Why does Gorilla glue suck?

[todd]

[Eric Anderson]

Hey folks,

Here is what I have found. About a year ago a friend of mine and I -- both longtime engineers -- made a test. We both had our opinions. He liked Gorilla glue, I liked good old yellow PVA woodworker's glue.

We set up identical tests and tested the strength. We both found that they both had, if properly applied, nearly the same strength. We found that the PVA was slightly stronger in our tests. And the strength variations due to application were greater with the Gorilla Glue. The difference was not enough to be statistically significant. The conclusion I have come to is:

PVA is the best for normal woodworking projects that do not need waterproof service. PVA is more forgiving in application (there is no special surface wetting and other concerns). Polyurethane (Gorilla Glue) can be used to attach materials that PVA cannot (metal, plastic, mirrors, etc). Polyurethane is better than even the type II PVA for wet applications. Gorilla Glue does not fill gaps (with any strength). Gorilla Glue is very, very messy and you absolutely need gloves or you will be wearing the stuff for days on your hands until the skin it is on wears off. Like most adhesives, they each have their place, but I think the PVA is much easier to work with and forgiving as long as you are working within its service parameters.

Eric

[Bob Bowles]

[Gfretwell]

It said to on the bottle?

The first joints I made were dry and they snapped clean too. (edge to edge) I haven't seen any wood damage in any of the failed joints. So much for "the joint is stronger than the wood". BTW my white glue experiment came out exactly the same. Is this just a hard maple problem?

[Gfretwell]

"...for hardwoods like oak or maple lightly dampen both surfaces"

The first time (edge to edge joint) I wiped them with a damp rag. The joint I pictured was misted with a spray a bottle. Everything was cured overnight. The only things common are the wood itself and the glue. I have a dialog going with gorillaglue.com. Today I am going to glue up some other types of wood with this same glue.

[Gfretwell]

I ask because I don't know. At this point I am wondering wheter the best answer might be to ignore the common wisdom of having well manicured surfaces and to scuff up the wood with a chipped tooth table saw blade where it mates. (and I just threw one of those away)

[Ramsey]

[Leon]

It is an end grain to side grain problem..the way you are trying to glue the joint. Try glues on the maple, side grain to side grain and you will find that is not a maple or glue problem.

[Morgans]

Perhaps this is nothing new, but the joint has to be beyond perfect. Not a hair (real hair) width's crack anywhere. Lots of clamp pressure, too.

[Alan McClure]

[Gfretwell]

I have some failed side to side failures you can look at too. That was what started this. The "end grain" is in a mortise that is actually 3/8" deep" (I said 1/4 earlier). These are typical joints I see everywhere. I am about to shoot some stainless screws into these joints to save my $60 glue up. :-) So far the glue up is holding but the cut off pieces will easily fail

BTW this is Gorrila Glue's answer "From: [e-mail] (Judy Tracy) To: [e-mail]

As far as we know, that wasn't a bad lot, but other than sending you another bottle to try it again, I can't be of any more help. Most of the time the glue fails, it has to do with moisture. Judy

[Gfretwell]

I certainly am getting all sides of this. :-) "It's too tight" "It's too loose" "Too wet" "Too dry"

I think I am just going back to good old yellow glue.

[Morgans]

That's my favorite!

If it ain't broke..................

[D K Woods]

[Doug Miller]

In article , [e-mail] wrote: It is of interest to note that while some dolphins are reported to have learned English -- up to 50 words used in correct context -- no human being has been reported to have learned dolphinese. -- Carl Sagan

Remember that we're experimenting on the dolphins that were stupid enough to get caught.

-- David Steup

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

[D K Woods]

another excellent addition to my saved quotes!

Who is David Steup though? I can't find anything on him.

david

[Morgans]

"> --

Why do so many people feel the need to add political or religious signatures to their posts? This could be a place where everyone can talk about woodworking, without someone else's baggage making them mad.

Just a thought.

[Bay Area Dave]

you think he's bad, Google Mike Zuchick's posts. I refer to him as Mike Zealot. He hit up the Wreck a while back for donations for a burial. We all pretty much told him what he could do with his prosletizing and begging.

dave

Morgans wrote:

[Doug Miller]

He isn't famous, at least not yet. I went to college with him. One of the smartest people I've ever known. Has an MS in pharmacy, PhD in toxicology, and I don't know what else.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

[Neil Woods]

And that is a very nifty quote to use as your .sig. I'm gonna save it!