The spring thaw has arrived, now you can order!

Manufacturers say it and the Boss writes it: glue hates frost!

Again this winter, customers ordered glue by mail or courier without thinking that the carriers leave their trucks outside at night and what was to happen, happened...

Now it's time to re-order your glue as usual.

Here is a short summary of notes collected by the Boss

Gluing wood has existed since antiquity: skin glue, bone glue, fish glue, etc.- Nowadays, we notice that glue is more and more the choice for bonding material. With wood, we build arenas, high-rise buildings, bridges, etc. Because a glue joint can be 50% stronger than the wood itself, there no longer seems to be any limits and it has become the ultimate method used by the industry to optimize the use of our trees.

Factors to consider for maximizing the chances of a good bond

• Ambient temperature in the workshop (as per the glue manufacturer’s specifications)
• Appropriate moisture level of wood and workshop
• Freshly machined wood parts with perfectly matched surfaces
• Right choice of glue
• Open time and set time completed within prescribed limits
• Adequate clamping

3 critical steps to make a good bonding 

1. Open time: maximum amount of time required to apply glue to the parts.
   For instance, if you use an adhesive with a 4 minute open time as suggested by the glue manufacturer, it means that you will have a maximum of 4 minutes to apply glue to the parts before assembling.
    
2. Set time: amount of time required for the glue to form a good bond. This is the time to do the assembly and finalize adjustments. The bond between parts will not be made if you start assembling after this time.
   If you use an adhesive with a 10 minute set time as suggested by the glue manufacturer, you must have completed it within 10 minutes or you may have to start all over again.
   
   
3. Clamping time: period required to ensure a good bond. Here, two variables must be considered: pressure and duration.

The clamping pressure to be applied will depend on the hardness of the wood:         soft - approx.100Psi         medium - approx.150Psi         hard - approx.200Psi

For non-stressed bonding, usually a drying time of 30 minutes may suffice.

For bonding subject to stresses, a drying time of at least 1 hour is recommended.

The application is simply done with a brush or a roller.

Cleaning is done with a damp cloth if the glue is still liquid or with a scraper if it is dried.

We end by sanding the excess. Any stain of glue and water must be carefully sanded in the direction of the wood grain otherwise there is a risk of disastrous color differences following the application of finishing products.

For the rest there are enough references on the Web to either help you or to mingle even more…

Good bonding!