We may receive a commission when you use our affiliate links. However, this does not impact our recommendations.
Gorilla Glue will release a new polyvinyl acetate glue this month that is designed to compete directly with the woodworking mainstays, Titebond and ProBond glues. The new Gorilla Wood Glue is a water-resistant species, looks like a white glue and boasts a shorter clamping time than its competitors.
I’ve been using the glue for a couple months now, and have been generally impressed with both the glue and the bottle, which is an often-overlooked detail.
Here are some of the important stats on the glue:
– It is called a “Type II” adhesive, which means it’s water-resistant, but not waterproof. Build kitchen cabinets from it, but not a dock at the lake.
– It has a stated clamping time of 20 minutes, which is 10 minutes less than the competition. If you are in a hurry or in a professional environment, this can be a big plus. We like to keep our assemblies in the clamps as long as possible.
– The color of the Gorilla Wood Glue is white, which is nice when dealing with gluing light-colored woods.
– The viscosity is about the same as its water-resistant competition.
– The glue nozzle is almost identical to that on Titebond’s product. We’re fond of this nozzle because it will stay clear of dried glue for a long time (if you remember to close the nozzle after each use).
– The glue will be available in 8 oz. (expect a retail price of $3.99) and 18 oz. (about $5.99) sizes.
After some small-scale tests in December, I used the Gorilla Glue last week on five maple panels I am gluing up for a blanket chest project. The glue lays out nicely like a quality PVA should. It cleaned up easily with water and set up fairly fast , this is a big asset when gluing up lots of panels.
When it dried, it was more like a light khaki color, instead of the familiar darker yellow we’re used to from PVAs. The glue line just disappeared in the maple. The Gorilla Wood Glue is now quite welcome in our shop here at Popular Woodworking, where we will be testing it during the long term.
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
Well when you put it that way, I need to start paying a wee bit more attention to the different glues and their inherent properties.
Thanks for turning the lights on!
Michael
I couldn’t imagine having one glue like I couldn’t imagine having one handplane…..
A slow-setting PVA probably comes close to an all-purpose glue, as does liquid hide. But glue is fairly cheap, so I think having a few kinds on hand is a good idea.
Chris
Chris,
I never really knew that there was this much information on glue and it’s various properties. For someone who is still somewhat new to the field which glue would you recommend as a general all purpose glue to be used for small panel glueups and the other popular joints such as M&T and dovetails? Right now I have used Old Brown’s liquid Hide glue on a big blanket chest glue up which Kelly Mehler told me about as well as the Titebond extend which allows me "fumble around time" due to my hand disabilities. Is there any reason to try the new Gorilla Glue except for the fact that it has a cool looking bottle and I like animals?
Thanks,
Michaeel
Hey, Rob! (still loving your bench upgrades)
You said: "I do not use it (2002 GF) for edge to edge glue ups because it produces a slightly thicker and more visible glue line than Titebond"
As I noted above, I use 2002 GF as my work horse glue (including on panels) and have never had this issue. Perhaps you need to crank those bar clamps a bit tighter? Just my experience for what it’s worth – I wouldn’t use it if it didn’t give me invisable joints evidence only by grain pattern shifts between boards.
As to creep, I think that PVAs do creep, though I suspect it’s not as much as everyone makes it out to be. The only times I’ve had problems is with bent-lams — though other people do bent lams with PVAs and report no problems.
As to open time: The open time is shorter with this glue. So if you want more open time, choose something else….
Chris
Chris,
I have been using 202GF (Lee Valley) for years. The most recent formulation keeps the solids content in suspension better than their older version. I like it for mortise and tenons where its claimed gap filling ability does give some margin for error. I do not use it for edge to edge glue ups because it produces a slightly thicker and more visible glue line than Titebond.
I disliked Titebond II because of its very short open time. I find Titebond III has a significantly longer open time. It’s now my workhorse glue, even though I don’t need the Type 1 water resistance for indoor furniture.
Polyurethane glue made a poor showing in a recent test done by some other magazine (Fine… something or other). My question I have regarding Gorilla’s PVA is how long is the open time, compared to, say, TB II or III?
Thanks.
Rob Porcaro
Chris, I guess I was thinking in terms of choosing the single best all-around PVA for my needs. You are right, of course, that there’s nothing wrong with having a couple PVAs with different characteristics to meet different applications.
As far as panel glue ups, I find that some are more complicated than others, such as where you are trying to glue up several boards at once; using any sorts of alignment aids – bisquits, dowels, splines; or want time to position cauls and coax edges – especially on large panels with long joints. Even well prepped/acclimated stock is not always perfect (even if it was only hours before!).
People often complain of glue creep at the glue line over time with TB. Do you have any experience with this problem with TB or with this new glue?
For complex assemblies, I also like a slow-setting glue. Old Brown Glue (a liquid hide) is nice. As is the Titebond Extend. (I have not yet tried the Lee Valley product.) But when I want to slam out a bunch of panels, I like a glue that sets up fast.
Chris
As you suggest,ten minutes less on the minimum clamping time wouldn’t make much difference to me as a hobbiest. But it raises a question: does the quicker set time mean a trade off in open time? open time is a much more important time frame in gluing for me. I love my 2002 GF (from Lee Valley) with its longer open time (great for complicated assemblies) and high solids content. It is somewhat more expensive than the Gorilla.