Glue

[cactusman]

Long ago we had a small selection of wood glues.
Today the shelves are full with options from waterproof, water resistant, polyurethane,
super, contact, slow set, quick set, and more.....

I have noticed that most "glues" do not have a "use by date"!
=Or= maybe I'm simply missing the date code etc.

I typically use the Tight-Bond water proof glue and the Gorilla polyurethane glue.
I buy the 8 ounce size for the Tight-Bond and 4 ounce for the Gorilla glue.

This way if they go bad..I am not losing a significant investment in glues.

Speaking of "going bad" what is the shelf life of most glues?
My work shop temperature can vary from 45 to 105 degrees during the year.

Cactus Man

[PLUMBER RICK]

They should make this post a sticky

Rick.

[Mightyservant]

I have 20 year old tite bond that I use for light glueing and it works fine however it's normally used in addition to a brad or screw. I've even added a small amount of water to it to thin it out. Titebond premium is my go to glue for structural glue up like sistering Joist's and more critical structural repairs.

I occasionaly use gorilla glue but I feel that it's sort of like the "nuclear option" since at least for me it's that I feel I need to prepare a wide work area in proportion to the glue up then try to anticipate just how much will overflow out. Using disposable gloves keep the glue off your hands but it adds a step and then you need to dampen both side of the glue up. You also have to clamp the glue up well since the glue expands and wants to push the assembly apart. I used it once on a nice peice of furniture and immediately regretted it but I had to "ride it out" since I could not do it over without creating more problems.

I use contact glue in small amounts as well, it seems to go "bad" quicker so I don't get more than a small bottle I use for paper, cardboard and leather.

I don't really get super glue, I don't think I've ever used it with the repair lasting more than a day.

I've used several versions of epoxy and they definitely have a place. At work we use it to attach flanges to large diameter ductile iron pipe. It's also used for some fasteners drilled into concrete. Here at home I've used epoxy putty to fill holes in wood.

[Bob D.]

Most woodworking glues like Titebond II or III or white glue and other woodworking glue brands/varieties are not meant for structural applications, construction adhesive would be a better choice in most cases.

[d_slat]

yup, what Bob D said. Use construction adhesive for structural applications.

[BadgerDave]

Pretty sure that Titebond suggests that their glue should be used within 2 years from date of manufacture. The batch code number on the container is coded so that that date can be "easily" determined, http://fretsnet.ning.com/forum/topic...bond-date-code .

[Bob D.]

Agree, I keep a small amount on hand and when it's 2 years since I bought it I trash it and get a fresh bottle. I'm not doing enough work to use more than one pint bottle a year if that much unless I have a big project underway. Old/stale glue may 'work' but it's bonding strength may be reduced and lead to early failure. Why chance all the time and effort you put into a project to a dollars worth of glue?

[BadgerDave]

When I buy a new bottle of glue I write the made on date on a piece of masking tape and apply it to the bottle. That way I can tell at a glance when it's time to get some new glue. I totally agree with you about the bonding strength possibly being reduced with time, seems foolish to take the chance that it isn't after 2 years..

[Gofor]

In my experience, super glues start to lose some of their bonding strength after about 6 months. Gel types seem to lose their strength more rapidly. I use them to fletch arrows, (plastic fletching on carbon arrows) and have found that using the bottle of glue after more than 6 months results in more fletchings coming off. Fletchings applied with fresh glue will stay on the arrows for several years. I normally use the gel type as it is easier to control the amount of glue on the fletch (more is not better). I seldom use it for wood working, but pen turners use cyanoacrylates to stabilize the material (even corn cobs) and as a finish.

As for the PVA glues (titebond, etc), I use it until it won't move in the bottle when I turn it upside down. However, I don't recall using any that was more than 2 or3 years old.

I have used epoxy that was 5 plus years old. As long as the two components will flow so I can mix them, it seems to work. Not sure I would trust older stuff for a high strength application, but it works well for filling knots etc,

[Dhal22]

Super glue (or CA glue) is a universal glue for radio control airplane builders (along with wood glue, epoxy, etc). CA glue does very well with balsa wood.