto the work slightly askew and that the workpiece may not have edges perpendicular to its face, are all things you must consider when direct-

Fig. 1: Edge gluing

Fig. 2a: Gluing leg/rail assembliesPlan view

Fig. 2b: Side elevation

Fig. 3: Checking for alignment

Fig. 4: Gluing-up flat frames

Fig. 5: Clamping blocks in carcase glue-ups

ing clamping pressure. Putting a piece of plywood between

the workpiece and the clamp shoe or head isn't enough. In gluing up leg/rail or rail/stile assemblies, the size of the glue block that distributes the pressure to the shoulder line of the joint is important. Providing that the grain of the block runs lengthwise and it is thick enough not to distort under pressure, the block should be about as long as the rail is wide, and about as wide as the rail is thick, as shown in figures 2a and 2b. With the right clamping block, pressure can be placed where you need it by moving the block slightly to one side or another or up or down the legs. If you attempt to glue up without clamping blocks, there's little chance of directing pressure where it is required. The parts of a correctly glued-up assembly or subassembly should not twist or wind in relation to one another. They

ments from the top inside corners to the inside bottom corners of the legs. If the diagonals are equal, the assembly is

square. You can make these measurements with a long rule, though take care to place the rule at the same depth in the
two corners. A flexible metal tape can also be used, but this requires two people for accurate results. One holds the oneinch mark in precise alignment with the corner, while the other pulls the tape taut to measure the distance to the bottom inside of the leg.

should be aligned and at right angles to one another. Joint lines should close up tightly. When assembling two legs and a
rail, as in a table frame, cut the legs % in. longer than the finished length. This excess, called the horn, is left at the top of the leg, where it can reinforce the mortise and help keep
the end grain from splitting during dry clamping and gluing

Traditionally, diagonal measurements are taken with pinch rods. Shown in figures 3 and 4, these are similar to the two sticks described in FWW #6, Spring '77, p. 46, only their ends are pointed to fit into corners, and stepped so they can span obstructions like center stiles and stretchers. Considering their high degree of accuracy and the small amount of effort needed to make them, there's little reason to use anything else to measure internal diagonal distances. We should find the diagonals equal if the clamp holding the assembly together is in line with the rail member. If they are not equal, reorient the clamp and the blocks in such a way that the members will creep into square with one another.

up. The horns are cut off later when the glue has cured. On rail/stile assemblies, where you have mortises at both ends of the vertical members, add in. to the length of the stile, making a -in. horn at each end. When laying out the joints

door, employ the same checking procedures and assembly methods as you would for a leg/rail assembly. But because a
frame is closed on four sides and relatively thin in section, it calls for some special attentions. The flatness of the gluing
table is particularly important. If we are using identical

Assembling framesWhen gluing up a flat frame, as for a

on legs, measure from the bottom to the top, not from top to
bottom. This way you won't have to cut the legs to final length after assembly. When laying out the joints on stiles, clamp the two members side by side and lay out the final cut to length at the top (striking across both at once); then measure down from these to lay out the finished length at the bottom. Use a try square and a layout knife for the best results. Then you can accurately check the work when gluing up.

clamps and we press the frame down onto the clamp bars, we will get a twisted frame if the table we are working on has a twisted top. Usually the cheeks of a mortise in a frame are fairly thin, and the glue in the joint migrates to the center where it

can cause them to bulge outward. Avoid this by clamping

across the cheeks with a C-clamp and properly sized blocks.

Checking for alignmentThe legs should be sighted with

winding strips to make sure they are in the same plane. Don't try to sight tapered legs on the tapered side. To correct twist
or wind in the assembly, one person holds it down tightly on

Gluing up carcasesA situation where improperly dimensioned clamping blocks can be dramatically counterproductive is in gluing up carcases. Too large a block, as shown in figure 5, can misapply the pressure, cause the sides to bow like crazy and open the joint on its outer edge. For clamping

the clamp bed and slackens off the clamping pressure. The
second person, holding one leg in each hand, moves the legs

into proper alignment. Then the clamps are retightened. Right-angularity between legs and rail is frequently overlooked. This is best checked by laying a straightedge across both legs as shown in figure 2b. To correct misalignment, the clamping block must be raised or lowered to redirect clamping pressure. If this isn't done, the rails will go off at odd
angles at the next glue-up when the subassemblies are joined

case sides tightly against an internal shelf or other member, we have little choice other than to use cambered cauls (FWW
#23, July '80, p. 12). Gluing dovetails is totally different from gluing mortises
and tenons. If the dovetail has been made so that the end grain of the pins and tails is below the surface on the adjacent

by two more rails. Then the finished piece will be under constant tension and the rails may bow. Using the straightedge as a reference, shift the clamping blocks in the appropriate direction. Here dry clamping will tell you, ahead of time

boards (FWW #21, March '80, p. 75), then all that is required to glue a large carcase together is one clamp and two people. After the glue has been applied and the joint put together,

where to position each block. Remember to dimension each block carefully, as improperly sized blocks are difficult to
position and can misalign an accurate joint by putting pressure in the wrong place.
Next check for overall squareness in plan. A try square is

the dovetails are clamped home individually. They will not spring back if correctly made, because there is considerable friction in the glue interfaces between the pins and tails.
When the glue has been uniformly brushed on the long grain
of the pins and tails, each part swells, making the close fit even tighter. Don't delay assembly after applying the glue,

hardly adequate for checking this sort of right-angularity. On assemblies with long legs and rails, it can gauge only a fraction of the lengths involved, and if the legs are curved or tapered, or if the rails aren't straight across their bottom edges, a

and don't try to hammer the parts home, as you quite properly did during the dry test assembly. Clamping is the proper means once the glue is applied, and it is sweet and easy to

clamp each tail one after the other and see the glue come squeezing out at the bed of each pin.

try square won't work at all.

Squareness is best determined by taking diagonal measure-

Ian Kirby writes frequently for this magazine.

Glues
Choosing the right adhesive for the job might mean more than grabbing that old bottle on the shelf
BY W I L L I A M T A N D Y Y O U N G

A Working Guide to

eral, you won't encounter a formally observed distinction between glues and adhesives unless you read literature of a highly technical nature, such as engineering standards.

worked wood for years before realizing that I knew virtually nothing,about the glues I was depending on to hold my joints together. At the time my attention was focused on things like lumber, tools and machines. I took glue for granted, assuming that it would always work and keep joints tightly bonded for years to come. After experiencing a few nightmare glue-ups and hearing from customers that some of my furniture wasn't holding up as well as it should, I finally realized that to improve as a woodworker I had to learn something about glue. Once I started to understand more about glue, I became aware of more design possibilities and expanded my range of work. As I learned which adhesives were best for particular jobs, the overall quality of my work also improved. Choosing the right glue helps glue-ups proceed smoothly and successfully. It also ensures that your work will have the structural inGlue or adhesive? tegrity and durability it needs to survive in the world. How much do you need to know about glue to Is there a difference between a glue and an adhesive? Technicalchoose the best one for your work and become a betly, there is. Strictly speaking, glues are based on polymers, such ter woodworker? You should know more than you as starch and protein, that are derived from natural sources, such can learn from ads, sales brochures and container laas rice flour or cattle hides. Adhesives are based on polymers that bels, which often contain inaccurate or misleading inare chemically synthesized, like PVA resins found in white and yel- formation, but you certainly don't have to become a low glues. However, most people use the terms glue and adhesive polymer chemist. What you really need is some useinterchangeably on a casual basis, as we do in this article. In gen- ful, well-organized information on adhesives. The principles of choosing glue There is no such thing as a miracle adhesive with magical properties that will tackle any task. When I

glue in just such a fashion, so that your work flow won't be disrupted by endless head scratching.

can, without spending a lot of time dwelling on details and pondering different glues. This article is designed to help you choose

choose glue for a job, I try to take as many things into account as I

contain a significant amount of moisture.

Of the reactive synthetic glues, only a few resorcinols and ureas

All glues are carefully formulated products with specific properties, and they perform well only if the conditions in your workshop, such as temperature and humidity, are favorable. Gluing

the glues you use while also knowing their limitations. By keeping an assortment of glues at your disposal and

well is a matter of knowing how to get the best performance from

Toxic vs. nontoxicIt's common to encounter a trade-off between toxicity and performance: The glues that offer higher levels of performance and power are often more hazardous to use than those that are not as powerful. This is especially true when comparing different variations of the same kind of glue. For example, high-fume urea resin glue (which emits powerful formaldehyde

knowing what to expect from different ones, you can choose the adhesive that best suits your needs in any given situation. It is also important to keep in mind the condition of your

work. Glue joints that are skillfully Crafted and prepared

usually can be bonded successfully with one of several

types of glues. Glue joints that are poorly Crafted are difficult to bond regardless of the type of glue you use. Gluing surfaces not only have to mate properly, but they also must be free of contaminants (such as oil or grime) and have a

moisture content that's appropriate for the work being done and the glue being used.

wood itself," which means that if a glue joint is stressed to

than others, all of the adhesives discussed in this article except for wheat or rice paste, hot-melt glue and contact cementwill produce a bond that is "stronger than the

Although woodworkers have a tendency to seek the strongest glue on the market, glue shouldn't be chosen on the basis of strength alone. While some glues are stronger

you're using is stronger than your wood. With this in mind, try

the breaking point, the wood will usually fail before the glue does. For many jobs, all you need to know is that the glue

to choose adhesives based on properties other than strength (such as open assembly time or rigidity), according to the demands of the job.

Comparing the properties of adhesives

As you compare the properties of the adhesives listed in the charts by grouping them into the following categories:

on the next few pages, it may be helpful to evaluate different glues

The "wooden wonder." This British-designed World War II plane, called the Mosquito Bomber, was constructed mostly
had just been developed.

from wood and bonded with urea formaldehyde glue, which

they can be reactivated with water after they harden. Adhesives they cure, but they may have other properties that are superior to those of natural glues.

Natural vs. syntheticMost glues that are derived from natural sources, like wheat paste or hide glue, are reversible, meaning

vapors) usually outperforms low-fume urea resin glue, which is safer and less noxious to use.

that are based on synthetic polymers, such as urea resin glue, polyvinyl acetate (PVA) or epoxy, generally can't be reversed after

Using the charts in this article

using the charts on the next few pages. Suppose I need to glue

Here's an example of how I might choose the best glue for a job down a metal inlay. Many woodworkers use epoxy for this type of

Water based vs. non-water basedEven though water-based adhesives are easy to handle, in general, they can add quite a bit of moisture to glued work. There often are instances when this added moisture is unwelcome. If you're face-laminating an unstable wood like beech or sycamore, for example, you're better off using an adhesive that contains less water. Of the glues in this article, most natural and nonreactive synthetic glues (except solventbased contact cement and hot melt) are high in moisture content.

work, but it's not a good choice because scraping or sanding metal inlay flush with the surrounding wood usually creates a lot of heat. Most epoxy has low heat resistance and softens as the inlay

times and is very easy to clean up with hand tools after it hardensall of which make it an ideal adhesive for metal inlay. If you want to use a natural glue instead, you'll notice that fish glue's long

As you look at the properties of polyurethane glue, you'll notice that it has high heat resistance, long open and closed assembly

is being scraped, which can cause the inlay to lift out of its recess.

NATURAL GLUES
Glues in this group are made of natural ingredients and cure by moisture loss, heat loss or a combination of both. Casein glue is a slight exception, as it is made of milk

curd but accomplishes some of its curing by chemical reaction.

RICE AND WHEAT PASTES Commercial preblended instant formulas require
no cooking and are easy to use. They are best

for bonding porous, pliant materials (such as

paper, cloth and leather) to wood.

FISH GLUE Handy and versatile, without any fishy odor. A good choice for light-duty, wood-to-wood bonding and repairs. Fish glue also bonds natural nonwood materials (such as cloth, metal and bone) to wood.

HIDE GLUE Unmatched for its combination of versatility, compatibility and strength. Hide glue is much

easier to use than most people think. It is used

for edge- and face-gluing, assembling joints,

veneering, repairing and bonding natural

nonwood materials to wood. It also can be used

as a sizing, a wood conditioner and a grain filler.

CASEIN GLUE
Casein glue bonds oily tropical woods well and is

used for structural lamination, as well as panel and flush door pressing. Its coarse, grainy, mixed
consistency may produce glue lines with a thick

appearance.

assembly time and high heat resistance make it preferable to hide glue for metal inlay.

Water resistant or waterproof

Over the last few years, the distinction between water resistant and waterproof has become hazy. Inaccurate and misleading claims Vague alternative terms like weatherproof and weather resistant

are extremely water resistant and are better able to withstand periods of immersion. Resorcinol resin glues and marine epoxies are considered waterproof and can withstand prolonged periods of because it can be used as a sealant and coating as well as an adhesive, allowing wood to be shielded from moisture to keep it from cracking, splitting or rotting. When choosing glue for a project that will really put glue to the test (like a boat), review your glue's technical specifications carefully to see that it's up to the task.
immersion. Of these last two, epoxy is a better all-around choice

termittent exposure, but they aren't recommended for work that will be fully immersed in water. Polyurethane and urea resin glues

have been made about the water resistance of various glues. have also come into use. To be rated properly for water resistance,

moisture-resistant woodworking adhesives stack up.

standards. There are various moisture-resistance tests for adhesives, such as intermittent exposure to water, continual immersion and boiling. On a practical basis, here's how the most widely used
Type-II PVA glues are moisture resistant and will withstand in-

a glue must be tested in accordance with established technical

Altering, combining and customizing glues You don't always have to use glue right out of the bottle, the way
it was formulated. Many adhesives can be altered and customized

cure rate of hide glue by adding a gel depressant, such as granular

urea. (It can be added in amounts up to about 30% of the weight of the glue granules.) I also regularly tint epoxy and other adhesives with specialty adhesive colorants or aniline dyes and inks to match glue, shouldn't be altered at all.

to better meet the needs of the job. For example, I often retard the

wood color. Some adhesives, such as epoxy, can be altered and customized to a great extent; other products, like polyurethane

and testing them on scrap wood. To minimize clamp time, the hardening of some glues can be accelerated. For instance, urea resin glue and resorcinol will harden more quickly if heated to 80F or 90F while your work is clamped up. Joints assembled with hide glue can be chilled during clamping to make the glue gel faster. You can also use alcohol, baking soda or an accelerator to speed up cyanoacrylate glue. With

experiment to find out what works well by making small batches

Also, glues can be combined to create mixtures that have enhanced properties and performance. For example, I sometimes add a small amount of fish glue to hide glue as a retarder, or some ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) to PVA as a plasticizer. One of my favorite combinations is a mixture of PVA and urea resin glue. Lots of different results can be obtained by varying the types of glue you mix together and the proportions in which you mix them. You can

applying glue promotes faster hardening.

polyurethane glue, lightly moistening the gluing surfaces before

Myths and facts on filling gaps

gaps you have to fill. Most of the glues featured in this article can
Many glue manufacturers claim that their products will fill gaps. Whether the products really will or not depends on what sort of

NONREACTIVE SYNTHETIC GLUES

The glues in this group are formulated from synthetic ingredients but cure much
like natural gluesby releasing water, solvent or heat.
ETHYLENE VINYL

ACETATE GLUE (EVA) EVAs are very versatile and useful for specialty jobs that rigid glues can't
handle. EVA is a good choice for

bonding melamine-faced cabinet parts and for gluing cross-grain solid-wood assemblies where wood movement is likely. It's also handy for consolidating wormy or damaged wood.

POLYVINYL ACETATE GLUE (PVA)

Both white and yellow glues are PVAs.

"Aliphatic resin" is a meaningless

marketing term coined to help identify

yellow glue as a distinct product. The

two types are low grade (craft, school

or hobby glue) and high grade

(professional/industrial glue). PVAs are

useful for a wide assortment of tasks:

edge-and face-gluing, bonding

structural joints, bonding plastic

laminates, as well as for biscuit joinery.

CONTACT CEMENT Some of the new water-based cements

now available are fast drying and give

high performance. Applying significant

pressure to the work with clamps or a

press greatly increases the strength of the bond. Contact cement is best used for bonding plastic laminates, for installing decorative overlays and for gluing up other rigid sheet materials.

HOT-MELT GLUE Hot-melt glues and guns are available with high, low or dual melt-point temperatures. High-melt systems are
widely available and are commonly

used; low-melt systems are safer and less likely than high-melt systems to

harm the materials being glued. Hot

melt is useful for edge-banding sheet

stock and for the rapid assembly of jigs

and other temporary fixtures.

be used to fill small cosmetic gaps, with varying degrees of success. But of the glues discussed here, only epoxy will fill gaps in joints with true structural strength.

shim the joint with wood or veneer.

strength. In most cases, the best way to fill a gap in a bad joint is to

they cure. Two-part urea resin and cyanoacrylate become brittle when they are made to cure in thick bond layers. And regular hot melt simply lacks the adhesive power needed for structural gap filling. Polyurethane glue does expand into gaps as it cures, filling
them with a spongy foam, but this foam has little or no structural

instance, PVA and hide glue lose water and shrink in volume as

Other glues just aren't up to the job of structural gap filling. For

Many woodworkers think that adhesives are benign and treat them casually, which is a mistake. Avoid skin contact whenever glue, both when it's in liquid form and after it hardens. Often it's the smaller, less obvious hazards of glue that can cause the most
trouble. For instance, thin glue can come streaming out of an appossible when using synthetic adhesives, and be cautious with

Work safe, work smart

fracture and fly about like shards of glass as you scrape it off. Gloves, safety glasses and a respirator are all standard gluing gear in my shop. Some adhesives have short shelf lives and are sensitive to heat, ideal conditions. Buy sensitive glues like urea resin and cyanoacrylate in small amounts and check them for freshness by looking for dates of manufacture on containers. Once you buy any glue,
light and humidity. Others may keep well for years in less-than-

plicator tip and douse your face if you squeeze the bottle too vigorously. Hardened excess glue on the surface of your work can

store it as well as you can so that it will be in good shape when you glue and replacing it with fresh material.
need it. Otherwise, you'll end up regularly disposing of spoiled

Different glues have different life expectancies

While you want your best work to be long lasting, a glued assembly such as a jig may only have a useful life of a day or so. There's
when a few quick dabs of hot melt will do. Similarly, if you expect

no point in carefully bonding the parts of a jig together with epoxy a plastic laminate kitchen countertop to last only 5 to 10 years,

REACTIVE SYNTHETIC GLUES

The glues in this group are formulated from synthetic components and cure primarily by

chemical reaction.

UREA RESIN GLUE

High water resistance

makes this a good

choice for exterior wood bonding, bent laminating, veneering and pressing plastic

RESORCINOL Among the best choice for waterproof

exterior and marine wood bonding, but the dark red color creates

EPOXY
Properties can vary

greatly from one

brand to the next

choose according to
the job at hand. Best uses include

highly visible glue

lines in light-colored woods. It is a fine choice for bent laminations

laminate. In general,
one-part ureas are easier and less hazardous

waterproof exterior
and marine wood bonding, bent laminating and

to use than two-part ureas. But two-part ureas

have better performance and cured properties.

or veneering.

veneering. Epoxy is also used for sealing,

topcoating, casting and embedding hardware.

POLYURETHANE
Polyurethane is useful

CYANOACRYLATE
Widely sold as allpurpose glue but is best used for rapidly bonding small wood

for water-resistant
exterior wood bonding,

laminating, veneering
and for bonding

nonwood materials, but

and nonwood
workpieces. Not as effective when bonding highly porous

by injecting water with a syringe. On the other hand, it's much harder to clean synthetic adhesives like PVA or urea resin glue without altering or damaging the gluing surfacesthey can't be reactivated with water or other agents. I'm convinced that the best way to ensure the longevity of your work is to bond it with a reversible glue whenever possible. After all, the reason why so many antiques have survived for hundreds of years is not because the glue joints never failed;

water. This allows joints to be properly cleaned before being reglued. If older joints can't be disassembled, dry, brittle hide glue inside joints can be reconstituted

there's no need to bond the laminate to the substrate with urea resin glue when contact cement should hold up sufficiently for that length of time. As you choose glues for various jobs, it's important to consider how long you expect your work to last once it has been glued up. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a truly permanent glue joint. Even perfectly Crafted and prepared joints made from superb materials and bonded with the strongest adhesives eventually fail. The concept that all joints eventually fail is bothersome to many woodworkers, especially since the adhesives that are rated as being stronger than wood are commonly called "permanent" adhesivesan unfortunate misnomer. This doesn't mean that your best work is going to fall apart in your lifetime, though. Your glue joints may endure for centuries, as other joints have. Joint failure occurs for a number of reasonsabuse, glue deterioration from ultraviolet light, humidity or just the inevitable seasonal movement of wood. There are, however, things you can do to combat failure. To begin with, design and make the best joints you can. Then bond them together with the highest-quality glue you can get. When you're choosing an adhesive, whenever possible consider using a reversible glue, such as hide glue, rather than a nonreversible synthetic adhesive, such as PVA or urea resin glue. Reversible glue is easy to remove from the gluing surfaces of failed joints using hot

it's a poor choice for

biscuit joinery. It develops full strength only in

it's because those glue joints were easy to repair when they did fail.
William Tandy Young, author of The Glue Book

well-fit, tightly clamped joints. New formulas

cure faster than the older ones.

materials or large surface areas.

Cyanoacrylates are sensitive to joint surface
conditions like pH, moisture and grime.

(The Taunton Press, 1998), is a woodworker and adhesives consultant in Stow, Mass.

A good choice for vacuum veneering. The author likes polyurethane glue because it saturates the veneer and fills the voids. A scrap of plastic laminate and a foam roller spread the glue into a thin, even coat.

This one-part alternative to epoxy fills gaps and sands easily

by Niall Barrett

Polyurethane Glue

tried polyurethane glue for the first time a few years ago when I was making some laminated, exterior doors. I had used epoxy in similar situations in the past. Epoxy is a great glue, strong and waterproof. But laminating takes a lot of glue and epoxy can get very messyto say nothing of the fumes it gives off as it cures. Although I didn't know much about polyurethane adhesives, I thought they'd be worth a try. When I looked into it, I found that polyurethane glue has some real advantages over both epoxy and yellow glue. But these adhesives do have some characteristics of their own, and it takes some practice to get the hang of using them. Experimentation is a must. Two brands, Gorilla Glue and Excel, are available as woodworking glues in the

United States. These glues have an impressive list of qualities. Like epoxies, they are
waterproof. Unlike epoxies, they're onepart glues, ready to use out of the bottle.

Manufacturers claim cure times that range from one to 12 hours. Although this is

It's not yellow glue

Clamping pressures required to bond parts are low.

Polyurethane glues expand as they cure. This expansion, actually a foaming, forces

faster than most epoxies, in practice polyurethane adhesives take considerably

longer than yellow glue to set up. Claims for shelf life range from one to four years in a sealed container, and six to 12 months

the glue into wood fibers and forms a fine, closed-cell structure. The expansion also
provides some gap filling, enough to fill the joint cosmetically and keep moisture out. But be careful, the glue that fills gaps

after opening. My advice is to store the glue in small, tightly sealed containers.
Squeeze out as much air as possible from the container after use, and buy only what you can use in a few months.

doesn't provide structural strength. When cured, these glues don't creep. They retain enough elasticity to eliminate
the glue fatigue that results from shrinking and swelling joints. And these glues sand

Isocyanates, the key components of polyurethane glues, are highly reactive to moisture. Exposure causes a cross-linking
of the molecules in the adhesive. Because these glues cure in the presence of moisture, the optimum range for wood mois-

easily. When sanded, the hardened glue becomes porous and takes stain readily. Instead of melting from the heat of friction,
like polyvinyl acetate (PVA) glues (yellow and white glues) and epoxies, polyurethane glues turn into a powder that won't

ture content is between 8% and 20%. If

your shop is like mine in the winter, wood moisture content drops below 8%, ideal conditions for glue failure.

you're used to applying a healthy bead of yellow glue (left) in your shop, cut back when applying polyurethane glues (right).

Apply less than you're used to. A common mistake when learning how to use polyurethane glue is using too much. If

clog sandpaper or dull tools. These glues contain few, if any, solvents.

To remedy this, I mist one side of the joint before applying glue and bringing two surfaces together. When veneering, I
wipe the substrate with a wet rag and wait until the surface looks dry before applying

Where these glues work best

I originally thought polyurethane glue should be used only when I needed a waterproof bond. But I find myself reaching
for it more often. Except for instances when I need structural gap filling, I feel confident replacing epoxy with polyurethane glue in my shop.

the adhesive. I can't stress enough that you need moisture to activate this glue. Trying to glue bone-dry material with this glue
just won't work. Polyurethane likes a slightly roughened surface, a little tooth. This is quite different

Sources of supply
Excel polyurethane wood glue
Distributed by AmBel Corp., PO Box 819, 125 Cottonport Ave., Cottonport, LA

In situations where it's difficult or impossible to use clamps, polyurethane glue is

ideal because it requires low clamping

from using yellow glue, where two mating surfaces are, ideally, clean and smooth. If
the surfaces to be glued look too smooth, rough them up a little with sandpaper.

71327; (800) 779-3935

pressure. You can literally hold things together with tape or string while the glue
sets. Edge-gluing with this adhesive is a little easier because when correctly applied, the glue doesn't allow boards to slide

One thing yellow glue excels at is plate joinery. Polyurethane glue doesn't. The
reason is that yellow glue swells the pressed-wood biscuits, locking the biscuits in place. Because polyurethane glue

Gorilla glue
Distributed by Gorilla Glue, PO Box 42532, Santa Barbara, CA 93140-2532; (800) 966-3458

around much. I like this glue especially for veneering. It saturates the veneer and fills any voids,
practically eliminating any splintering and lifting of wood fibers. I pour some in the

isn't water-based, the biscuits won't swell, and the joint may not be as strong. Labels can be misleading when it comes
to cleaning up wet polyurethane glue. I find that mineral spirits are too weak, and

It costs more, but it's all relative

Most people that I've talked with about

polyurethane glue complain about its high cost. Excel is about $17 for 25.4 oz.; Goril-

center of the substrate, scrape it out to the edges with a scrap of plastic laminate and then go over the glue with a foam roller. If
it looks as if there's not quite enough glue there, it's probably just right (this is generally true of polyurethane glueyou'll use

I question the use of denatured alcohol, which could react chemically with the wet glue. I've found that acetone or lacquer
thinner works fine. This glue is so easy to remove when cured, however, that I won-

la Glue is $19.95 for 18 oz. To me, though, this criticism seems unjustified. In my experience, a little bit of polyurethane glue
goes a long way. And I think we need to rethink our attitude. Even if the glue was a

a lot less glue than you're used to). If you're using a vacuum press, make
sure to wrap the workpiece well in plastic to protect the bag. The glue may not come

der how often wet cleanup is really necessary. The exception is your hands. The glue leaves a stubborn brown stain, so I
use disposable latex gloves when I'm
working with it.

lot more expensive, you have to ask what percentage of a job is really tied up in the
cost of glue. Not much. If polyurethane glue helps you move faster or allows you to do jobs you wouldn't ordinarily tackle, I

off a vinyl bag, and it absolutely won't come off a polyurethane bag. Remember,
too, that polyurethane glue expands as it

Some people will be sensitive to the isocyanates in the glue. So before using it, it would be prudent to get a copy of the
Material Safety Data Sheet from the manufacturer, and read about potential hazards.

say it's well worth the investment.

cures, so you must have pressure over the

entire veneer surface as the glue dries.

Niall Barren is a furnituremaker in Narrowsburg, N.Y., who recently went to work for AmBel, the distributor of Excel glue.

Sticking with

Hide Glue
This stuff does some things modern adhesives can't
BY NICK E N G L E R Cook it in a potany pot will do. The author brushes glue from a pot made just for hide glue onto the apron of a table. This pot sells for about $90. You could also use a doubler boiler on a hot plate, and monitor the temperature with a candy thermometer for about one-third the cost.

et's start with what most woodworkers know about hide glue: It's yucky. It smells bad. It's not as strong or as stable as other glues. And it's old stuff, which can't compare with the new stuff. Well, some of that is true. I'll give you the yuck and most of the stink. But hide glue is every bit as strong as other glues and very durable. And because of a few unique properties, hide glue has some advantages over other adhesives. Once cured, it's more heat-resistant than other common woodworking glues, and it's far less likely to creep or move with seasonal changes. Researchers at the Franklin glue company (the Titebond people) glued blocks, of hard maple together using different adhesives, then broke them apart using a machine to test the shear strength of the glue joint. Hide glue, they found, fails at about 3,600 lbs. per square inch (psi)a respectable showing. By contrast, their newest (and more expensive) polyurethane glue let go at 3,500 psi. And as far as durability is concerned, Egyptian furniture from 2,700 B.C. was discovered with still-stuck hide-glue joints. "Protein-based glues, such as hide glue, are incredibly stable," says Dale Zimmerman, a Franklin scientist. "We have hundreds of years of history to back that up." About the only thing that can undo a hide-glue joint (besides 3,600 psi) is water, making hide glue the only easily reversible adhesive on the market. Hide glue is hygroscopic, meaning it sucks up any available moisture. As it does so, it dissolves itself. This isn't a problem in most climates. A good coat of finish is more than enough to protect hide-glue joints from a few humid days. Because hide glue is reversible, it's still the only glue used for restoring valuable antiques and for making musical instruments. And for veneering, you can't beat itespecially if you don't own a veneer press or you've suffered the indignities of using contact cement. Two other hide-glue advantages: It's less likely to interfere with finishes, and any delamination is easy to repair. Premixed or glue potyou have a choice Hide glue is made from animal gelatin, the visceral protein that binds skin, muscles and bones. Manufacturers scrape it from the inside of hides, boil it from bones, dry the gelatin and then break it into granules. These granules must be softened in water and cooked, but not boiled (see the photos at left). Cold or premixed liquid hide glue, now sold in bottles, is made the same way at the factory. But manufacturers add more water and chemicals to keep it from coagulating as it cools. Liquid hide glue can be stored and applied at room temperature, like other common glues. It has a longer working time, or open assembly time, of 15 to 30 minutes. This property makes it useful for biscuit joinery and mortise-and-tenon assembly. The bad news is that liquid hide glue has a limited shelf life of about a year, and it's even more sensitive to water than the hot variety you can mix yourself. To cook up a pot of hide glue, you should start the evening before you need to use it. Put as

Its shear strength is equal to or greater than white or yellow PVA glues and the newer polyurethane glues. It's the only easily reversible glue on the market. Its color matches wood tones better than many other adhesives, making gluelines less visible. It's highly resistant to heat.

2. Place the veneer in position, and dampen it with a clean cloth. Aligning the veneer just right is not critical at this

stage. With hide glue, you can move it around after making contact.
More like maple syrup than tap water. Hide glue should be heated to between 140 and 150F, and the consistency should be thick but smooth. Test the viscosity by dipping a disposable brush or a small scrap of wood into the hot glue. You want the glue to drip off the brush slowly.
1. Coat both

3. A laundry iron makes the job easier. Heat from the iron and steam from the dampened veneer reactivate glue that has cooled. Keep the iron moving to prevent

it from scorching the veneer.

surfaces well. The author starts a veneering job with a liberal layer of glue on both the veneer and the core material.

Pressing small sections at a time is better than trying to adhere a large sheet of veneer all at once, because portions of it may cool before you

secures the bond.

4. Pressure from the veneer hammer

can bond it properly. Work from the middle, parallel to the grain. Cross-grain strokes may split the veneer.

many granules into the pot as you think you'll use the next day, and cover them with water. By the next morning, the granules will be soft and jiggly. Pour off the excess water, and heat the pot to between 140 and 150F, stirring occasionally. Add water a little at a the glue to drip off the wood slowly, not run off. Hot hide glue has a pot life of a single day according to most manufacturers. However, when I was making musical instruments, I could use a batch for two or three days with no problems. Once applied, hot hide glue cools quickly and develops a good deal of tack. But because it takes longer to set up, hide glue gives you extra time to assemble parts and fuss with the clamps.
time until the glue is thick but smooth in consistency. Test the viscosity by dipping a small scrap of wood in the hot glue. You want

almost dry but just a little tacky, 20 to 30 minutesyou can position the veneer over the core. Unlike contact cement, the two surfaces won't bond immediately. If necessary, once it's in place, tack the veneer to the core with a few veneer pins to prevent it from shifting. Wipe the veneer with a damp ragthis closes the pores of the wood and prevents the veneer from scorching. With a laundry iron on a medium setting, heat the veneer surface evenly. Immediately, press the veneer onto the core with a roller or veneer hammer, starting at the center of the veneer. Work your way toward the edges, rubbing parallel to the wood" grain. (If you draw the hammer perpendicular to the wood grain, you may stretch and split the veneer.) Go over the surface a second and third time, applying
Test the glue bond by tapping the veneer surface with a dowel. It should have a solid sound wherever you tap. If you find an area that sounds hollow, the veneer has not completely bonded. Wipe
more pressure as the veneer cools.

Apply veneer without a press For occasional woodworkers, probably the best use for hide glue is

in an age-old process known as hammer veneering (see the photos above). Hide glue is stronger than contact cement, which grabs on initial contact and won't let go. If you haven't positioned the pieces precisely, you're in big trouble. Hide-glue veneering allows you to position and adjust the veneer before the adhesion process begins. I begin by brushing an even coat of hide glue onto the back side of the veneer and the core material. After the glue cureswhen it's

the area with water, reheat it with the iron and press the veneer once again with your roller or veneer hammer. In some cases, you may have to make a small cut parallel to the grain to let air escape from under the veneer. If you find there are a lot of areas that haven't bonded, set the iron a little hotter.
Nick Engler works wood and writes books in West Milton, Ohio.

Gluing and Clamping Strategies

Lots of tape, lots of cauls and lots of clamps make glue-ups easy
BY LON S C H L E I N I N G

f you don't have complete confidence in your gluing systems, perhaps it's time to take a closer look at them. When I ask a group of woodworkers how many trust their glue-ups completely, very few hands pop up. Personally, I couldn't sleep if my gluing techniques were suspect. When my stairbuilding shop is really cranking, it is not unusual to go through 10 gal. or 12 gal. of glue in a year. That's not much by some standards, but it represents a fair amount of gluing for a three- or four-person shop. We've developed systems for gluing that are reliable and fast, not so much because we set out to do so, but because we have to have reliable glue joints so that we can sleep at night. In this article I'll outline a few common gluing situations a woodworker has to tackle and provide a few tips that, hopefully, even the seasoned woodworker can use. your gluing system If a glue joint fails, the first suspect is the glue itself. But the glue is seldom the real problem. Modern glues are so effective as to be nearly foolproof. More often than not, operator error is the problem, not the glue. You can easily test both the glue and

Before squeeze
Make sure the glue you're using is fresh. Cut all of your cauls to the right length. Cover the cauls and clamping pads with cellophane tape. Set clamps to approximate length. For easy clamp access, set up blocks to elevate the assembly.
When gluing up square legs or forming multisided tubes, packing tape wrapped around the pieces helps pull the joints closed.

you

Keep a ruler nearby so you can check to see that the assembly goes together squarely. Be sure that clamps are plentiful and within reach. Do a full dry-run of the glue-up to eliminate surprises.

It's easy to test

Photos, except where noted: Matthew Teague; this page and facing page: Michael Pekovich

clamps and clamping cauls to pull the boards into alignment at the center.

shopmade deep-reach

Use store-bought or

After the boards have

your gluing system to increase your

joints of a panel are

clamped in place.

been aligned with clamping cauls, the edge

confidence. Simply glue up a sample, let it cure, then break it apart. If the sample breaks at the joint, you have a

the wood does not break along the glueline, the test demonstrates that the joint is stronger than the wood, which is what you want. If necessary,

problem with the glue or the joint. If

keep modifying your system until you achieve satisfactory results.

Glue has a limited shelf life

glue itself fails, either the type of glue being used is unsuitable for the job at hand or the glue has exceeded its shelf life. Remember, some glues
On those rare occasions when the

have a very short shelf lifeas little as three months in some cases. One year is more common, although it varies a great deal. One thing is certain, though: If you are still using that bottle of glue you got from Uncle Harry before he died a few years back, it's at least suspect. Do yourself a favor and

buy a new batch. I recommend buying small quantities of glue, as much as you'll likely
use in a few months, from a place where the turnover of merchandise is high. That way you'll run out of glue before it gets a chance to spoil. When

speaking, glue is cheap. When it gets old, throw it away.

you bring home a new bottle, write the date on the bottle with a felt-tipped marker. Relatively

heat. It's important to keep track of temperature for both storage and actual gluing.
Cellophane tape covers the clamping cauls, ensuring that

Many glues are susceptible to spoilage from freezing or excessive

Different operations require different types of glue

want your glue-ups to be successful.
Before you even buy a bottle of glue, read the label. Glue manufacturers

glue adheres only

where it belongs.
in the joints,

from the bandsaw are

offcuts. Offcuts saved oddly shaped pieces.

perfect for clamping

Don't throw away

what you need to know right there in the fine print. If the label says the glue

They make a point to tell you exactly

is unsuitable for use around moisture or under stress, no doubt they mean

resin is a better choice. Some glues, the polyurethanes for example, like dampness, but most glues
do not. Another reason to read the label and do some testing.

flexible, is unsuitable. Epoxy or plastic

just that. Lamination bending, for example, puts the glue joint under constant stress. Yellow glue, tough but

Well-fitted joints are a must Clean, dry, well-fitted and porous edges glue well. If the mating pieces do not fit well enough without clamping
ready for gluing. Joints ought to fit naturally without being forced by oversized clamps. If you have to force the

pressure, perhaps the work is not yet

joint together, you're asking a lot of your glue to keep it that way once the clamps are released. Porous edges allow the glue to ooze

Raising the panel allows room for clamps. With glue and damps at hand,

begin by laying cauls on blocks so that it's easy to keep boards flat and in place.

into the pores and strengthen the joint. If you make a very slow pass over a dull jointer, chances are you'll pound the fibers of wood together instead of cleanly slicing them. This forms a

glazed, nonporous surface that won't be suitable for gluing.

Cauls and dry-fitting are the keys to success

Moving too slowly may well be the

weatherthe surface of fresh glue will form a skin, a sort of blister. This blister prevents liquid glue from adhering to the other surface. If the glue skins over before the two mating pieces come together, you might as well call it a day. Sure, you can scrape off all of that excess glue, but the residual glue will seal the surface. The edges will need to be remilled, not just cleaned. One sure way to reduce the time it takes to get something clamped up is to practice. Especially if the gluing operation is complex or large, a rehearsal helps ensure that you have all of the clamps you need and that all of the lit-

most common cause of glue failure. Very quicklyespecially in warm, dry

hen woodworkers edge-glue boards, it's common to see them relying on clamps not only to squeeze the joint together but also to keep the boards in alignment. These two jobs are easier if they are done separately. Shop-built clamping cauls align the boards first. Then the clamps squeeze them together. Clamping cauls are nothing more than straight, surfaced clamping blocks covered on one side with cellophane tape. Clamping the cauls from above and below pulls boards precisely flat, even if they are warped or cupped. The cauls also will hold the boards flat as they are squeezed together, even if their edges aren't milled perfectly square. I make cauls from 8/4 square hardwood. Make sure they are

FACE-GLUING
othing is more frustrating than having the boards you're trying to clamp together move around when the clamps are applied. You have to unclamp the whole mess to move them back again, and by that time they're usually stuck in place. Enter our old friend, the clamping caul. Cauls for face-gluing work just as well as they do for edge-gluing, making the job much quicker and easier. For face-gluing you need only small blocks covered with cellophane tape. First use cauls to control the alignment, then apply pressure to the glue joint. It's that simple.

tle blocks and pieces of masking tape

are at hand. It's a good idea to dry-fit and clamp up the project entirely, as if you had spread the glue already, to

make sure one last time that the pieces

Clamping face-glued joint with cauls. First, use cauls to keep pieces aligned, then squeeze
the joint together. Glue flows more easily when

actually go together. Keep in mind that the addition of glue

you start at one end and work toward the other.

Tape and scrap make simple and effective deep-reach clamps. Tape a spacer between two stout scrap boards and slide the assembly

Cauls keep edge joints aligned. As the cauls are clamped together, the boards are pulled into perfect alignment. After the cauls

over the cauls. Pressure applied near the edge

is transferred to the middle of the panel.

have been firmly clamped in place, use bar

clamps to pull the joints together.

Bar clamps squeeze the joints together. Apply just enough pressure to close the jointstoo much pressure will force glue out.

Keep the bar clamps above the surface because black marks will appear everywhere the clamps touch the wet glue.

straight, then apply cellophane tape to one side. The tape prevents the cauls from adhering to the project and allows the gluing pieces to slide together once they're under control. Start by putting the lower cauls on blocks so you can get access to them for clamps. Then spread glue on the edges, place the boards into position and begin clamping the cauls down securely. Start by clamping the caul in the center of the panel. Deepreach clamps are great to have, but they're expensive. I find that

move toward the ends. Feel the alignment of the edges along the joints. Add a new set of cauls any place one board is above another. Once the assembly is perfectly flat, use bar clamps to squeeze the joints together. The boards slide between the cellophanecovered cauls with no trouble. Because the joints fit very nicely, it takes only a little pressurejust enough to make contact between the two boards. Too much pressure forces the glue out of the joint.

a shop-built version works just as well. Just tape a few scraps of wood into a U shape and slide the assembly over the cauls (see the left photo above). With this setup you can easily clamp the center of even a 4-ft. panel. After clamping the center cauls,

If your test glue-up indicates that a joint is stronger than the surrounding wood already, it's hard to justify using something to strengthen it further. When you use cauls during a glue-up, most reasons for using dowels, biscuits or splines go out the window.

MITERED FRAMES

icture frames and mitered boxesboth basically end-grain glue jointspresent some of the biggest challenges for gluing and clamping. This is the perfect time for biscuit joinery; and the more biscuits you use, the better. Although clamping is tricky, I prefer plain, old bar or pipe clamps over the various giz-

mos on the market for clamping picture frames. Glue up all four corners, keeping the pieces in alignment as much as possible. Set a bar clamp across each corner as close to the center of the joint as possible. Keeping the frame down
on a flat surface, apply pressure very gradually to one clamp at

Two biscuits make a

stronger joint. Biscuits provide ample gluing surface and

a time, squeezing the joint into alignment as you go, back and forth until the pressure is even and the joints are aligned. Remember that light pressure is usually sufficient. Tighten just enough to keep the joint together, but stop before forcing all of the glue out of the joints.

keep the pieces aligned. Once clamps go on, check the

diagonals to make sure everything is square.

in the joints will change the operation a enough for them to move around when you don't want them to. Then the glue

great deal. It lubricates the pieces just

DOVETAIL AND BOX JOINTS

begins to set up and grab the pieces, holding them in place just when you want them to move. But these problems are easily solved. The key for almost every gluing situation is to use clamping cauls. Simply put, clamping cauls hold boards in alignment while

hen gluing a box or drawer together, all four corners typically have to go together at the same time. This might be as simple as a small drawer or as complex as a chest carcase, but the processes are
the same.

as the joint comes into contact, that's enough pressure. It's entirely possible to bend and permanently distort the
sides of the box by applying too much clamping pressure.

other clamps close up the joints.

Clamping timeThe amount of time

a project has to remain clamped up depends on temperature, humidity and the complexity of the project. It's important to follow the directions on the label of the glue you're using. If the la-

Nowhere is a rehearsal more important than with a box joint or dovetail glue-up. There is no time to fuss with cutting clamping cauls when the glue is beginning
to set up. This is one instance when it's nice to have an extra set of hands.

bel says clamping time is an hour, give

TIP

Cauls set just back from the joint on all four corners provide a clamping surface but still allow the joint to move together without interference. The cauls also help

PVC pipe cut into narrow sections works like mini spring clamps. The pressure
varies by the diameter of the pipe, its thickness and the width of the section you cut off.

spread the clamping pressure evenly. Apply glue to all of the surfaces and immediately press each corner together. Once all four sides are together and the joints have been hand-fit as much as possible, set the cauls in place and begin to apply light clamping pressure. As soon

The box needs to be glued up on a flat surface. To be sure there's no twist in the box, see if it rocks. If it does rock, use clamps to apply downward pressure on the high sides until you bring it back into alignment. To check that the box is square, and while the glue is still soft, measure diagonally across the corners. If the box is square, the measurements should be the same. If it's slightly out of square, a single bar clamp, placed diagonally, will bring it square. Checking the squareness by measuring the diagonals is usually preferable to using a square because it's faster and more accurate, especially if excessive clamping pressure has pulled a curve into the sides of the box.

it an hour. If the label says overnight, wait until the next morning to remove the clamps. Remember that the temperature requirements are critical. If the label says

the minimum is 50F, that means the

air, the glue and the material itself must the materials must stay that temperature for the duration of the curing time. It's worth noting that a simple light

be at least that warm. It also means that

bulb inside a small, insulated enclosure will keep the contents quite warm, even if the rest of the shop is cold. CleanupGluing over butcher paper or newspaper certainly saves you from having to do a great deal of cleaning up. Wearing vinyl gloves not only
keeps hands clean but also helps you avoid contact with toxic chemicals. With most of the common polyvinyl acetate (PVA) glues, under normal conditions, a project usually has to stay in

Masking tape keeps your project clean. Apply glue sparingly to the joint. With clamps handy and everything in place, apply masking tape along the inside of the joint. The tape eliminates the need to clean excess
glue out of the inside of the box.
Clamping cauls spread the pressure. Dovetail and box joints are squeezed together from both direc-

tions, so make sure the cauls don't cover the joint. Cauls placed right next to the joint evenly distribute the pressure of the clamps.

the clamps about an hour. I have been accused of using too much glue, but

MITERED BOXES OF ANY SIZE

Packing tape binds the box. Stranded tape with imbedded fiber has tremendous strength. Strips of tape are laid on the face side of the

Mitered parts roll up to form a box. After the pieces have been turned over, glue is spread in the miters, and the box is rolled up.

Shopmade blocks allow opposing clamps. Shop-built clamp blocks provide a perpendicular pad for the clamps. As opposing clamps

box, keeping everything in place.

are tightened, the box is pulled square.

itered boxes are quite easy to glue up by using shop-built blocks, stranded packing tape and a bit of patience. Lay the four pieces faceup along the bench, and run the tape every few inches across the faces of the boards. Turn the assembly over,

easily check along the box with a square to see that everything is in place. It's easy to make adjustments accordingly. Packing tape makes clamping even a complex shape like an octagon very straightforward. Start with the pieces faceup on the

spread glue in the joints and roll it up like a tool pouch. It sounds simple, and it is. To ensure that the box remains square, clamp the box diagonally with the help of clamping blocks. The blocks are made of 2x2 stock and have a mitered groove on one side (see the right photo above). By placing the clamps opposite each other, you can

bench. Using the same technique as the mitered box, apply the tape across the faces every few inches, leaving an overlap to pull the last joint together. Turn the assembly over, spread glue and roll it up, pulling the tape ends tight. Check to make sure the distance between faces is even all around so the assembly will be square and consistent.

MORTISE-AND-TENON DOORS

ore often than not, well-fitted mortise-and-tenon joints align themselves, but you still have to keep everything square and flat. The center panels, if solid

wood, need to float so they can expand and contract freely. For in. panels, little rubber pellets, called space balls, can be placed in the dadoes that accept the panel. These space balls keep the panel centered and securely
held. On wider panels I trim pieces of cork to fit in the groove and never apply glue to the panel. Frame-and-panel doors using cope-and-stick joints usually are glued up without dowels. Considering the amount of use a door might get, it's worth placing a couple of dowels in the corners. The dowels should fit loosely in the holes to allow a bit of room for glue and expansion. If the cope-and-stick joint is not-quite perfect, cauls are an easy way to keep the pieces flat and aligned. It's important to make sure the door is flat and square, adjusting it as you would a box.

A little glue goes a long way. Apply glue only deep into the mortise and on the end of the

tenon to keep squeeze-out to

a minimum.

because scraping glue before it hardens is so simply done, I see no need to skimp on glue. Along a glueline, I want to see at least a thin bead of glue. When the glue has set up in the joints and the clamps are removed, the excess glue should still be soft and pliable. This is the perfect time to remove the excess with a scraper. I never wipe up glue with a wet rag, because the added water will raise the grain and the finished surface will be uneven. My favorite glue-scraping tool is a small hook scraper, available in the paint section of almost any paint or hardware store. With a good edge on it, a small hook scraper will remove excess glue while it's still soft, thus saving hours of sanding. If you wait until the glue has hardened to scrape off the excess, it is very likely, especially with
Use innertube strips to hold laminae together for
TIP

COOPERED PANELS

bending. The
strips hold

firmly yet allow the bundle to flex as it bends.

softer woods like mahogany, that you'll tear chunks out of the surface. I do my best to use a simple and quick system for gluing. Once the glue has been spread, I use every trick I know to speed it along. I always follow the manufacturer's instructions to the letter. When in doubt, I call the manufacturer on the phone. Manufacturers have always seemed more than happy to discuss individual situations. I have a habit of testing my glue joints constantly. If I trim a glue-up to length, I take the scrap piece and snap it over the corner of the bench to make sure the joint is reliable. I am always happiest when it breaks in. away from the glueline. Your confidence builds with every test. If you adopt this habit, you'll soon be confident in the boards you glue together. You'll sleep better, too.
Lon Schleining builds custom stairs in Long Beach, Calif.

simple form for clamping curved shapes is easy to make and extends the clampingcaul principle to include shapes that are not flat. The idea is the same. With this form, the alignment of the staves is easy. The form sits flat on bench blocks to make sure there is no twist. Use cellophane tape to prevent the form from being glued to the project and to allow the staves to slide. Drill holes in the ribs to serve as
clamp pockets for the clamps on each side. Align the pieces, in the case of a coopered door or chest lid. Lay all of the staves in the curve of the form. Then, and only then, clamp the staves together to force the glue joints to close up. Gently apply pressure to one clamp at a time until the joints close.

Clamp pressure must be distributed evenly. Clamps grab onto the pockets drilled into

Hook scraper removes excess glue. A hook

scraper, filed razor sharp, quickly removes excess glue once it has blistered over but before

the form's ribs, allowing the author to apply even pressure with opposing clamps.

it hardens.

Uses for Hot-Melt Glue

Quick-drying, weak-bonding glue is perfect for temporary holds
B Y M A R K S C H O F I E L D

Choice of glues. Hot-melt glues are available with different open times for different materials. They come in 4-in. or 10-in. sticks.

recent review of a new hot-melt glue gun system (FWW #157, p. 32) that touted its permanent adhesion prompted Hilliard Stone, a reader in Texas, to write in praising the virtues of traditional hot-melt glues. He noted that their weak adhesion makes them perfect for many tasks, including temporarily attaching parts until their final location has been decided on, such as when fine-tuning jigs or placing handles on drawers; attaching furniture parts to templates for routing or sanding; acting as a temporary clamp while other glues set; and holding panels in frames while allowing wood movement. I decided to see for myself how valuable traditional hot-melt glue is, and I came up with a few new uses of my own. Hot-melt glue is available from Woodworkers Supply (800-645-9292; www.woodworker.com).

Mark Schofield is an associate editor.

Finding the exact placement of hardware

It sometimes is hard to decide what hardware looks best on a piece of furniture, and locating handles and pulls is always a challenge. You can remove a drawer from its chest to see what hardware looks best on it, but you may discover that the location or hardware doesnt look so hot with the drawer back in the chest. Applying hot-melt glue sparingly allows you to mount handles in trial locations while the drawer is in place, giving you an accurate picture of its appearance. Remove the hardware carefully to avoid damaging the surface. Hot-melt glue also can be used to align false drawer fronts.

Experiment with the location of hardware. To avoid damaging the drawer front, apply only a tiny bead of hot-melt glue to the back of the pull (above) and press it in place (right).

36

FINE WOODWORKING

Photos, except where noted: Rodney Diaz; this page (top) and facing page (top and center): Mark Schofield

Assembling various jigs

Working with small or curved parts presents many challenges, among which is how to mill them safely. One solution is to attach them to a larger piece of wood, which then can be handled safely when cutting on the tablesaw or the router table. It would be impossible to use a miter gauge to guide the piece of gooseneck molding past the sawblade with any degree of safety.
Well secured. Blocks on both sides of the gooseneck molding lock the workpiece to the plywood carrier. Secured to the carrier, the gooseneck miter can be trimmed using the rip fence as a guide.

Clamping help
Crown molding is notoriously difficult to attach without resorting to a nail gun that ultimately mars the surface. A neat trick is to apply beads of hot-melt glue in addition to normal amounts of yellow glue; the former gives a temporary fix while the latter dries to form a permanent bond. Use the hot glue sparingly because large amounts can create a slight gap between the two pieces of wood. To avoid marring the surface of a piece during glue-up, wood or medium-density fiberboard (MDF) pads are placed between the clamp jaws and workpiece. To keep the pads from slipping, attach them to the clamps with hot-melt glue.

AFFIXING MOLDING

First apply yellow glue to the molding for the permanent bond. Add a few small blobs of hot-melt glue just inside the yellow glue (above). Locate the molding quickly before the hot-melt glue hardens (right). The hot-melt glue holds the molding in place while the yellow glue sets.

PADDED CLAMPS Blocks of MDF or softwood can be glued quickly to the metal jaws of clamps to protect the workpiece (left). With the pads glued to the clamp, it is much easier to align the clamp while applying pressure. A sharp blow with a hammer removes the pads from the clamps.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2004

37

Cutting multiples
Furniture makers often need to reproduce intricately shaped parts for their pieces. To ensure uniformity among those parts and to save time, use hot-melt glue to hold a stack of blanks together, and cut the stack on the bandsaw.
Separate with a chisel. The bond of hot-melt glue usually is easy to break with a chisel (right). A stubborn glue joint can be weakened with acetone.

Attaching a template
Hot-melt glue can be used to hold a workpiece to a template when pattern-routing. When finished, pry off the template with a chisel, loosening the glue with some acetone, if necessary. If you are template-routing, the same template can be mounted on different workpieces in succession. Apply the glue sparingly.

Handling small pieces safely. When pattern-routing a small piece, it is safer to attach it temporarily to a larger piece of wood using hot-melt glue.

Building models and mock-ups

When designing a piece of furniture from scratch, it may be hard to envision what it will look like in three dimensions. Making a full-size prototype often requires too much effort, but a scale model held together with hot-melt glue can reveal design flaws.

A scale model. Use MDF or cardboard to mock up a design quickly.

38

FINE WOODWORKING

Photo, this page (bottom): Mark Schofield

Six Essential
P VA
Versatile workhorse good for general assembly work and joinery

Glues

B Y

S C O T T

G I B S O N

These adhesives handle most furniture-making needs

C YA N OAC R Y L AT E
Best for quick repairs of defects, such as cracks, small knots, and slivers

P O LY U R E T H A N E
Ideal for laminations, edge joints, and outdoor furniture

E P OX Y
Good for laminations, outdoor furniture, and when a structural gap-filling bond is needed

42

FINE WOODWORKING

Photo, above: Rodney Diaz

W
UREA FORMALDEHYDE
Good for veneering and bent laminations

hen I first started making furniture, I thought the chances of glue alone holding a piece of furniture together were pretty slim. Wouldnt it be a good idea, I wondered, to sneak in a few nails or screws to reinforce joints that otherwise would surely fail? But I learned that woodworking joints dont fail very often, and when they do, its usually not the glue thats to blame. Most woodworkers have their favorites, but few rely on a single type of glue, and for good reason. The many glues to choose from have characteristics that make them especially well suited to one job or another. Taking into account a wide range of woodworking applications, Ive chosen six types of glue that will be useful in many shops: polyvinyl acetate (PVA) or yellow glue, polyurethane, two-part epoxy, cyanoacrylate, hide (both forms, dried and liquid), and urea formaldehyde (both types, one-part and two-part). The bonding strength of each glue is derived from standard industry tests and ranges from 2,500 to 4,000 psi in shear. All of the glues are more than strong enough for general woodworking and furniture making, so to determine your choice, consider other properties such as shelf life, open time, clamp time, structural gap-filling properties, and pot life. Open time is the length of time that glued components can be left open to the air before they must be assembled. Each glue has a limited shelf life, which can be shortened by exposure to air, moisture, or heat. How long glue can sit around and still work as advertised varies from six months to several years. Two-component glues such as epoxy and urea formaldehyde also have a pot life, or the amount of time that the adhesive remains usable when left in its mixing container. All glues differ in their levels of toxicity; if in doubt, get a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) from the manufacturer for more information (these documents also are accessible on the Web).
Scott Gibson, a contributing editor to Fine Homebuilding, is a freelance writer, photographer, and woodworker living in Maine.

HIDE GLUE
Excels at veneering and repairing period furniture and musical instruments
Photos, except where noted: Marcia Ryan

MARCH/APRIL 2005

43

PVA
The reliable shop workhorse
BEST USES OPEN TIME
General furniture making and woodworking 5 to 10 minutes* 30 to 60 minutes, depending on humidity, temperature, and wood species Water resistance varies; standard formulations lose 50% of strength at 150F; good solvent resistance Water Low toxicity; however, the small amount of vinyl acetate in yellow glue is considered a possible human carcinogen when inhaled 1 to 4 years About $5 for 16 oz.

CLAMP TIME

WATER, HEAT, AND SOLVENT RESISTANCE CLEANUP HEALTH AND SAFETY SHELF LIFE COST

*Some specialized formulas offer longer open times.

Apply PVA to mating surfaces. Once a mortiseand-tenon has been dry-fitted, use a stick to apply glue on the mortise walls.

ellow glue (also known as PVA glue) comes close to being an all-purpose adhesive for furniture making. Clamp times are short, and the glued-up components can be worked on in an hour or less if youre careful. Yellow glue is great for biscuit joinery because the water in the glue swells biscuits rapidly and locks them in place. Yellow glue also is good for snug assembly joints, such as dadoes, mortiseand-tenons, and dovetails. Cured yellow glue has a certain amount of plasticity, which allows the wood in the joint to expand and contract without fracturing the bond line. Although the glue can fill small hairline gaps, joints must fit well overall for a strong bond. Yellow glue is ideal for rub joints, in which a workpiece is glued in place simply by coating one surface and sliding the wood back and forth to create a vacuumno clamps are needed. Yellow glue also acts as a lubricant while

Work quickly. PVA has a short open time. Once youve applied glue to all of the appropriate surfaces, promptly assemble the joint.

Wait for the glue to set. Squeeze-out is best removed after about 30 minutes, before the glue gets too hard.

assembling dovetail joints. Apply yellow glue to the inside surfaces of the tails and to the top inside edges of the pins and then slide the joint together. For all of its positive attributes, yellow glue has a few drawbacks. Standard formulations dont have much water resistance and can creepthat is, slowly stretch under long-term loads. Thats why yellow glue is a poor choice for bent laminations whose members will be highly stressed. Also, yellow glue has a short open time, which can be problematic. For instance, during big, complicated glue-ups, there may not be enough time to align and adjust all of the parts and pieces before the glue starts to set. Uncured yellow glue cleans up with water. However, using water to clean up squeeze-out can fill pores with diluted glue and interfere with the finish. Its better to wait until the glue becomes rubbery and then scrape it off. Prior to applying a finish, dampen a rag with acetone or denatured alcohol and wipe areas where squeeze-out was removed to reveal any remaining glue, which then can be scraped off easily. Not all yellow glues are created equal. There is a wide choice of formulations, with various grades of water resistance and chalk temperaturesthe point at which the glue no longer bonds. If yellow glue turns white on a workpiece, it means the shop temperature probably has fallen below the glues chalk temperature, and the bond will not be reliable.

44

FINE WOODWORKING

Photo, this page (top): Rodney Diaz

Polyurethane
Long open time and good water resistance
BEST USES
Complicated assemblies; laminations, flat or bent; bonding hardware; outdoor furniture 15 to 20 minutes 4 to 6 hours High water, heat (up to 360F), and solvent resistance Soap and water, acetone, or denatured alcohol Contains polymeric MDI, a strong sensitizer that may provoke allergic reactions; stains skin; do not use if you have asthma or other chronic respiratory problems; work in a well-ventilated area; wear protective gloves and safety glasses 1 year About $13 for 16 oz.

OPEN TIME CLAMP TIME WATER, HEAT, AND SOLVENT RESISTANCE CLEANUP

HEALTH AND SAFETY

SHELF LIFE COST

ith its long open time, polyurethane often is the first choice for complicated glue-ups involving many parts and pieces. Thanks to its high water resistance, polyurethane can be used with confidence outside. Also, its good for bonding dissimilar materials. Polyurethane is more creep resistant than yellow glue, so its a good choice for gluing up laminations, bent or flat. It also works well in edge joints because it forms a thin glueline.

As it dries, polyurethane glue expands into a messy pale brown froth, so dont use any more than you have to. Although it will fill minor voids, the glue doesnt have structural gap-filling properties. The best way to clean squeeze-out is to wait until the glue is thoroughly dry, then scrape or chisel away the excess. Polyurethane also can stain the skin, so be sure to wear a pair of latex gloves when using it. Another disadvantage is cost. Polyurethane is more expensive than yellow glue, but its bond strength is roughly the same. Without moisture, a glue joint made with polyurethane may fail. Polyurethane works best on wood with a moisture content of 10% to 25%. In general, dampen the surfaces of the assembly with water a few minutes before applying the glue.

Moisten mating surfaces. Polyurethane glue needs moisture to cure, so use a damp cloth to wipe down both surfaces if using hardwood.

Apply glue sparingly. Polyurethane glue creates a very thin bond line, but squeeze-out will foam up when exposed to air.

Wait six to eight hours before cleaning up squeeze-out. Once hardened, polyurethane foam is removed easily with a chisel.
MARCH/APRIL 2005

Photo, this page (top): Rodney Diaz

45

Epoxy
Versatile, gap-filling, and waterproof
from a fast hardener to a slow hardener can double the glues pot life. Heat also can play an important role in altering the working properties of epoxy. Higher temperatures speed cure times, and cooler temperatures slow them down. Another advantage of epoxy is that you can add thickening agents to help the glue fill gaps and to make it less likely to drip. Like polyurethane, epoxy has a long open time, making it ideal for lengthy and complex glueups, such as case pieces. Epoxy doesnt shrink when it dries and so is the best glue to use when structural gap-filling properties are needed: It can be used to repair damaged wood or to compensate for badly fitting parts in new construction. Fast-setting five-minute epoxy is especially suited to filling gaps. Mixed with sawdust, five-minute epoxy can be used to fill holes and can be colored to match a stain or tint. However, it does have a lower shear strength than conventional epoxy. Exposed to temperatures below 200F, epoxy doesnt exhibit much creep, so it can be used to form bent laminations in furniture. Keeping individual plies as thin as practical will help reduce stress in finished

BEST USES

Complex glue-ups; outdoor furniture; bonding hardware; structural gapfilling repairs Pot life of 4 to 50 minutes; depending on the temperature and type, open time of 5 to 30 minutes 45 minutes to 15 hours Impervious to water; stable in temperatures under 200F; susceptible to softening with continuous exposure to alcohol, acetone, or lacquer thinner Lacquer thinner, acetone, denatured alcohol Skin contact with resins and hardeners can cause chronic health problems; avoid inhaling vapors of uncured epoxy; never breathe dust from partially cured epoxy; wear gloves, safety glasses, and a respirator while mixing At least 3 years for the resin; 2 years for the hardener About $19 for 16 oz.

OPEN TIME

CLAMP TIME WATER, HEAT, AND SOLVENT RESISTANCE CLEANUP

wo-part epoxy is a finicky glue but offers a kind of precision and predictability that no other woodworking glue can match. Epoxy is a thermoset plastic that cures to a solid as the result of a chemical reaction between a resin and a hardener when these contents are mixed. Epoxy is versatile, and you can alter the mixture as circumstances require. With a range of different resins and hardeners, you can change open and cure times as well as the viscosity of the glue. Switching

HEALTH AND SAFETY

SHELF LIFE COST

A two-component glue. The pumps on the resin and hardener make it easy to measure the right amounts every time.

Ideal for oily woods. Epoxy will provide good bonding and plenty of strength for this lap joint made with teak stock.

46

FINE WOODWORKING

Photo, this page (top): Rodney Diaz

Cyanoacrylate
Small jobs at warp speed

Metal meets wood. Epoxy forms a strong bond between dissimilar materials.

Filling knots with sawdust and five-minute epoxy. Not only does the glue secure the knot, but also it fills the gap and will accept tints and finishes.

yanoacrylates are special-purpose adhesives. They are not designed as all-purpose woodworking glues, but they do create an almost instantaneous bond between porous surfaces. That makes them useful for repairing cracks, bonding small knots, and reattaching slivers of wood. And you can work the wood immediately after the repair. The fast bonding times of cyanoacrylates allow them to be used to attach temporary glue blocks to hard-to-clamp furniture components, such as chair parts. Apply cyanoacrylate to a block of softwood, spritz the chair part with an accelerator, and stick the two together. When the blocks are no longer needed, break them away with a rap of a hammer. Cyanoacrylates are available in several viscosities. They cure with the help of moisture in the wood and work at just about any temperature. Open times are extremely short, but lower temperatures lengthen the curing time. Although parts are firmly bonded after the glue is applied, a full cure takes overnight. Keep a bottle of a proprietary debonder or acetone on hand for when the cyanoacrylate glue gets on your fingers. Debonder will soften hardened glue and allow attached items to be pulled apart.

BEST USES OPEN TIME CLAMP TIME WATER, HEAT, AND SOLVENT RESISTANCE CLEANUP

Quick repairs of small pieces; glue blocks for temporary clamping Less than 1 minute Less than 1 minute Low water resistance; begins to soften at 200F; softens with exposure to acetone Proprietary debonder or acetone Avoid contact with skin and eyes; breathing fumes at high concentrations may irritate eyes, nose, and lungs; wear protective gloves and safety glasses 1 year; longer when stored in a refrigerator About $10 for 2 oz.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

SHELF LIFE COST

components, such as a stretcher on a table or chair or a curved handle. Cured epoxy is unaffected by water, making it the glue of choice for projects that will be exposed to water, such as in boatbuilding. Epoxy also excels at bonding dissimilar materials, such as aluminum or steel to wood; some brands are specially formulated to work on oily woods such as teak and rosewood. On the downside, epoxy is expensive and unforgiving. Its resin and hardener components must be proportioned exactly and mixed carefully. Even though metered pumps make mixing easier, they waste glue when you need only a very small amount.
Photo, this page (top right): Rodney Diaz

Cyanoacrylates need very little setting time. Within a minute of making a quick repair, youll be able to go back to work.

Accelerators speed up the already fastbonding glue. No clamps are needed when using an accelerator.
MARCH/APRIL 2005

47

Hide Glue
Preferred by traditionalists
BEST USES
Applications where reversibility is an advantage, such as musical instruments, period furniture, and hammer veneering 10 minutes for liquid; temperature-dependent for dried Up to 12 hours for liquid; less for dried Low moisture and heat resistance, excellent solvent resistance Water Relatively low toxicity; can cause skin irritation; dust inhalation may irritate throat and respiratory track Indefinite for dried glue, unless exposed to moisture; 1 year for liquid form About $10 for 1 lb., dried; about $9 for 10 oz., liquid

OPEN TIME

CLAMP TIME WATER, HEAT, AND SOLVENT RESISTANCE CLEANUP HEALTH AND SAFETY SHELF LIFE COST

nlike any other woodworking adhesive, hide glue is prized for its ability to come apart as much as it is for holding pieces together. Cured hide glue makes a long-lasting bond that resists solvents, but it has low resistance to moisture and heat. Because the bond can be coaxed apart with water and heat to allow for repairs, hide glue is the choice of many woodworkers who build or repair period furniture and musical instruments. Hide glue also is used for hammer veneering, a traditional hand technique that doesnt require a vacuum, clamps, or presses (see the photos at right). Hide glue, a protein-based adhesive made from cow hides, is available in a ready-to-use liquid or in a dried form that must be mixed with water and heated before it can be used. Dried glue comes in pearl or ground form, with the latter generally being of better quality; pearl glue is sometimes made from bones instead of hides. Open times can be lengthened or shortened by increasFINE WOODWORKING

Dried hide glue needs water and heat. A dedicated glue pot will keep the glue at the optimum temperature of 140F.

Hide glue starts to set as it cools. Apply glue on both bonding surfaces, the substrate (above) and the underside of the veneer.

ing or lowering the temperature and by altering the proportion of water to glue. Also, adding urea, a gel depressant available at garden-supply stores and online, increases open times but weakens the glue. Hide glue can be heated and cooled a number of times before it should be discarded (youll know when its time by the bad odor caused by bacteria). Bacteria growth can be inhibited by adding 0.1% household bleach. Liquid hide glue, which contains urea, stays in liquid form at room temperature, making it easier to use than the dried form. It has a shelf life of about one year (look for a date on the label or on the container itself). When in doubt, try gluing together two blocks of wood and then banging them apart with a hammer. If the bond is hard to break, the glue is fine.

Rub the veneer with a veneer hammer. The glue on the veneer acts as a lubricator. Starting from the center outward, apply steady pressure with the edge of the hammer.

48

Photo, this page (top): Rodney Diaz

Urea Formaldehyde
Performs well under stress
BEST USES OPEN TIME
Veneering; bent laminations Pot life of several hours; depending on temperature and mix, open time of 5 to 30 minutes Up to 13 hours for one part powdered; up to five hours for liquid Excellent solvent and water resistance; unaffected by heat up to 180F Water Contains formaldehyde, a skin and lung irritant and a possible human carcinogen; wear protective gloves, safety glasses, and a respirator while mixing and using Up to 1 year; decreases in warm temperatures About $6 for 1 lb., dried; about $30 for 1 gal., liquid

CLAMP TIME WATER, HEAT, AND SOLVENT RESISTANCE CLEANUP

HEALTH AND SAFETY

SHELF LIFE

COST

rea-formaldehyde glue has a long pot life and yields a rigid, high-strength bond that resists water and solvents, making the glue especially good for bonding wood veneer and gluing bent laminations. Gluelines wont creep and should not be affected by temperatures up to about 180F. Urea formaldehyde is available as a precatalyzed powder thats mixed with water

and as a two-part adhesive consisting of a powdered catalyst and a liquid resin. Both types take a relatively long time to cure and need shop temperatures of at least 65F to work properly. Ideally, wood should have a moisture content of between 6% and 10% for the one-part type and between 6% and 15% for the two-part type. Like epoxy, urea formaldehyde is dramatically affected by temperature. According to one manufacturer, DAP Inc., pot life is four hours at 70F but only about 30 minutes at 100F. At 70F, the clamp time is 13 hours, but it drops to five hours at 90F. Urea formaldehyde is more toxic than many other glues. Formaldehyde is a possible human carcinogen. Its also an irritant to the skin and lungs and a skin sensitizer that can lead to dermatitis with repeated

contact. You should wear a respirator and protective gloves when mixing and using this type of glue. The sale of urea-formaldehyde glue is prohibited by a small number of local authorities around the country. If you want to find out whether the glue is permitted in your area, call DAP Inc. at 888-327-8477.

Prepare water and powder quantities separately. Add powder to a portion of the water, then add the remaining water.
Photo, this page (top): Rodney Diaz

Apply a thin layer of glue. When gluing up laminations, apply glue to only one face of each piece.

Clamp from the center out. When clamping the glued-up lamination, apply the clamps sequentially from one point outward.
MARCH/APRIL 2005

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How Strong Is

36

FINE woodworkING

Photos: Mark Schofield

COPYRIGHT 2007 by The Taunton Press, Inc. Copying and distribution of this article is not permitted.

Your Glue?
We take six types to the breaking point, shattering some common wisdom in the process
B Y M A R K S C H O F I E L D

nless they confine their woodworking to knockdown furniture, all woodworkers rely on glue. As a result, there are dozens of types of glue and masses of competing brands all proclaiming their superiority. To help make sense of it all, Fine Woodworking ran a test with three main objectives. The first was to compare six common types of woodworking glue; the second was to see if the type of wood might affect the bonding strength of the different glues; the third was to determine how tolerant the glues are to poorly cut joints. The results were revealing. Some older glues performed superbly, while a newer glue was less than impressive. The wood type does make a difference, but dont believe the stories that say all dense tropical woods are hard to glue. And, while glue starvation seems to be a myth, so does the gap-filling ability of certain glues.

we chose a traditional interior polyvinyl acetate (PVA) yellow glue represented by Elmers carpenters glue; a newer PVA glue with a Type I waterproof rating in the form of Titebond III; two types of hide glue, a room-temperature version by old Brown Glue and traditional granules that must be mixed with water and heated; a two-part, slow-set epoxy from System Three; and Gorilla Glues polyurethane. If a joint is sloppy, will the glue fill the gaps? Conversely, if the joint is so tight it has to be hammered home, will it be starved of glue? does a perfectly fitting joint produce the strongest glue bond? To answer these questions, we tested bridle joints with three types of fit: tight, snug, and loose.

Bridle joints: First make em, then break em

we settled on a bridle joint, also known as an open mortise-andtenon joint, because it has no mechanical strength and instead relies entirely on the glue bond. It also was easy to adjust the width of the tenon to change the fit of the joint to test each glues gap-filling ability. Precise millingTo lessen the impact of a rogue result, John white, Fine Woodworkings shop manager, made three samples of each joint for a total of 162 samples. To keep wood variables to a minimum, he cut

Selecting glues, woods, and gaps

To see whether an open-grained wood bonds differently from a tight-grained one, we chose white oak and hard maple. dense tropical woods have a reputation as being difficult to glue. we intended to use teak, but the lumberyard owner suggested ip, as he had heard many complaints about glue failure with this wood.

THE TYPES WE TESTED

We picked six brands to represent the spectrum of common woodworking glues, including two types of PVA glue, a polyurethane glue, an epoxy, and two types of hide glue.

PVA glue

Type l PVA glue

Polyurethane glue

Slow-set epoxy

Hot hide glue granules

Liquid hide glue

www.finewoodworking.com

JULY/AUGUST 2007

37

COPYRIGHT 2007 by The Taunton Press, Inc. Copying and distribution of this article is not permitted.

BREAKING THE JOINTS

MAKING THE JOINTS

All 162 joints for the test were cut on a tablesaw using a tenoning jig. To maintain even spacing on either side of the tenon in the loose joints, White machined each joint carefully and clamped both pieces to a piece of dead-flat glass while the glue dried. Under pressure. Under the direction of David Matthiesen (left), Chris Tuma placed each joint in the machine at Case Western and applied force gradually.

Breaking point. Eventually, the force became great enough for the joint to break within the wood or, as in this case, along the glueline.

Monitoring the test. The computer displays the force applied and the amount the joint was compressed. The lines peak marks the point where the joint failed.

the joints from a single, straight-grained glue because squeeze-out was not a conFineWoodworking.com board of each species. sideration. Watch a video to see how we prepared The joints were cut using a Freud The final step was to make a 45 cut at the joints for testing, and to see the box-joint blade set in the 14-in.-wide the end of each arm to prepare the joints Instron machine in action. configuration, as these blades give a for the joint-breaking machine. To give the very clean cut with a flat bottom. white glues time to develop maximum strength, cut all the tight joints first, spacing them so that they needed a we allowed the joints to rest for three weeks. light tap to bring them together. Using a dial indicator to adjust Off to the labwe shipped the joints to the department of the tenoning jig, he cut the snug-fitting joints so that they required Materials Science and Engineering at Case western reserve only hand pressure to bring them together and would represent a University in Cleveland, ohio. Under the direction of associperfect fit to most woodworkers. Last, he cut the loose joints with ate professor david Matthiesen, the samples were placed in an a 1 64-in. gap, split evenly on each side of the tenon. we chose this Instron testing machine. The force it took to break each joint was spacing because there was no wood contact on the tenon, but the recorded on a computer, and then the values for the three joints were averaged and a standard deviation calculated. See what we joint was still tight enough that most woodworkers would take a learned, p. 40. chance and hope that glue would fill the gap. Applying the glueEach glue was prepared and applied according to the manufacturers instructions. we used ample Mark Schofield is the managing editor.

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WHICH GLUE IS THE STRONGEST?

GLUE JOINT FIT

The chart shows the glues ranked by the average force it took to break their joints. To give a guide to each glues relative performance, its average joint strength is shown as a percentage of that of the strongest glue. We rated Type I PVA as the best overall, with interior yellow glue (PVA) as the best value.
AVG. JOINT STRENGTH (LB.)
JOINT STRENGTH AS % OF TYPE I PVA GLUE

MAPLE

OAK

IP

COMMENTS

UT

HOR
S

Tight Type I PVA glue (waterproof) Snug Loose Tight Slow-set epoxy Snug Loose

1842 1700 1593 1690 1680 1635 1737 1543 1474 1468 1516 1436 1488 1412 1485 1414 1336 564

1843 1822 1603 1908 1832 1557 1769 1684 1537 1850 1699 1521 1847 1765 1618 1491 1055 571

2554 2733 2525 2425 2712 2503 2696 2842 2036 1716 1779 1374 1769 1459 936 1875 1455 716 1164 58% 1531 76% 1595 79% 1924 95% 1994 99% 2024 100%

HOICE

This proved to be a good all-around glue with no weakness in any of the woods or joint fits. Combined with its ease of use and moderate cost, this glue wins the best overall label.

The betting before the test was that this glue would be the strongest. It came in a close second, but given its high cost and longer preparation time, this was disappointing. In particular, it didnt prove to be the clear choice for gap-filling.

UT

HOR
S

UT

HOR Tight

HOICE

PVA glue

Snug HOICE

Loose Tight Liquid hide glue Snug Loose Tight Hot hide glue Snug Loose Tight Polyurethane Snug Loose

Many woodworkers will be relieved to see that their first-choice glue performed so well. Amazingly, it produced the strongest bonds on tight and snug ip joints. This glue is the best value.

Not as strong as epoxy or the PVAs, this glue still gave a very credible performance. It performed particularly well on oak, but was relatively less strong on ip.

Proponents of hide glue have never claimed that it is as strong as PVA, but instead promote its reversibility and compatibility with stains and finish. From this test, it appears that hot hide glue is only a little weaker than yellow glue and is stronger on oak.

The surprise of the test was this glues poor showing. The snug joints were poor, and the loose joints were unacceptable. Polyurethane may be a tough finish, but it isnt a tough glue.

THE WEAKEST LINK

The joints failed in three different ways: With the strongest glues, particularly in maple and oak, the failure was usually 100% in the wood. With the weakest glues, particularly in the strongest wood, ip, the failure was 100% along the glueline, with the wood fibers remaining intact. But the majority of the joints showed some combination of both types of failure.

GLUE FAILURE

WOOD FAILURE

COMBINATION

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JULY/AUGUST 2007

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What we learned about glue

The first lesson is that most (but not all) of these joints are incredibly strong. As Matthiesen joked, You could park a car on these joints! Given that the majority of the joints showed either complete or partial wood failure (with the exception of hide-glued ip and all three woods glued with polyurethane), we concluded that most woodworkers can rely on their glue. That said, there are significant variations between the different glues, between the three woods, and according to the fit of the joint. Many of the results directly contradict conventional wisdom.

Ordinary yellow glue is as strong as the expensive stuff

If you are confident in your joint-making ability, then stick with good old-fashioned interior yellow glue. It was only a little weaker than Type I PVA on tight and snug maple and oak joints, and it was stronger on ip. If your joint-making skills still need a little help, go with the more expensive Type I PVA.

Epoxy isnt necessary on a dense tropical wood

The strongest joint in the whole test was yellow glue on ipa real surprise. Indeed, both yellow glue and Type I PVA were stronger than epoxy in tight and snug ip joints. On loose ip joints, epoxy showed no great advantage, so I would stick with either interior PVA or Type I PVA on this tropical wood. At all costs, dont hope that polyurethane will fill a loose ip jointit wont.

Liquid hide glue is as good as hot hide glue

Based on the average strength of all the joints, liquid hide glue beat out hot hide glue. However, if you look at specific joints and woods, hot hide glue was strongest in five of the nine categories. I had expected liquid hide glue to be weaker due to the addition of urea to keep it workable at room temperature, but in this test the two glue types were about equal. Where hot hide glue was comparatively weakest was on snug and loose ip joints.

Tightness didnt starve these joints

With oak, all six glues created stronger bonds on tight joints than on snug ones, and the same was true with five out of six glues on maple. If oak and maple are representative of domestic woods, you dont need to worry about a tight fit causing glue starvation. Of course, these tight joints are far less tight than a clamped joint. On ip, and perhaps other dense tropical woods, leaving a little extra room for the glue seems like a good idea. That said, both PVA glues and epoxy create incredibly strong joints whether the joints are tight or snug.

Open-pored wood produces stronger joints

In only two of 18 categories did maple produce a stronger joint than oak. Hide glues in particular seem to get a better bond on open-pored woods. This may explain why period furniture makers have great success using hide glue on mahogany, another relatively open-pored wood.

Polyurethane glue fails in loose joints

With the exception of hot hide glue on maple, all glues were slightly weaker on loose joints compared to tight and snug ones. All but polyurethane, however, were strong enough. If you want the best adhesive for a sloppy joint, use epoxy for maple, hot hide on oak, and Type I PVA on ip. Polyurethane gluelines failed on loose joints in all three woods.

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