Why I don't use Gorilla Glue

years ago i used to think white glue is for paper yellow glue is for woodworking and that's pretty much all there was to it but with time and experience i learned that there exists a wide range of glues that are really useful for woodworkers and choosing the right one for your project can be a real game changer you can solve some really frustrating problems if you just know a little bit about glue so in this video i'll pass on what i know to you so you can reap the benefits of glue technology in your workshop none of these products are sponsored this is just the glues that i use in my shop let's start with pva glues pva stands for polyvinyl acetate it's been around for quite a while and the earliest versions were white you probably use the stuff in grade school but it's not just for making art with popcorn and paper white pva glue features a relatively long open time to get your work done but it requires more time in the clamps before it's going to set up in the past white glue was widely used in woodworking and it still is to some extent today but yellow glues have become much more common in many workshops yellow glue is still pva glue adhesive but it's been modified with aliphatic resins some claim that the yellow color is a natural result of the formulation others say they add the yellow coloring to differentiate it from the white stuff regardless the color isn't the only difference yellow glue has been formulated to solve some of the problems that woodworkers have with the older white glue for example while all glue is slippery and can cause your work pieces to creep when you apply clamping pressure to them i'm sure we've all had that happen yellow glue is made to be a bit more tacky especially if you let the two pieces sit with glue on them for about a minute before you join the surfaces together i'm not saying yellow glue won't slip at all i'm just saying it's more manageable than white glue these same properties that make it extra tacky also cause yellow glue to set up a little bit faster this may not be a good thing if you have a complicated glue up to assemble such as a bunch of finger joints or dovetails but it does mean you can remove your clamps after about an hour just don't stress the joint too much until it cures overnight yellow glue is also a little bit more flexible it dries slightly harder than white glue and this may be one of the reasons why it's more moisture resistant however as we'll discuss shortly only certain types of yellow glue are really suitable for areas of high moisture such as outdoor products of course this extra hardness also makes it less gummy when you sand it compared to a more flexible white glue in my experience yellow glue is also generally a bit stronger than white glue but i think either may be plenty strong for many woodworking applications and white glue does have its place in woodworking particularly because it dries clear and so it won't show a visible seam like yellow glue might this makes it very desirable for those who maybe book match panels for example it seems that yellow glue is the real workhorse of many workshops but not all yellow glues are the same this particular brand titebond has three formulations of their yellow glue other brands like elmer's or gorilla make multiple versions of theirs as well titebond is not a sponsor it's just what i use and all three of their formulas have a place in my workshop because they can do things that you may not have known about most of the time i use the original tight pond which is what i keep in this container because it's fairly inexpensive and it's easy to clean up with water if i get this on my clothes as i usually tend to wipe my hands on myself it usually comes out in the washer those are the main reasons i like it cost and clean up tight bond 2 is a slightly different formulation it's not coming out of your clothing once it dries so watch where you wipe your hands that's because it's water resistant so it may be used in areas or for projects that will be in high humidity such as a bathroom or even a project that's going to be outdoors in the rain this version also gets tacky even faster than the regular yellow glue so i may choose it when i have something that i know is going to be a problem to keep aligned such as maybe a bent lamination or shot made veneers of course that also means i have to work quicker during assembly because it has to be in the clamps in about four minutes or less tight bond three is a specialty formula that i really like for some specific situations it's fully waterproof rather than just water resistant so i'm more confident using this on outdoor projects it's also among the strongest pva glues around so it's a good choice where strength is of the utmost importance this version may also be applied at lower temperatures so when i had a drafty garage shop that i struggled to keep above 50 degrees in winter i'd use titebond 3. i also like its darker color when i'm working with something like walnut but i reach for this formulation most when i need more time to assemble a glue up because it has about twice the working time as the other standard pva formulas i really recommend that you have a bottle of each of these three on your shelf in your workshop even if it's just a small bottle of the two specialty formulas type on two and three that way you can take advantage of these unique characteristics in your shop now let's move on to some non-pva adhesives that i also find essential this is liquid hide glue it's a modern version of the animal glue that's been used for centuries i like hide glue because it takes a long time to set up which gives me lots of time to adjust my assembly but also because the bond may be reversed with heat this makes it my go-to adhesive for any joint that may be under so much stress that the wood itself may eventually break chairs are an excellent example someday someone may have to replace a broken leg or a stretcher on your chair if you assemble the joints with hide glue a little steam will soften it up and they can disassemble and repair it instead of tossing it high glue only lasts about a year on the shelf though so don't buy a bottle of this right now wait until you decide to build a chair or something that you're going to need it for then get some for that project epoxy is another favorite of mine i sometimes use the injector style but i really prefer to get the two separate bottles because it's more economical by the way i'll link to all this stuff below this video so you can make sure your shop was well equipped too epoxy is great for bonding things that aren't made from wood i use it in jig making quite a bit but it's also really useful for complex glue ups that require lots of assembly time if you're gluing up a dovetailed or finger jointed chest for example use epoxy instead of regular glue and you won't have to stress out so much and get things together so quickly i also like epoxy for its gap filling properties for example maybe you your dado set doesn't leave a smooth surface and you cut a tenon now you have a rough surface on the sides yellow glue isn't going to fill those gaps well you'll have effectively less glue surface and a weaker joint epoxy can not only fill in those gaps between two rough surfaces but it can also secure a loose or slightly imperfect joint i also really like cyanoacrylate adhesive or ca glue we may eventually make a whole video about ways you can use ca glue in your workshop but i mostly use it when i need a really fast bond i put the glue on one surface and i put the spray activator on another surface and it will form a ready-to-use bond in just two or three seconds that's a game changer when i need to build a jig quickly and get back to work or for project parts that are too difficult to clamp in place you simply don't need clamps with ca glue the bond is also strong but i think it's a little brittle so i don't use it in every situation i wouldn't use ca glue on a permanent joint in furniture for example you'll note i have three different bottles of it one's very thin which is handy for getting into fine cracks to make repairs i use the medium consistency the most but i also use the thick consistency quite a bit because it doesn't run down vertical surfaces and of course spray activator is a must with ca glue if the bond isn't instant what's the point interestingly it's the moisture in the air that causes your ca glue tube to dry up on you which is really annoying so i keep mine in the freezer the glue itself is not going to freeze but the ultra low humidity environment inside the freezer will keep them from drying out again we'll make a whole video about ca glues down the line another adhesive that i think is important in any shop that you definitely should have on hand is hot melt glue this isn't just for crafts it is really handy when you need a quick and easily reversible bond so i might use hot melt glue to attach guide pieces to project parts so i can hold them better as i run them through the router or to sandwich a couple pieces together if i want to cut them equally on the band saw or bull bore identical holes in them you can use it for attaching router templates it has a good shear strength but low tensile strength so that means it will hold together during these operations but it may be pried apart relatively easily it's a low-cost alternative to double-sided tape but with a bonus of gap-filling properties so it can be used on uneven surfaces that double-sided tape just does not hold well too i've even used it for making custom shims for my table saw throat inserts we have a video about that finally because i know some people ask about it i want to touch on polyurethane adhesives such as regular gorilla glue i don't really use this stuff because i just think there is better options polyurethane glue is waterproof but so is titebond 3. poly glue fills gaps and bonds with multiple types of materials but so does epoxy one thing it might be useful for is for damp wood because poly glue needs moisture to work you have to wet your dry wood if you're going to glue it with poly glue but i've never had a reason to use it on damp wood i also find it really messy it foams out of the seams in your joint so i just tend to avoid it i'm sure there are other types of adhesives that you find useful in your workshop i know some folks who use construction adhesive for some woodworking projects but these are the ones that i use most and then i think you should have some if not all of them in your shop as well so i'll link to them all below and i'll see you next time mywoodcutters.com is the sort of small business i like to support stefan is a great guy and he can find you knives and cutters for almost any joiner planer shaper or molding machine and his are the best prices if you're planning to upgrade to a helical carbide cutter head please use the link below this video to check with him before you buy somewhere else some small businesses are just worth supporting

Channel: Stumpy Nubs

Views: 506,428

Keywords: woodworking, stumpy nubs, tips, workbench, table saw, scroll saw, drill press, quick tip, band saw, bandsaw, lumber, hack, hand plane, sharpening, tormek, worksharp, diamond stone, water stone, wood turning, bowls, lathe

Id: OCAxSFDcrxc

Length: 11min 36sec (696 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 05 2022