# can I use titebond II for cutting boards since is water resistant?



## Velez

I have a question for you guys out there more experience than me.

can I use titebond II for cutting boards since is water resistant?

Your valuable imput is mucho appreciated.


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## Ghidrah

I used yellow Elmer's glue on the 1st oak board I made somewhere around 35 yrs ago, its still together, it sits in hot soapy water to get cleaned and drip dries. No cracks splits checks or credit cards, I soak it in mineral oil maybe every 10 yrs or so.


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## poordustmaker

Titebond's website says both II and III are safe for food contact and says they are both good for cutting boards too.

http://www.titebond.com/product.aspx?id=2ef3e95d-48d2-43bc-8e1b-217a38930fa2 
http://www.titebond.com/product.aspx?id=e8d40b45-0ab3-49f7-8a9c-b53970f736af

I made my first cutting board 6 years ago using III and have had no issues with it. Assuming you are not planning on submerging your cutting board in water, I suppose you could get away with II. But I'd use III just to be safe. Just a couple dollars more. The added open assembly time of III vs II may also be beneficial when trying to clamp up the amount of pics typical used in a cutting board.


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## MarioF

Jorge, any PVA glue will do fine as long as your board is soundly built. Cutting board life will depend on care and cleaning method involved more than anything else.


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## paxorion

I've used both Titebond II and III. Both work fine for cutting boards.


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## SirIrb

I use II.


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## bonesbr549

> I used yellow Elmer s glue on the 1st oak board I made somewhere around 35 yrs ago, its still together, it sits in hot soapy water to get cleaned and drip dries. No cracks splits checks or credit cards, I soak it in mineral oil maybe every 10 yrs or so.
> 
> - Ghidrah


Same here. I've got the one I made my mom in shop class from 79. I think it was just plain old elmers glue.

Still holding fine and strong after all these years!


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## jkn09

I've used Elmers and am currently testing out Titebond II. So far so good, but I've only been making them for a year or so.


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## bondogaposis

I always use TB III now. I made my daughter a CB w/ TB II and of course she ran it through he dishwasher and while it still held together it warped bad and looked like it would not survive another trip through the dishwasher. So you never know what will happen to a board once it is out of your hands. I don't like putting my name on things that may fall apart even if it is through abuse, so now I use TB III on them all. It doesn't cost more, so why not?


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## Velez

thank you every one for your comments on this!

my inquiry is due to the lack of water prove glues in Mexico, besides poliuretane glue there are no water prove wood glue, and the only one I can get is tite bond I & II, which BTW is very expensive, and I happen to travel to USA this wk from May-11 to 18 and plan to purchase the glue, but in MEx I cant get it.

again thks for your comments! I'll try with tite bond II and when able to have acces to III will take advantage.


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## Ghidrah

I don't know if the one I spoke of is big, normal or small, 1.5625" X 13.5" X 15.5", but I made a bunch for a guy (30/40) around 06/07, (his design) about 13/16 thick mixed species, (maple walnut oak long grain no end grain) he then used his multi axis router syst. and carved juice grooves, finger grabs and the customers name. He never made a 2nd order, so maybe the skinny weensy boards don't hold up as well.


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## isu1977

I am making cutting boards for Christmas gifts using Tite Bond II. I read where you are not supposed to submerge the cutting board in water or place it in a dish washer because it will soften the glue and thus the board will fall apart. But that said, what will all the oil do to the glue that soaks in. We're told to apply oil until the boards won't except any more. Just wondering how this will effect the glue bonding everything together. My cutting boards are an 1 1/2" thick.


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## ArtMann

If you soak a wooden cutting board overnight in mineral oil, it probably won't penetrate even 1/8 inch. It may, however, prevent water from soaking in and dissolving the glue.


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## LittleShaver

The last end grain cutting board I made was about 1 3/4 thick and maybe 12×18 of maple and cherry. Over the course of a week, it soaked up an entire pint of mineral oil. Full penetration, the oil was weeping out the other side. Used Titebond III for longer open time and water resistance.


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## ArtMann

That is an interesting claim. Forgive me if I am skeptical but I have done cross sections of mineral oil soaked Maple before and I was unable to ever get penetration in excess of a few 32's of an inch. Wood is just not that porous. There is a reason why pressure treated lumber must be vacuum and pressure treated to get any amount of penetration.


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## AlaskaGuy

Yes you can.

Elmer's yellow carpenter glue is what I have on my 10 year old end grain cutting board. I don't soak it or put in in the dishwasher


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## LittleShaver

> That is an interesting claim. Forgive me if I am skeptical but I have done cross sections of mineral oil soaked Maple before and I was unable to ever get penetration in excess of a few 32 s of an inch. Wood is just not that porous. There is a reason why pressure treated lumber must be vacuum and pressure treated to get any amount of penetration.
> 
> - ArtMann


Wood is just a collection of capillary tubes. As long as the end grain is exposed to the fluid, it will soak it up. As long as the fluid doesn't cure, harden, or contain particles too large for the capillaries, it will soak. 
Long grain is an entirely different animal. if the fluid can't get into the capillaries, it can't flow and you get the minimal penetration that you see with most finishes on long grain.
I believe PT lumber is done that way mostly for speed and most of the exposed grain is long grain rather than end grain.


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## splintergroup

Yep, penetration depends on the wood type.

I can't remember where, but there was an end grain red oak board where the builder placed it in a shallow pan of polyurethane and waited until the capillary action had the poly flowing out over the top. The poly in the pores was allowed to dry, effectively making the board waterproof.

In my experience, mineral oil will never penetrate hard maple, slightly penetrate white oak. and soak in 100% on soft cedar.


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## Kirk650

I used TB II for cutting boards for a while, but switched to TB III after my daughter told me her cutting board came apart. She had been running it through the dishwasher for a while. I do not know how many trips in the dishwasher that it survived. I should have asked. She has promised to hand wash them now.

The only wood I know of that would pass a liquid through would be red oak. I happen to have a good bit of red oak, milled from a big tree on our place, but I should have just used it for firewood.


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## maxyedor

TB 2 will be fine. I dislike using it for a couple of reasons, both may effect your cutting board. First is the color, it dries an ugly yellow, where as TB 3 dries a bit more of a brown color and it blends better with the wood if you don't quite get a perfect glue line. Second, it's got a much shorter open time. Hard to get all your parts lined up and clamped just right when you're racing against the glue. If neither of those is an issue for you, it's a perfectly good glue to use.



> That is an interesting claim. Forgive me if I am skeptical but I have done cross sections of mineral oil soaked Maple before and I was unable to ever get penetration in excess of a few 32 s of an inch. Wood is just not that porous. There is a reason why pressure treated lumber must be vacuum and pressure treated to get any amount of penetration.
> 
> - ArtMann


Last Cherry & Maple board I made, I oiled up the top, flipped it, and the oil was weeping through the bottom. Sap passes all through a tree, don't see why oil wouldn't.


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