Glue

There are a many choices to make when choosing glue. Here are some of the most common: 1) White glue is the most popular choice for general purpose adhering. It’s non-toxic, odorless, nonflammable and dries clear in under an hour. One drawback of white glue is that is has a low resistance to water, so it should not be used for outdoor projects. 2) Yellow carpenter’s glue sets quicker and is more resistant to water than white glue. It won’t be affected by solvents used in woodworking such as varnish, lacquer, or paint. Yellow glue dries to a translucent finish but can be sanded. 3) Hot-melt glue is applied with a glue gun. It sets almost instantly on wood, metal, cloth, and ceramics. There are several formulas available for you to match to your project. Hot-melt glues, however, do not adhere well to cold surfaces, so make sure that your workpieces are not cold. 4) Instant bonding glue is incredibly strong and sets almost instantly. It is ideal for non-porous surfaces such as glass, certain plastics, ceramics, and metal but can also be used to bond wood and paper as well. If you should accidentally drip some onto your skin, use nail polish remover to dissolve it. Instant bonding glue will dry inside the container very quickly so be sure to tightly replace the glue container’s cap as soon as possible.

Need to hold extra-wide work for gluing up or driving screws? You can hook one jaw of a pipe clamp over your work, then turn the opposite jaw 90 degrees so it lays flat on the work. Hook a second pipe clamp to this jaw, and at the other end turn that jaw 90 degrees and tighten. If two clamps won’t reach, just add a third clamp between the first two.

Do you have any chairs, tables, or other wooden furniture that are a little wobbly due to the glue drying out? Here’s how you can tighten things up. First, disassemble the joined pieces. Clean off all of the old glue and dirt with warm vinegar. Rinse with clean water, and let everything dry completely. Use yellow carpenters glue to reassemble all the pieces back together.

One problem in using older-style pegboard hooks is that they tend to pull out when the tools are removed. One way you can solve the problem is to insert them into the pegboard and use a hot glue gun to fasten them in place. In a minute or so the hooks will be fixed in place, although you will be able to wrestle them loose whenever you want to rearrange your tool storage. Another solution is to buy newer-style hooks that will lock in place with just the turn of a screwdriver.

Glue will soak more into the end grain of wood and potentially result in starved glue joints. To help prevent this, you can “size” any end grain to be glued with a mixture of glue diluted with water. Dilute just so that when it is applied, glue drops don’t form at the lower edges of the wood. Another method, somewhat less effective, is to coat the end grain with full strength glue, allow it to dry 5 to 10 minutes, then re-coat with glue and assemble.

When clamping long or wide panels with bar clamps, a dowel inserted crosswise between the jaws of the bar clamps and the wood will help center the pressure and keep it uniform. Use dowels about as thick as the thickness of the wood you are gluing up.

If you are gluing veneer to a wood surface, you can use an old clothes iron to help. First use a sponge to wet the face of the veneer so that it won’t curl. Next, apply a thin film of glue to both the surface and the underside of the veneer. Then, when the veneer is dry to the touch, use the clothes iron at a high setting to secure the veneer in place.

Whenever you are glueing glass you must consider the visibility of the adhesive. If the glass is translucent, you will want a glue that dries as clear as possible. Before glueing any glass bond be sure that the glass is clean, free of any oil (even from your fingers) and dry.

Fingerjointing is a process in which short pieces of high grade wood are end glued together to make long lengths of stock. The advantages to this process are cost and availability of long lengths. Fingerjointed wood is used in a variety of applications including interior and exterior trim, moldings, and siding materials. In exterior applications, its one drawback is the way in which the different grains of the various pieces react to weather exposure. The individual pieces may telegraph their differences through the finish coat of paint giving a somewhat uneven or checkerboard appearance over time. Fingerjointing is a wonderful recycler of wood products if you give thought to where it can work best for you.

Glue will soak more into the end grain of wood and can potentially result in starved glue joints. To help prevent this, you can “size” any end grain to be glued with a mixture of glue diluted with water. Dilute just so that when it is applied, glue drops don’t form at the lower edges of the wood. Another method, somewhat less effective, is to coat the end grain with full-strength glue, allow it to dry 5 to 10 minutes, then re-coat with glue and assemble.