Thread: Glue for bamboo?

Originally Posted by Staichey

Hi all,

I am planning a guitar case from reclaimed solid bamboo flooring, and so far none of the glues I have tried are strong enough

So far I have just used what I have lying around, including some "cascamite" (powdered glue) but it isn't holding as strong as I expected

Any recommendations or tips?

Thanks

Shelleys Liquid nails "ultimate strength" it a polyurethane glue that cures with moisture, every other liquid nails product is crap, exept maybe "floors and decks" which is also a polyurethane glue, they both also expand, but the "ultimate" strength only slightly.
keep a rag and turps handy to clean the stuff off your hands, else nobody will want to shake them for a few days.

I would try selleys 308 its a 2 part glue but to be honest I dont think it will work. I had an issue with Red Box which is a dense wood so dense it wouldnt absorb the glue. Bamboo I think is steamed and has resins added then rolled flat so it may be its not a glue issue but an issue that there is no key for the glue to adhere to. If you use something like aquadere and the boards just shear clean along the glue line and its easy to pick off the dried glue thats your issue, I tried everything from Araldite to superglue and ended up drilling holes through boards for dowels and my mortice and tennon joints were dowelled down from the top where it wasnt seen. So you may have to plan outside the square if you want to use that. Oh Bamboo will also destroy your saw blade, so if you got a great blade, buy a crappy one off Ebay.

I understand that the resin used is in fact a polyurethane, I know that might not particularly help, but it's definitly worth a shot

All i would suggest a good industrial two pack glue ,the stuff i use is called techni glue its the ony glue i use on our local hardwood jarrah . It also sticks to concrete , steel most everything.

Cheers , Paul

Don't procrastinate to long just do it !!!!!!!! you will be amazed at the results