Titebond glue failure question?

A coupla things

Bruce, a MN Galoot

The times a glue joint has failed has been because

The temp was too cold — 55F is the limit.

There was insufficient contact between the wood surfaces.

I also use a light coat on both surfaces of the joint to be sure they’re both “wetted.”

Re: A coupla things

Barry Irby

I agree. I have been using similar glues for many years and had very few failures. One was I hurriedly glues up a cutting board for a friend i a very cold shop and it just fell apart. One or two have failed from not have closely mated surfaces.

This time the shop was comfortable and the glue had been stored in a room at about 65* or above. I think this glue had aged out. It was the bottom inch in the container and had been here quite a while. I think I should have reacted more strongly to the granular appearance. Being cheap is not always the most frugal way to go.

I looked on both bottles to see if there is a manufacturers date or some sort of "use by" date and do not see one.

Re: A coupla things

Don Stephan

Pretty brave fellow to mount and turn when thinking the glue may be bad.

Re: Titebond glue failure question?

john in lutz

Expansion chucking can be hard on the wood. With that said I often use expansion chucking. I am very careful with the tightening pressure as I have blown out a few pieces of solid pieces wood I thought should hold. I would have let the glue sit over night. I think Titebond III is the slowest setting and curing of the titebond family.

I did have that thought....

Barry Irby

but went ahead. When I took it off the lathe and found the center joint had been pried apart by expanding the chuck into the recess I was shaken. I did keep the speed on the lathe slow, less than 600 RPM.

I just looked at the glue bottle again and found a code printed on the side, but I can't decipher it. I think in the future I will write the purchase date on the glue. Now if I just knew the shelf life....

This morning I tested the platter by trying to break it on the edge of a table. The center line joint held well but one other cracked a tiny amount in the rim and I reglued it with CA, mostly as a sealer.

Re: Titebond glue failure question?

Barry Irby

You are right, I should have let it sit in the clamps over night or use Titebond Original. I was in a bit of a hurry. Wanted to get this ready for New Years Eve. Could it be that haste makes waste?

Titebond Date Codes

Steve Elliott

Here's some information from Titebond:

In March of 2009, we switched to a new lot numbering system. The new one is:

The first digit represents A for America (made in), the second digit is the last digit of the year of manufacture, the third and fourth digits represent the month, the fifth and sixth digits represent the day of the month and the last four digits represent the lot number.

Example: A904270023 – This material was manufactured on April 27, 2009

Looked at Code...

Barry Irby

Started with A61212..... December 12 of 2016 Does not seem like that is "old" to me. The glue looked OK but had granules in it.

Thanks for the code breaker.

Re: Looked at Code...

AZ in Colorado Springs

I had some Titebond III a few years ago and it had the granules. They settled to the bottom half of the container. Too thick to shake it up.

I had some Titebond II extend and it also had the granules.

I try to have on hand no more adhesive than I can use in 12-18 months.

So, it didn't look like new......

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

This glue is a reactive chemical concoction. If the glue properties change compared to new glue it indicates some chemical reaction occurred. It is unlikely that the result of this reaction(s) will have the same properties as unaltered glue, likely for the worse.

What happens with regular Titebond is that the water evaporates (yes, water molecules will readily pass through the plastic container) and the glue thickens. Thickened Titebond regular can be thinned a bit with water.

I don't know what makes Titebond II granules but they are likely chemically crosslinked glue molecules that have come out of suspension.

Glue cure time

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

It depends on temperature and moisture content of the wood. Under the best conditions full strength is not reached for many hours. However, low stress machining can be done in much less time. High moisture content wood may take a day or more to reach full strength.

Thank you Bill....

Barry Irby

I was hoping you would weigh in on this. You seem to know more about this than most of us and certainly more than I do.

I have learned a lot from this exchange and appreciate the input from all. Knowing how to read the date code lets me keep track of the age. I think the best idea is "If in doubt, throw it out". A hard concept for us frugal pack rats.

The tray turned out fine in spite of my half ass efforts.

Re: Why take chances?

Hank Knight

I write the date of purchase on every batch of glue I buy. If it starts to look funny in the container (separation, discoloration, etc) or if it gets to be a year old, I toss it and buy new glue. Glue is cheap and repairing a project after a glue failure is a PITA.

Thanks, Steve for the Franklin code. I'm going to write it down and post it in my shop for future reference. I think there is a similar code for Zinsser's shellac. I need to find that and post it too.