# Gluing sapwood?



## gdiddy13 (May 13, 2016)

I'm sure I've seen this or someone told me, don't glue sapwood joints, they won't last. 
I ask because I found a few nice pieces of canarywood I'd like to use for cuttingboards, but there's a lot of sapwood. 
Will sapwood edge glueups not work?


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

I've never heard such a thing in general and should make absolutely no difference in joint strength.


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## John Smith_inFL (Dec 15, 2017)

when in doubt - use fasteners such as dowels or biscuits and use epoxy.


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

Sapwood is softer than heartwood, so it will be weaker in general. However a sapwood-to-sapwood glue joint should be just as strong as the sapwood itself. And since we are talking about cutting boards, I'd say go for it.

I trim away softwood from my projects, but it has more to do with aesthetics than strength.


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## ArtMann (Mar 1, 2016)

What you are saying might be true for some particular odd species, but there is absolutely no truth to the idea in general terms. There is more sap wood being held together with glue than heart wood except for fine furniture and nowadays a lot of craftsmen even ignore that.


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