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Experience With Gorilla Glue?


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Here's my take (from a mostly furniture building background) on PVA/Polyurethane/Epoxy/Urea-Formaldehyde/Hide glues:

PVA for most joints, but nothing under tension, that will be touched or visually relies on the surface being smooth. I've experienced creep in bent laminations and have seen and felt glue lines rise and fall with seasonal variations. You also have to make sure the glue has cured and the wood dried before you do any final surface prep. I've seen work that's been sanded too soon, only to show divots/grooves a few days later. They're also nice when you need something with a high degree of initial tack. They're also very limited in gluing wood to non-wood.

Polyurethane glues can be messy and expensive, if you apply them like PVA glues. If you apply an appropriate amount (much less than you'd typically use for white/yellow glue), the mess tremendously reduced and the cost per joint is reduced too. Also, if you're a "wipe the glue with your finger and then wipe you finger on a rag, apron, clothes, etc." kind of person, you will temporarily stain your fingers. The glue line can also be noticeable (visually) if it contrasts too strongly with the woods used. They're only gap-filling if you're putting on some kind of a solid finish. The foam has no structural strength. I have no experience using polyurethane to glue wood to non-wood. They can force joints apart, but if they fit well, and you use cauls/clamps appropriately, it shouldn't be a problem -- unless you can't clamp the joint well, or you need your glue to be sticky and have some degree of holding power right out of the bottle.

There's tremendous variations in cure time, color, heat resistance, etc. with epoxies to make any definite general statement. You need to read the info about the specific epoxy you want to use. That said, I'm not aware of an epoxy that is not structural in it's own right. So, they are truly gap filling. Because epoxies are structurally strong, they're good for gluing woof to non-wood -- especially if there's some texture for the glue to bite into.

I like Urea-Formaldehyde for a lot of joints. It has all of the advantages of polyurethane glue, but doesn't foam and set's up a bit harder/stiffer. I usually use it for any joint that will be under constant stress (bent laminations, etc.).

I like traditional hide glue for veneering. It softens the veneers, and shrinks when dry, so it locks them down. It's also easy to fix bubbles with an iron. Also, it's decently "gap filling" if there's small holes in the veneer. It also takes stain well enough that it can hide flaws in many veneers. If I had a glue pot, I'd likely use it for fretboards, but I have no experience with this use. I also have no experience with liquid hide glue vs "the real stuff".

Ray

Edited by ElRay
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Yellow glue it is then.

Wes the mann... West He-Mann... We's them ann...

Wes is right

Follow whatever Spoke said and you will be fine

:D I said something

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