Thread: Gorilla wood glue

I am far from a decent woodworker but all my work up until a month ago has been with Sika PVA, I did no research and went solely off the fact that their products hold vehicles together pretty well so I figured they could glue a couple of bits of wood together.

In my toy thread I have a few things with up to 15 layers of veneer and they have all been bonded with sika. Those pieces get an absolute hiding on the belt sander and Dremel and I haven't had any delaminations yet. I found some Titebond so I am keen to see how it goes, the longer working time will be handy with veneer stacks and things that are difficult to clamp.

Maybe put Soudal on the list? My local hardware store just dumped their other brands for it and they have said that customers seem to like it, a carpenter mate said it is becoming pretty popular. I believe Soudal make glues for other brands too.

Other member will have more factual info than I do.

I have always thought all PVA glues would be much of a muchness? Surely there is not all that much difference between brands?

Gorilla requires moisture to cure. Water or spit, no difference. Moistening one surface is an extra step
when I might really have my hands full, trying to assemble some awkward glue-up for wood carving.
The rustic furniture shop down my street makes great use of mortice & tennon joints, all machine turned.
One guy uses Gorilla, the other one builds everything with A+B epoxy.

Because Gorilla foams up, I have used it by choice in a sloppy joint in a wood carving where filler will be invisible.
But then again, such a connection has no real load put on it.

For both carving and for laminated tool handles, I use some common sort of PVA(?) glue.
All I know is that I should not squeeze the joint so much that it is "starving" for glue.

Originally Posted by Robson Valley

Gorilla requires moisture to cure.

Are you sure you are talking about Gorilla WOOD glue?



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In 2007 Fine Woodworking did a test of joint strength with a range of glues and while I don’t believe I should post it here I can advise the strongest of all and best overall was Titebond 3. As a result it is my go to glue but it can leave a dark glue line in light coloured timbers so there I use ordinary Titebond (it came second and best value) or any of the yellow glues which are almost as strong but not waterproof which is the main distinction between Titebond 3 and basic yellow glue.

Polyurethane glue was at the bottom of the table for joint strength even though it is a good joint filler. This is an extract from the article about the polyurethane glue tested.
FWW Quote: “The surprise of the test was this glue’s (Polyurethane) poor showing. The snug joints were poor, and the loose joints were unacceptable. Polyurethane may be a tough finish, but it isn’t a tough glue.”

Epoxy comes in second to T3 but isn't believed to be worth the trouble unless used for a specific purpose. It is also weak if clamped too tight which can starve the joint.

Hope this helps,
Cheers, Ian

PS. I have an associated PDF file if anyone wants to PM me I would be happy to send a copy.

Hi Dave,
I have used Gorilla PVA for while now and it appears to be pretty good stuff. I think some contributors are getting confused with Gorilla Polyurethane Glue (brown stuff that foams when drying). Mitre 10 stock Gorilla PVA in 532ml bottles. It has a fairly short open time so I have not used it on a large glue up. Just my 2 cents.
Regards,
Ross

Is 'yellow glue' just pva or is there something different going on?

I'm using Gorilla Polyurethane Glue which foams as it polymerizes. It requires one surface to be damp.

There are a lot of glues around and I guess it depends on your budget, but, for me, the worst thing I could have happen is for my glue to fail after the finished product was handed over - would make me look incompetent. I like to use very special, highly figured timber - so it tends to be expensive. So, glue is, for me, a minor component of the work and I would rather be safe than sorry.

I do not claim to be a real expert, but this is what I have found.

For repairing antique furniture I use only the original hide glue. If in a hurry I 'cheat' and use the Titebond liquid hide glue. No failures to date. Do not use PVA or polyutethane or epoxies to try to re-glue old joints on old furniture - you just make a mess. New hide glue bonds with the original and you get a good joint.

For boxes I use Titebond III for the darker timbers. Nice long working time, very strong. Light timbers I use Titebond I.

General woodwork with easy-fit joints and I'm in a hurry to have it set so I can move on, I use Titebond I, II or basic white PVA aquadhere - all have a short working time and good strength with tight joints - no gap-filling ability to speak of. Other basic PVA glues would be similar - but I can't be bothered saving a few cents only to possibly have the joint fail. I know other, much (VERY much) more expert woodworkers than myself who have their favourite other brands of white or yellow PVA. But, their reasoning is that they use a lot of it and their brand is cheaper than Titebond. I'm lucky if I use 2 L of Titebond in a year, so that one doesn't work for me.

I really like Purbond polyurethane for veneering. When I make my own multi-layer veneer plywoods for the bases of boxes (vacuum bagged) I use Purbond. Its low-foaming nature seems to create excellent bases. I bond two matching veneers (adjacent layers) on each side of a cross-banded base layer to get a strong base that looks like solid timber but is dimensionally stable enough to glue on all sides.

Waterproof glues include the cross-linking PVAs like Titebond III (my standby), polyurethane glues (all foam though the Boatcraft Pacific version Purbond much less so) and most or all epoxies.

For gap-filling I use Epox-E-Glue from Boatcraft Pacific. Great stuff, thick paste, does not slump, can be coloured with dry powders or spirit stains. Long shelf life, what is there not to like? (And I do't work for them or get any kickbacks).

When I first decided I wanted to make fine woodwork I was also keen on audio (vinyl records, valve amps - that sort of audio) so I decided to make my own speakers, but out of solid timbers, not mdf (yes, I know the recommendations about acoustic resonance etc. but, IMHO mdf is cr$p and I wont use it, also my ears definitely can't tell the difference between an mdf speaker and a solid Australian cedar one, which looks infinitely better). I had always used Aquadhere white glue (PVA) but found in my local hardware some Aquadhere adversided as being waterproof glue. Great, I thought, but no, it was actually not PVA but a polyurethane glue and it foamed like mad. Nasty stuff. The foaming opened some joints. Not good.

As others have stated - for many people "Gorilla Glue" = Polyurethane = "Nasty stuff to be avoided". However Gorillado make an (expensive) PVA as well. If you need waterproof glue, just use a good epoxy.

With PVA glues, the major difference between is open time. Some (but not all) manufacturers use the yellow colour to denote a PVA glue with shorter "open time" - In these cases the "yellow" glue tacks quickly & cures faster. That being said there have been some yellow PVAs sold in Australia that tried to jump on the USA band wagon (where yellow glue is more common) & just added some dye to regular PVA. The "yellow" glues just have an added colouring - there is not necessarily a chemical difference; and as said, manufactures may colour code the glue so you can differentiate them.

Parfix is fine. So is Sika. Both (when cured in a properly constructed joint) are much stronger than the surrounding wood. If it makes you feel better to spend more on Selley's or Titebond or Gorilla (the extra cost to support their advertising) then by all means. But these are not noticeably a better product for the purpose for which they are sold.

I think the cheapest way to go is with Bondcrete, it's $10/L, I've never tried it but it is supposedly fine for woodworking.

Horses for courses.
-Aerolite 308 is a urea formaldehyde glue that's supposedly waterproof and boilproof. I've used it for a couple of (kitchen)tabletops and no complaints. Very very hard to find these days.
They used to use it for wooden aeroplanes, hence the name.
-Selley's Aquadhere external use pva is a great pva, that I use for white/yellow glue. My go-to glue 90% of the time for laminating, carcass building, biscuit joints.
-I have used the red "Gorilla Glue" and decided it's total rubbish, the joints broke after a short time. Just popped off.
On the other hand, Holdfast makes a clear "Gorilla Grip" that comes out of the cartridge (!) as a milky gel, it can foam a little given lots of space but not in tight joints,
warning: it also slips like the dickens before it sets, but once it's set, it's very good. It's denomination is 'construction glue' but I've used it in furniture making for years now.
I've used it with biscuits once, but very difficult to get it in to the slots and spread on the biscuits.
It's my glue of choice these days where I know that water exposure will happen (kitchen benchtops for instance). Not sure about availability in Oz, apparently it's not available in Norte
America.
-Resorcinol gives a dark brown/reddish glue line. It's the recommended glue for laminated beams. Very very strong - but you have to think where you use it, or maybe better not, due to its appearance.
It's also 2 component so you need a good set of (digital) scales on the job. (also getting hard to find)
-I have had epoxy fail on jarrah and on pilularis. Just blew apart when I loaded up the joint (on the end vice of my bench)
Later I read a report, I think it was by the Australian Woodworking Institute, that stated that epoxy is not recommended for use
with gum. But most people seem very happy using it (at least with other woods). Seems to be loved by boat builders. Not my personal favourite. Messy.

Never seen titebond to buy & try it yet, over here.

my $0.02's worth.

Originally Posted by Joseseat

Is 'yellow glue' just pva or is there something different going on?

Its PVA. I'm pretty ignorant on this topic but my understanding is that yellow pva is yellowish and sets like amber. Other pva is white and sets clear. Gorilla claim their wood glue pva sets completely clear. I don't know but this might not be as big as an advantage as one might think because one wants to remove all the squeeze out before applying finish.

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