Since I've recommended Titebond II
in my Glue Basics video, a lot of you wanted to know
my opinion on Titebond III. Well, here is a scene
I cut out of that video. I do not, however,
recommend Titebond III. I don't have a lot of
experience with Titebond III, but, when i used it on my patio table,
it left horrible stains on the glue joint. I've never had this problem with Titebond II,
and it works fine in outdoor projects. When I was writing my script
for that episode, I mentioned, that Titebond II is water resistant and
Titebond III is waterproof, which I took to mean that it
can be submerged. But when I look on the label they both
have the exact same waterproof logo. I have outdoor projects held together
with Titebond II that have been subjected to years of
sun, heat, and rain.
Honestly, I have no idea what
the benefit of Titebond III is. I'm sure one of you will tell me,
and I'm sure there are specific uses for it, things that Titebond II
can't do, but for me, it's like comparing Godfather II
to Godfather III. I don't recommend using a damp
cloth or a sponge because the watered down glue on the sponge
tends to spread to more of the wood, and you can't see it until
you go to apply a stain or a finish and then it shows up as ugly spots. To me it just comes down to
convenience, and I find that a damp rag creates more
problems than it solves. But I also think I'm in the
minority on this issue. The Pilot Penguin and others
recommended filling nail holes using the method of mixing
glue with the sawdust from the wood that you're using. I use this trick sometimes,
but, again, I've never been able to get a perfect match
when applying stain or finish. I think it's because even though
the hole is filled with the same color of sawdust the glue holding
it together wants to repel stain.
I think it's worth experimenting,
though, maybe trying out different types of glue. But seriously,
getting an exact match is very difficult without mixing custom dyes
and having an excellent eye for color matching. I use Titebond II. I use so much
of it that I buy a gallon at a time. I like to write the date on the
bottle when I buy a new one to see how long it lasts. Usually a bottle
lasts me about a year, year and a half.
One of the most common questions
is whether you should apply glue to both surfaces or just one. I see no benefit to
applying it to both surfaces. Usually it just results in excess
glue squeezing out. I've heard some people say that
if you clamp too tightly you can squeeze out too much glue
and starve the joint. I have never seen this happen,
and I don't believe this is possible. I think this is more of
a woodworking myth. In my experience, the worst thing
that can happen by tightening the clamps too much is
leaving dents in the wood. When you place your boards
together they might want to slide around a little bit.
What I like to do is just kind of slide the pieces back and
forth until they kind of grab. An old trick some people like
to use is to sprinkle salt on the glue which helps prevent the boards
from sliding around.
I've never tried that. I assume
it works, but really, that sliding around has never been a
major problem for me. It comes with a red lid that goes
over this part, but I lost it, and I found that it never did
much to prevent the glue from drying up in the tip. Like any glue bottle the tip gets
clogged with dry glue, and I need to dig it out, and over
time this wears out the tip, and I have to buy a new one. Another problem is that the seal
on this lid eventually wears out and loses its airtightness. So, I
end up having to just buy a new bottle. I don't have to replace this that
often, but frankly, it might be better just to use an old mustard
bottle or a squeeze bottle you might be able to pick
up at the dollar store.
A lot of you had suggestions for
your favorite adhesives. I think this is a topic worth
exploring in a future video. At least a discussion of the
specialty adhesives I use in my shop and why. For now,
let me quickly address three. Polyurathane glue. A while
back Gorilla Glue was introduced and a lot of people got
really excited about it. I tried it a few times, and learned that it's
not really something I want to mess with. Mostly because it's messy, and it's
very fussy. First, you have to moisten both wood surfaces before
applying the glue, usually spraying it with a mister. Then, when you put
the glue on it foams up out of the joint like a baking soda
volcano science experiment. I think its main advantage is gluing
boards together that might not fit together perfectly. If there's a gap
between the boards that foam will fill it up. Something wood
glue can't do. Construction adhesive. I kind of
think the brand name alone Liquid Nails is enough to convince
people to buy construction adhesive. Construction adhesives are best used
for carpentry and construction work, say, for building a stud wall and
attaching it to a concrete floor.
I used it for hanging the bee board
in my bathroom makeover, for instance. I don't recommend it for more precise
woodworking projects and building projects because the
caulking-like bead is pretty thick, and I don't think the pieces
will fit together as well. Cyanoacrylate glue. I see a lot of people using super
glue in their woodworking, but I've never been able to
hold wood together with it. I think there's a special
kind that uses two parts. You put the glue on, and then, you
spray it with an activator. I haven't tried that, but it seems to
work. Also, I'm not convinced that super glue is very strong even
on nonporous materials. It just seems brittle somehow, but
I think super glue is probably best for holding pieces together temporarily..