Thread: Recommended Clamp Time

Originally Posted by pach

The website says the below but interested in your experience and views.

"For most of our wood glues, we recommend clamping an unstressed joint for thirty minutes to an hour. Stressed joints need to be clamped for 24 hours."

Cheers

I'd be following that website info.

Ive been using TB3 myself this last week and it says the same on the bottle I have . The big bottle . 3. ? lt.

It comes down to how good the joints are and how good you are reading them when testing them . If they are not perfect and want to spring back then they need more than the 30 minutes.

Push your luck and who's paying to do it again ?

First time Ive used the TB3 and I wouldn't be if the guy who supplied it hadn't got me the wrong stuff.
I wanted Original and asked for that. So decided to try it out any way.

Its water proof claim is a good one for my use atm. Laminating components that will be sitting on a floor in a small section of the work. But it being a creeper, A fellow maker informed me , means I wouldn't be using it in a top where I don't want to see creep .
Not all tops show this up , It depends on how flat and fine and the polish job as to how it shows up . And the conditions in which the piece is used . Just worth considering though .
I was told its different than the original in that its a PVA unlike TB Original which doesn't creep .

Rob

I have just done a glue up today using TiteBond 3 and I always leave the clamps on for 24 hours - the last thing I need is a screwup.

Like cava I always err on the side of caution. If you want the very best result for any kind of top use polyurethane - no creep.

24 hours for me, for any glue ups, flat work or turning.

The idea of a joint letting go at several thousand rpm gives me pause!

Thanks guys, I was hoping someone had a better answer than 24 hours as I wanted to buy some time ;-0. Anyway, all good, 24 hours it is !

Cheers

Ok this is what I do. I clamp until the squeezed out glue is dry and then I add another 30 mins. No failure so far.

I used to clamp my pieces for 24 hours or more.

Recently I have been experimenting with 45 minutes minimum up to 4 hours max, worked ok, so far no failures. I think we all know if your wood is bent, no matter how hard you clamp it it will bounce back.

I built a ukulele in a little more than two days with titebond 3, didn’t give it much chance to dry before I moved on to the next bit (I was in a rush) and it’s still together. For what you are doing I would at least leave it in the clamps overnight, that is what I would usually do. You should have it finished by now though?...

Never in my life have I clamped any PVA (or any glue at all) for that long. When I was making chairs it was zero clamp time; just snug up the joint, pull it out and put it aside to dry. The dowels held it together while the glue went off.

I even did chair seat tops with no clamping at all; spread a film of glue on one edge, rub the mating edge back and forth on the glue until you feel them lock together and leave it for a couple of hours.

I think you're perfectly safe to pull it out of clamps after a few hours or when the squeezeout is dry.

As long as you’re not putting any stress on the joint before it’s fully cured, unclamping after a couple of hours is fine.


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Originally Posted by pach

Thanks guys, I was hoping someone had a better answer than 24 hours as I wanted to buy some time ;-0. Anyway, all good, 24 hours it is !

Cheers

I did a similar job, 34 table tops! I was using TB original and clamping for about four hours but if I could I would glue very late in the day and leave it overnight. I never had issues with either method. The tops I was gluing were pine panels from Bunnings and not hardwood so that may make a difference.

The answer very much depends on the application and glue type. what the other guys have said is the go, as per makers instructions. I use TBIII almost exclusively and for a straight or unstressed joint I leave for 2 or 3 hours and if its a curve or the joint is under stress I leave for a full 24hrs. cant go wrong really the TBIII is quite stiff so holds very well. straight rosewood boards should be no problem.