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What glue?

W

Wayne Spence

Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Messages
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Location
Denver, Colorado
I have been gluing up blocks 4 to 5 feet long and up to 16 inches in diameter for carving, turning or both. Most boards are 2 inches thick and 4 to 6 inches wide. I have been gluing edge to edge to form 1 layer and then the next layer glued the same , and then the 2 glued width to width keeping the joints staggered. For various reasons, mostly economical, I would like to glue the width to 2 or more boards glued edge to edge. Hope this makes some sense. Glue has been Titebond but I have thought of resorcinal for longevity. The pieces are painted and no joints are visible at least for the 1st year that I have observed. I charge an arm and leg for these pieces and do not want any returns, some slight imperfections over time are accepted.

Will recorcinol give me any better joint over time than Titebond?
 
Titebond I and II will creep, but resorcinal and urea-formaldehyde types don't, in my experience. Good or bad. Creep allows more adjustment to differential moisture. They also have greater gap-filling capability for initial appearance. http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Glue_Creep.html
 
I used Resorcinol glue on a porch glider that I built for my parents fiftieth anniversary over 17 years ago. The wood that I used was white oak. It is still just as sturdy as the day it was made and it sits on their back porch partially exposed to the sun and blowing rain. The wood has grayed a bit where the marine varnish has flaked away, but otherwise it is as good as new. Resorcinol does leave a thin purplish-brown glue line that is visible under very close inspection, but you said that would not be a problem.

Edit -- Here are a couple pictures of the porch glider

shop1.jpg



shop2.jpg
 
Wayne-

Years ago, had a job come in that required 12 rollers that were 12 inches round and 14 to 16 inches long. Used Resorcinal glue for the glue up ( once cured nothing will cut it or bother it), it is a two part glue that you mix. Be careful when you clamp the pieces together that you don't starve the joint(s) by putting too much pressure on the joints by the clamps. Other than staining you when it gets on you, it leaves a very distinct glue line of purple.

Gary
 
I don't think I would make pieces like that out of solid wood. Mostly, over time, wood movement will overcome any glue, and you will get separation/cracks.

robo hippy
 
Glue

Robo You may have a point. I have turned pieces 12 -14 inches in diameter and 18 inches in length with a 2 inch hole bored through the center. Don't know what good came of it, the wood was seasoned and the wood will move regardless of the center being eliminated.

Also thought of gluing up like the segmented turners do, wood will still move. Any feedback from the segmented turners who have had pieces out for over ten years?
 
Key is the essentially random nature of the grain in a highly pieced glueup. Where you're gluing long grain to long grain - the best joint - you try to match face to face, quarter to quarter, and sap to sapwood. means the pieces move pretty much together. Problem of creep or crack comes when you put some high curvature face grain against quarter.

Bowling pins are a pretty good example of what you can do with glueups. http://www.bowling2u.com/trivia/pins/making_pins.asp Though the TV show was better.
 
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