# Gorilla Glue



## rlrobinhood (Feb 26, 2011)

Hi all,

Just thought I'd kick this out to see what everyone's thoughts are. Basically, I've got a bottle of Gorilla Glue, the thick amber colored glue that kinda looks like maple syrup. Anyways, every time I use it, it bubbles up and expands out. I know its supposed to do this and luckily never learned the hard way. I basically only use it for poor quality projects like plywood boxes and what not.

My question is, is there a good use for this glue? I really can't think of one because of the way it bubbles up and expands. Just curious.

Have a great weekend.


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## DMC1903 (Jan 11, 2012)

I have never had good luck wth gorilla glue, on anything. 
Cut your losses and move on


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## renners (Apr 9, 2010)

The only time I use it is when it's too cold for drying PVA without chalking. It will form a bond stronger than the wood itself, and jobs are ready to handle after 2 hrs, but the thing that puts me off is the short shelf life.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

This is a brand name of one of the polyurethane glues activated by moisture. It is a waterproof glue,good for out door or indoor use . In glue test in some of the woodworking magazines,they rate it lower in strength than PVA. The shelf life can be lengthened by storing the bottle upside down after opening.


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## DanLyke (Feb 8, 2007)

Yeah, it's a polyurethane glue. Good for wet wood. A polyurethane glue called "PL Premium" is gaining a lot of converts in small boat building, we used it for our Summer Breeze sailboat, it's flexible, easy to apply, pretty waterproof, lots of open working time

But, yeah, I wouldn't use it for furniture or fine woodworking, and now that we've done some epoxy resin work, with two people to manage a glue-up I'd just use epoxy resin for future boat building.


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## pwalter (Apr 29, 2011)

I just tried it out recently. The biggest problem I had with it, is the fact that it expands. Which could be a good thing for a loose joint. But the glue expanded and caused a mess in all the joinery corners.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

When using Polyurethane glue you just apply glue to one side of the joint and you use a light coat,it will still expand but should clean up fairly easy after it drys.


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## woodbutcherbynight (Oct 21, 2011)

It works well to glue up pen blanks as it fills up the voids and gives alot of adhesion to the brass tube and the wood. That being said it has terrible shelf life. (I only make pens for 2 months each year) I stick with what works but I have on a rare occassion seen a need for it and bought the smallest bottle then tried to use it up before it became a hard bottle of dried glue. (laughing)


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## RogerInColorado (Jan 18, 2013)

Because it expands, good strong clamping pressure is essential until it is dried. It's advantage is in bonding dissimilar materials, such as a ceramic tile to a wood frame or a piece of steel between two pieces of wood, such as a knife, where you might prefer no rivets. I use it in bent laminations where I soak the wood instead of steam it because I don't have a steamer. It provides REALLY long work time which is, for me really important because I am so slow and for some of my projects I'm trying to glue up an 8 layer lamination that is 5 or six feet long. Once I've soaked it, I don't want to clamp it up and wait several days for it to dry, then unclamp, glue and then clamp it up again. The foam cleans up really easy and it is not very hard on tools, such as when you need to run an edge across the jointer. The expansion does help fill voids, but that provides no strength. I wouldn't use it on furniture joints because it is such a pain to clean up. Fortunately it takes stains really well. I think it is almost as waterproof as epoxy, so outdoor repairs especially where you are going to stain instead of paint, are good candidates. Don't even think about using it without wearing latex or nitrile or rubber gloves. If you get it on your skin it stains worse than walnut husks.


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## christopheralan (Mar 19, 2008)

Pen tube glue ups, outdoor projects, pressure treated wood. Love the stuff. It is like duct tape for me. Wear gloves, and don't forget to clamp.


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## rockindavan (Mar 8, 2011)

I used it to attach a wood frame to a metal mailbox when I made a few a couple years back. It worked fine, but would now prefer to use PL construction adhesive in situations like that. In the world of construction, PL seems to reign supreme while I've never seen anyone use gorilla glue. I guess there is something to be said about that.


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## rossboyle52 (Dec 31, 2012)

As Jim said, apply only to 1 edge (sparingly) It works best if you dampen both edges with water before applying the glue and clamping. The added moisture will make for a stronger joint. Don't bother cleaning up the joints once clamped. Let it dry completely then sand. Polyurethane glue sands easily and will take stain. 
Clean up isn't so bad if you wear latex gloves when using polyurethane glue. 
The down side is short open time and storage. Hence the reason that I rarely use it. 
I use Gorilla Wood glue for most of my glue ups. The open time is fair, shorter clamp time(30-45 minutes) and the bond is superior.


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## dkirtley (Mar 11, 2010)

It is more expensive per ounce than just about any glue. Isn't as easy to clean up from as Titebond III. Messy. Stains you if you get any on your skin. That expanding foam is not structural so you gain no benefit in gap filling in joints as with epoxy and not as waterproof. It has a poor shelf life once opened.

On the positive side, it does have a very attractive label.


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## josephf (Aug 29, 2012)

same as some of the others ,rarely as a wood glue . It has a poor shelf life .I always have a small container of Gorilia on hand .Glue magnets ,wood to metal . trying to think of specifics other then magnets .it is handy and essential in my shop .


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## ScrubPlane (May 22, 2012)

Like the others who have posted, this glue has its eccentricities or perhaps 'limitations' as described by others. That said, think of it like a 'tool' unto itself. Just as you use a bandsaw for some work and a tablesaw for others, this glue is a tool that works quite well for some applications, but like several of the others, I wouldn't recommend it for 'most' higher-end woodworking.

You're right, however, in that it does work well for loose joints or dissimilar materials.


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## rlrobinhood (Feb 26, 2011)

An amazing amount of feedback. Thanks all. I greatly appreciate all your incite.


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## frankenstuff (Mar 9, 2013)

I use the Gorilla brands regular yellow wood glue. That urethane foam stuff is dogisht.


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## WoodenFrog (Jun 4, 2010)

I use it all the time in making my lamination style Wearable Wooden Rings!!! I love it!
I use it more than any other glue I have except for CA Glue! Makes my rings waterproof and pretty darn strong too..

Here's a link to my blog about my rings and shows GG in action!!!

http://lumberjocks.com/WoodenFrog/blog/34552


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## REO (Sep 20, 2012)

I use it on most everything, because i have it on hand. It works great on laminated projects with mdf I just wax the area next to the joints where I don't want the glue to hold and when its dry it almost falls off! But it makes a terrific joint on MDF. I also use it for gluing sections of foam together for plugs for composite work. The projects that got me started using it was with large staved turnings for architectural work or replacement because it is weather proof. In the past I used rescourcenal.


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