# Titebond III vs. Polyurethane Glue?



## jasoncarpentry

I just read an ad which claims that Titebond III glue has all the features of polyurethane (i.e., Gorilla) glue, but without the mess. Plus, the Titebond III is water-soluble.

I routinely use Titebond II for all my projects, and have found that it isn't as strong as Gorilla glue. Has anybody had experience w/ the Titebond III? Does it live up to the hype?


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## ClintSearl

How did you determine that Titebond wasn't as strong? I've never had a Titebond joint fail…and that ain't hype.

On the other hand, Gorilla has no redeeming qualities.


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## Finn

I agree with Clint.


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## Grandpa

I believe polyurethane glues expand and we think this should make a tight joint. It does help but it has a kind of foaming action so the expansion has all these bubbles in it that makes it weaker. The Titebond glue works into the wood and bonds to it. This seems to hold some better. There is a place for polyurethane glues. If you have a poor joint and need the expansion and not a lot of strength then you might use it. I have used poly adhesives with limited success. Adhesives will never make up for poor craftsmanship.


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## longgone

I use Titebond III on most woods and epoxy glues for oily woods such as teak, cocobolo etc. I don't use polyurethane glues because I would not feel comfortable having my joints held together with foam. I am sure it has some uses…but not for what I do.


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## paratrooper34

I wouldn't say Gorilla glue has no redeeming qualities; I had patio type bricks used as a step to go into my house in Germany. One day, one of them fell off. I guess the mortar failed. I used Gorilla glue to fix it and it stayed there for two years, then I moved out. Probably still in place to this day. Try doing that with Tightbond. For woodworking, I used it on a couple of products, it is harder to clean up when you make a mess with it, but it works as good as any other glue. I do use Tightbond more often though, it is just easier to clean and use.


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## renners

I only reach for the Gorilla glue when it's that cold that normal PVA would chalk. I'd like to know if chalking is a problem with TB?


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## ChrisK

I have used both for wood working. Where I need strength I make sure that the joint is a good fitting joint. Nether Titebond or Polyurethane glues are for gap filling. I use Polyurethane glues when I need to sand the joint to the final shape for appearance and the work will be painted. I find they ah cure harder I also use them for vacuum forming molds when I am using foams and other materials where wood glues will not adhere strongly. If parts are already painted or finished with polyurethane I will reach for a Polyurethane glue. If the polyurethane glue foams it has almost no strength. Making the parts too wet makes the foaming problem worse. For wood and plywood I do not use extra moisture, here in the south there is almost always enough humidity in there air. For man made materials I will use a slightly damp cloth to add a little moisture.

Titebond III is supposed to be water proof after drying. I use it for wood toys and such. I have a '.50 cal machine gun' I built for the boys club house. The gun body was made of 6 layers of plywood, glued with Titebond III and fully painted. It survived the summer and this far into the winter. Gorilla would have worked to, it just costs a bit more.

Wood glues are best for bare wood. Use the right tool for the job.


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## Bertha

I was going to answer "Titebond III" without reading the post, lol. I've had more failures with PU than with TIII. I use it for just about everything.


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## crank49

My experience with polyurethane glue is that is is very weak in shear. Used it to build a fence and I could easily pull boards off the next week when I decided to modify the fence. With Tite Bond III I would have ripped the boards to pieces before the glue would release.


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## dkirtley

I don't see the point to the PU glues like Gorilla glue. It glues ok when clamped well but I don't like it for all the other reasons: It is more expensive per ounce than epoxy, messy, poor gap filling, and horrible to get off your skin.

I like TB III for most stuff. I have never seen it fail when it was clamped well. I buy in the gallon container and transfer to roller bottles. The only time I use a different PVA is when the darker glue line of the TBIII is an issue.

Epoxy when I want a longer open time or lots of gaps to fill. The different fillers you can use with epoxy is another big plus.


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## NiteWalker

With epoxy there's no place in my shop for PU glues.

My main wood glues are TBII, TBIII and elmer's wood glue max (same as TBIII but not as runny).


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## SnowyRiver

I primarily use TiteBond III. And as others have said, never any joint failures. I do use poly glue however if I need a longer set time. Often when I am doing chests that all four corners have dovetails or a lot of mortise and tenon joints and its going to take a bit to get the joints aligned I will use poly glue. I have never had a poly glue joint fail either.


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## Retrowood

I use TB2 although recently switched to TB3 due to a slightly slower setting time and lower operating temps. Seems like I'm always using about 20+ clamps to put something together and the longer set-up time allows me some breathing room. Tried Poly twice and did not like the overall characteristics.

Retrowood


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## thebigvise

I agree with Clint Searl and many of the other comments above. Polyurethane glue has no place in my shop. I did a glue demonstration for my church men's group with red oak and simple lap joints glued the day before. The polyurethane was easily overpowered by my arbor press, but all the other glues held as the 3/4" oak broke apart. Even the old white Elmer's glue from elementary school was far superior to the polyurethane.

I also agree with David Kirtley. If gap filling and longer open time are needed, thenby all means, break out the epoxy.


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## Tennessee

Agree with most of these comments. Virtually every one of my guitars has been assembled with Titebond III. It's pretty much waterproof, yet while still wet I can wipe it off my bench with a wet cloth. It does dry dark, but I literally can't remember the last time I had a joint actually break at the glue point with Titebond III.
Gorilla glues, with the foaming action and shelf life of no more than 4-6 months put them in the "but a really little bottle for special projects" category, IMHO.

I have multiple 3MM thick pickguards out there getting hit everyday with hard strumming guitarists, and so far, the only one that broke got kicked while on a stand, and it didn't break at the joint.


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## Dedvw

I used Titebond II and Elmers carpenter glue until I read a magazine article that tested a bunch of glues and epoxies. To make a long glue test short, the magazine showed that Elmers white ("school glue") performed as well as a lot of the wood glues.

I switched over to Elmers White years ago (interior projects), and haven't had any problems since. It's cheaper, gives you longer working time, and from my own testing holds just as well. I still get funny looks when I tell people that I use Elmers white.


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## ksSlim

All adhesives are supposed to be tested per ASTM D905. Several magazines have run their own comparisons.
Different glues for different purposes. PVA, cross linked polymer, alphatic resin, poly urethane, epoxy and hide glue come to mind.
The original PVA was Elmer's white glue. Franklin makes Titebond, Bordens makes Elmers.
All mfgrs have their techincal data sheets published.

I used PVA (white glue) for years until i discovered the TB III was more water resistent.


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## Grandpa

I grew up using Elmer's white glue because that is what we had. the Yellow wasn't out yet. As a high school kid we would all make glued up panels then when we cut the ends square we would take the drops and break them to see if the break was in a joint or if it was actually the wood that broke. Very seldom did a joint break. That tells you that you made a bad joint. the glue (white) was stronger than the woods we used walnut, oak, cedar mostly).


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## HamS

I guess I am the lone ranger here. I like Polyurethane for most of the jobs I do. I do a LOT of gluing luan sheets to white wood framing and styrofoam and other insulation board when building theater sets. The poly capability to fill gaps and get into pores is very effective. The other place I use poly extensively is glueing red oak breadboard edges to oak veneer ply. The key to effective use of poly is good clamping. Having said that, I am building cabinets now of maple and maple veneer ply and I am using TB II for that projects. My rule is if it is porous reach for the poly otherwise titebond.


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## JAAune

I do know a professional furniture-maker that was experimenting with polyurethanes for veneering since he was expecting California to ban Unibond 800 and wasn't happy with the performance of the available pva's at the time in large veneer applications. He found that to get good performance, a super thin application of glue was necessary and he could only get that by warming it prior to use.

So apparently it does work well if the joints are snug and the clamping force sufficient to spread the glue into a thin film. Since it takes more work to get the same results I just stick with pva. I used to keep a bottle of Gorilla glue around the shop for a few odd tasks but it is so seldom used I got tired of replacing nearly full bottles every year.


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## PRGDesigns

A little off topic, but relevant to the discussion, my hyperactive hunting dogs escaped from their kennel and destroyed the cabinet where I was storing a small bottle of Gorilla Glue. One of the dogs consumed the Gorilla Glue. $2,500 worth of doggie surgery later and an object the size of 2 softballs fused together, I had my dog back. The Vet said it was more common than he thought after he researched the subject. Apparently, it tastes like Maple Syrup(?).


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## crank49

Does anyone know if you can extend the life of polyurethane glue by storing it in the fridge?


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## JAAune

It's all about moisture. The more you can keep moisture out of the glue the longer it will last. I doubt the fridge will help any since I did use polyurethane glue once so I could do some work during the winter in my shop. It cured fine in the 40 degree environment - especially after I gave it a spritz of water.


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