My Favorite Glues
If you are a woodworker or maker, there are a million adhesive options to choose from. It can feel a bit overwhelming. Which ones do you really need and why? These are the glues that I use on a regular basis in my shop. I’m often asked what glue I’m using and why am I using it in comparison to another type. I like to have a combination of regular and specialty glues that I can use depending on the situation. These include wood glues, epoxy, veneer glue, spray adhesive, and CA glue (also known as super glue). Without further ado, here are my favorite ones.
Woodworking Glues
There are several types of woodworking glues to choose from. My go-to glues are made by Titebond. Titebond makes three primary variations of their traditional wood glue formula: Titebond Original, Titebond II, and Titebond III. These are the wood glues that you’ll most likely see in your local hardware store. All three are great. The primary differences are the length of the open time (time before it dries), the resistance to water, and the strength. Titebond Original is strong, dries pretty fast, and is NOT water resistant. Titebond II dries a little bit stronger, has a longer open time, and is water resistant. Titebond III is the strongest of the three, has the longest open time, and is water proof. If I’m using traditional wood glue then I grab Titebond III. I don’t like to rush while gluing together my projects. If you make cutting boards, outdoor projects, and basically anything that will be exposed to water then you’ll want Titebond III. But keep in mind, all three are fantastic glues.
Titebond III for a Cutting Board
I also use hide glue. There are multiple manufacturers out there that produce hide glue. Hide glue is old school and was used for centuries by woodworkers. I like hide glue for a few reasons: It has a longer open time that regular wood glue (including Titebond III), it’s dark so it blends great with dark woods, it’s sticky, and it is usually forgiving with finish. Let me break these down a bit further.
Hide Glue on Table Legs
Open Time - When I’m working on a project that is a bit complicated or takes longer than 15-20 minutes to assemble then I’ll likely grab hide glue. It is also reversible! If the glue is completely dry, you can apply water and heat/steam and pry the pieces apart. This is awesome for things like furniture repair.
It’s Dark - I use a lot of darker woods like walnut and hide glue is virtually invisible when using it. It’s great for hiding glue lines and making joints look seamless.
It’s Sticky - Hide glue is super sticky. Some people may not like that, but it works to your advantage. It’s great to keeping pieces in the proper position. Sometimes, you glue together boards and they tend to slide around until the glue becomes tacky. Not so with hide glue. This makes it great for applying veneer. If you want it less sticky then you can put the glue bottle in a cup of hot water. It’ll flow smoother and be less sticky. Best of both worlds!
Awesome for Finishes - We’ve all made a mistake in which we missed sanding a spot that had glue on it. When we apply finish that spot lights up like a Christmas tree. NOT. FUN. Hide glue on the other hand doesn’t tend to do that. It is really forgiving and it’s difficult to see the glue after applying finish. This makes hide glue fantastic for fixing mistakes. If I have a slight gap in my dovetails, I put a bit of hide glue on the gap and sand the piece. Once I apply finish that gap disappears. Hide glue also dries hard, almost crispy, while most wood glues dry rubbery. I can take a chisel and easily clean up dried hide glue.
Cyanoacrylate Glue (CA Glue) also known as Super Glue
My shop will ALWAYS have CA glue. It’s a lifeline that’s required in my workshop for a lot of reasons. It’s main use is for gluing together small pieces quickly and for making jigs. Often, I want to make a jig that will help me to make my actual project. I don’t want making that jig to be a huge, time consuming process. CA glue makes jig construction super fast. CA glue is also my go-to for fixing tear out and broken pieces. Sometimes, we get a crack or the end of a board gets chipped. Some CA glue and a spray of activator will fix the issue, with little or no visibility. A third common use is for clamping pieces. I place painter’s tape on a board, apply CA glue, put tape on another board, and press the tape together. Those two boards are now firmly clamped together for routing or other processes, and clean up simply requires peeling the tape off.
There are three main consistencies of CA glue: thin, medium, and thick. Thin is great for gluing delicate pieces together or trying to avoid glue squeeze out. It’s also perfect for mixing with powders such as metal powder for cold casting. Medium is my go-to because it’s pretty universal in all situations. I use thick CA glue for filling deep voids in wood. And speaking of wood filling, I always have black CA glue in the shop. Yep, CA glue comes in different colors. I use black CA glue to fill knots in wood. It’s way faster than using epoxy.
CA Glue for a Sign
Epoxy Resin
Over recent years, epoxy or resin has been categorized a decorative building material more so than an adhesive. Note all of the epoxy river tables you see on the internet. But at its core, epoxy is an adhesive and super strong one at that! I use epoxy for large glue-ups. If I’m gluing up a table or something that takes a long time or has cumbersome parts then I will likely use epoxy. It can give me up to 45 minutes to assemble my project. I find that if I’m not rushing I perform better work.
I like Total Boat epoxy products. They are easy to use and give me predicable results. If you want to try them then you can use coupon code NEWTONMAKES at checkout to save 15% off your first order. I do not get a kickback from this. Just want to save you some money.
Specialty Glues
There are plenty of other glues out there from hot glue to metal bonding adhesives. The two “off kilter” glues that I use the most are cold press veneer glue and spray adhesive. Cold press veneer glue is for gluing together…veneer. It’s a tad thin so it goes a long way. It has a super long open time and it has a strong bond. A bottle of it lasts forever. It gives me plenty of time to apply it and clamp together my workpiece. I also keep 3M Super 77 spray adhesive in the shop. This is used mostly for templates and patterns. I like to print out templates and glue them to my workpieces. I’ve used a few types of spray glue and Super 77 has always been the best for me. It doesn’t soak through printer paper and it dries fast without peeling up when cutting boards. Rub the paper with some mineral spirits and the glue comes right off. This is awesome for scroll saw projects!
There you have it, the main woodworking glues that I use in my shop. From time to time, I have to get something special for a specific project, but these are the glues you’ll find in my shop daily. I hope this helps you next time you’re scratching your head in the adhesive aisle in the hardware store.
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