# Titebond III dries nearly black?



## n00b (Oct 24, 2010)

I've just taken up woodworking recently, and I've run into a problem on my first couple of projects: I'm using Titebond III, and it dries into a distinct, nearly black seam.

If I'm using walnut, that's fine. The black seam looks fine. But when I glued up a couple of pieces of maple, the result is terrible!










That's about an 8-inch area, after sanding. First, why is the glue black? People seem to love this glue, but I'm mystified. Second, why is the line so wide? It looks like about 1/64 to 1/32 of an inch wide - as opposed to, you know, zero. I thought I put a good deal of pressure on these boards (I certainly got a lot of squeeze-out). And the line runs the whole length of the joint, so it's not like there's a gap in one section and a tight fit somewhere else.

I think I'm going to have to cut these boards apart, re-joint them and find another glue. But I'd like to actually understand what's going on here. Is the glue affected by some types of wood? Humidity? Temperature? Loud music?


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## wseand (Jan 27, 2010)

I use TBII and never have had this problem in fact just did a few today. There really shouldn't be that wide of a line. You may not have had a real square edge making it leave a bit too much glue. Someone on here that uses it may have a better answer for TBIII.


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## dfletcher (Jan 14, 2010)

I use TBII as well and it dries up a natural color that sands out pretty well.


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## Maveric777 (Dec 23, 2009)

I have ran into the exact same issue and frustration on this. My rule of thumb now is on light colored woods I use Titebond 2…. For darker colored woods I use Titebond 3. Also when doing the home made wood filler this is a good one to remember as well. Welcome to the lovely world of "Trial & Error Woodworking"...lol

The best lessons are the ones hard learned…. Or at least I always learn them the hard way…lol


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## RJS (Aug 10, 2010)

I used Tightbond 3 on my cutting board project, it was Purpleheart and Maple, I did not have that problem.


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

I have used TBIII on light-colored woods like maple with no problems. Perhaps the edge of one or both of your boards is not flat from top to bottom. When you put them together, you might not see any light between them, but there would still be gaps on the surfaces.


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## Maveric777 (Dec 23, 2009)

Well, just the thing to remember is 3 dries much darker than 2. I personally want my joints as hidden as possible so that's my way of thinking behind using the 2 for light colored and 3 for darker. If it doesn't matter as much I will go with 3 every time. Better bond most definitely….

I agree with Chuck with the top to bottom flatness. Been there and done that as well…


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## Maggiepic (Aug 26, 2010)

I've used Titebond, Titebond II, Titebond III, and Titebond Dark (and Titebond Melamine). Original Titebond and II usually dry to the usual yellowish tint, III has a beige cast and Dark, of course, has a heavy tan tone when dry (Melamine glue dries a semi-clear white). Have never had any of them turn "black", not even the dark. Sorry to see the problems your having. How long have you had it on the shelf?


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## Sawkerf (Dec 31, 2009)

I've noticed the same thing, too. I've always used TBII, but grabbed some III recently when they were out of II. It seems to dry darker, and stay a bit more "rubbery".

I've set it aside for use on dark woods and gone back to TBII.


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## thiel (May 21, 2009)

TBIII is dark beige to me. Nothing approaching what's in the photo above.


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## n00b (Oct 24, 2010)

Thanks for all the replies. I bought the glue very recently, but it might have been on the shelf in the store for a while, I suppose. My projects don't require great adhesive strength, so I guess I'll use TB II for my light-wood projects and reserve the TB III for my dark, brooding projects.


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

Hey n00b,
I have been building cutting boards recently so I have been using TBIII because it is resistant to water. I prefer TBII for normal stuff, and it's cheaper.

The cutting boards are usually multi wood build ups, so a dark glue line does not show, even with a light wood next to a dark wood. The one problem I remember is the center of one board that was three pieces of maple, and the dark glue line showed. I mainly attributed this to a not so perfect joint, and I still believe that to be true. But I wish I had used good old white glue instead, just in case.

Steve


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## Vrtigo1 (Mar 18, 2010)

I just used TB III a couple days ago on a cutting board. I figured I should use a waterproof glue, but the first one I made I used TB II. I just looked at both of them again and I can't really tell a huge difference. I wouldn't be able to tell you which one was which if I didn't already know. I'd grab some from another store if possible and see if that also turns black. As far as the glue line, typically I expect them to be much thinner than how yours turned out. If it's a light colored wood like your maple, then I'd expect the glue line to completely disappear. I'd say you're on the right track, rip the boards apart, re-joint and try again. If I were in your position, I'd double check my jointer to make sure everything is set correctly (i.e. fence is dead on 90 degrees).


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

I only use TBIII. It does dry dark brown for me. I run the board through jointer so the glue line is not visible.
The few drops that made it to the garage floor dried dark brown, almost black.


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## docholladay (Jan 9, 2010)

Titebond III is actually a darker colored glue. It will work with most woods, but as you noticed, probably not very good for use with maple or even white pine or poplar. However, it looks fine with oak, hickory, cherry, walnut and most other woods. I just would not use it with any of the whiter woods.


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## twokidsnosleep (Apr 5, 2010)

Learned something tonight.
Thank you for posting this and for the responses


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## childress (Sep 14, 2008)

Note: Maple takes a Sh%$ load of clamping force. Don't hesitate to put as many clamps as you have on it


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## Maggiepic (Aug 26, 2010)

Be sure your joint is tight fitting to begin with. You should not see any gap when fitting the boards together, unless you're doing a spring joint. This will minimize, if not eliminate, any glue lines. Also if you are getting alot of squeeze out upon clamping, lighten up on the amount of glue your applying. If your glue is getting old and thick, this will also lead to a heavy glue line. I'll add a very small amount of distilled water to my glue if I feel it is getting to "heavy". This can happen if the top is left open for long periods of time. The darn shop gremlins keep opening mine and not closing them.


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## snowdog (Jul 1, 2007)

How much better is TBIII over TBII for cutting boards? Does anyone have any hard data on that? I have been using TBIII also and notices the dark lines but I like them as they delineate the different woods.


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## Knothead62 (Apr 17, 2010)

I use TBIII for gluing cork rings for custom fishing rod grips. Love it, leaves no glue line.


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## Sawdust4Blood (Feb 16, 2010)

Just a thought but it might be more an issue of the wood than the glue. In the past I did a project using some soft maple and discovered it to be very prone to mineral staining. It was very hot while I was working on the project and the simple issue of sweat drops and the cast iron top of my table saw was sufficient to cause dark mineral staining in the maple that soaked so far into the wood that even after I thought I sanded it out, it reappeared when the finish was applied. It just about made me crazy.


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## LateNightOwl (Aug 13, 2009)

FWIW, I have noticed when I use a metal putty knife as a scraper TB III seems to dry even darker - black or close to it - when it is in contact with metal.


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## GaryC (Dec 31, 2008)

Just curious….did you notice that line on BOTH sides of the board? If it's only on one side, it would make me think your clamping technique is lacking. Perhaps you are clamping from one side only, allowing the board to, in essence, "cup" Just a thought


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## Howie (May 25, 2010)

While I use TBIII sometimes and haven't had any issues, I learned something here.


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## rance (Sep 30, 2009)

That's one of its 'features'. Try another glue.


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## russ960 (Dec 22, 2009)

I've used this but I've not seen the lines on my work either and I have worked with poplar mostly. Prior to buying the TB III I was using Gorilla Wood Glue which is similar to TB II.


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## rance (Sep 30, 2009)

Barry, Titebon'd website says "Dried film: Light Brown" (as opposed to Translucent, yellow). At a starting point, it is inherently darker than what we normally use(the cream/yellow glues). Add age, contamination, etc. to the mix then it could change more. However, I'd not expect the glue alone to produce the 'black' line. Probably multiple contributors. Also, I was thinking of one of the other glues to. I should have done my homework.  Thanks for the catch.


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## Gofor (Jan 12, 2008)

I use a lot of TB III and have not had the problem you mention. However, with walnut, oak, or any other high-tannic-acid type wood, any iron will cause a black stain. This iron could easily come from your water supply if you wiped the joint with a wet rag. You may want to go with filtered or distilled water to wet-wipe glue joints. Any residue form wet-sanding plane irons, chisels, etc on a rag also will cause a black stain.

The other thing that causes back stains is my sweat (don't know if its just mine or everybody's). My hands turn black from the sawdust from oak, walnut and purple heart. The wood also gets black stains from my sweat drops, hand prints, in the summer months.

I usually fine-tune panel joints with a hand plane until I cannot see light between the pieces, and the seam is invisible except for grain difference when dry clamped. Using this method, I get the same result whether using TB II or TB III, dark wood or light. I do this now because my first panel glue-ups definitely were visible. I rarely can get a tight edge using my table saw, regardless of the blade quality.

Good luck. If the projects do not need a lot of strength or moisture resistance, white glue is a perfectly good adhesive also.

Go


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

I know that Tightbond III is darker, but have not noticed and black lines like in the original glue-up that started this note. It might be old glue or a reaction to something in the wood. The reason to use Tightbond III is that it is truly waterproof - best for where the product is outside or may tend to get wet.
As for the width of the glue line, It may be due to the edge being straight but not square with the surface. One side will clamp closed while the other will dry with a gap and the glue showing. I would check the jointer fence before laying up another set just to be sure.

Good luck and thanks for generating this stimulating conversation-31 posts. It is a topic that affect us all at one time or another.


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## n00b (Oct 24, 2010)

Follow up: I ran some tests, spreading Titebond III on various scraps of wood, and for a while there I was unable to get it to turn black! Since some of you had suggested the contact with metal might be the culprit, I tried sanding a piece of maple with a piece of sandpaper that had previously been used to hone a plane iron. I spread a bead across the part that had been sanded and also across the part that had not. And voila! half of the bead turned black.










So yes I'm guilty of having used a piece of sandpaper for both metal and wood. Something tells me that's a no-no.

Thanks for all the advice!

- Joe


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## DirtyMike (Dec 6, 2015)

For my first woodworking project i built my wife a cutting board with maple,walnut,cherry,and white oak. the titebond 3 turned black only beside the maple and cherry joints. The mineral staining in maple makes a lot of sense now.


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