Old Titebond III brown residues: still good?

[Val]

Hi, I have this old gallon of Titebond III that I have bought 2-3 years ago and that admittedly I haven't used, as I work on small projects where longer set time is very rarely needed.
Do you think it's still good, even though the sides seem to have some brown-ish residue? It's still sealed, never opened, however by shaking it I can tell it's still very runny. What is the forum's consensus on this?
Thanks!

 

[Blackswanwood]

I would be very wary of using it.

This may help …

https://www.titebond.com/App_Static/Literature/ff876_ShelfLife.pdf

 

[Val]

I would be very wary of using it.

This may help …

https://www.titebond.com/App_Static/Literature/ff876_ShelfLife.pdf

I know the official shelf life is 2 years, but I have read titebond official blog (link) and found this:

For example, store a bottle of white or yellow wood glue (polyvinyl acetate, or PVA glue) in optimum conditions, and it can last 10 years or longer. This goes for our popular Titebond® Original, Titebond II and Titebond III PVA glues, too.

How will you know if your glue has gone bad? “If it pours, it’s probably good,” says Behnke. If the glue has thickened, shake it vigorously by firmly tapping the bottle on a hard surface until the product is restored to its original form. You also can add up to five percent water to water-based glues (such as PVA glues) to thin the product.

However, I would like to know what is the general experience of woodworkers here

 

[Terry - Somerset]

I don't like waste - but:

You may put hours or days of work into a project using £10-1000 of materials. Irrespective of the theory and associated anecdotes, why risk ruining it for want of a couple of £ spent on some newly purchased glue well within its sell by date.

 

[Bingy man]

Try a little on a couple of off cuts clamp it up overnight and see how easy or difficult it is for you to separate. Does it simply break away clean or does tear wood fibres from the opposing pieces . Then decide - lot of glue to pour away ..

 

[Noel]

I know the official shelf life is 2 years, but I have read titebond official blog (link) and found this:


However, I would like to know what is the general experience of woodworkers here

In my experience (a few weeks ago) there's little if any difference between a new bottle and your example. But if in doubt do as suggested and test it after a good shake n stir.
You can tell exactly how old the glue is by the stamped number on the container.

 

[johnnyb]

I'd suggest a test as well.

 

[Val]

Try a little on a couple of off cuts clamp it up overnight and see how easy or difficult it is for you to separate. Does it simply break away clean or does tear wood fibres from the opposing pieces . Then decide - lot of glue to pour away ..

thansk Bingy, @johnnyb and @Noel - I'll do a test now and give it at least 18h before trying to tear it apart

 

[Val]

Test results after less than 18h:

I tried to tear it apart by twisting it with clamps and didn't work. Then I hammered it heavily on the anvil on one half while keeping it resting on the other half, in many directions, and it didn't work.

Then I decided to drill a couple of holes in the seam, butcher it with a 1" carpenter's chisel and finally I just hammered another wedged hammer into the hole until I heard a creak. This is the result of the abuse:

It looks like only a strip at the front broke at the seam, but I can't exclude having squeezed it too much when clamping.

What do you guys think? Has it glued well? Can this 60 quid worth of glue be saved and used on valuable projects?

 

[Bingy man]

Based on your pictures I’d certainly use it , however the only issue for me is time . By that I mean would the adhesive break down over time . Given how much force you have applied to separate the 2 pieces though it’s not something I’d throw away but I think I’d not let it hang around too long ( imo ) of course

 

[Val]

Based on your pictures I’d certainly use it , however the only issue for me is time . By that I mean would the adhesive break down over time . Given how much force you have applied to separate the 2 pieces though it’s not something I’d throw away but I think I’d not let it hang around too long ( imo ) of course

yeah, to be fair if it delaminates it's a big deal, but I think I'll just risk it - it's something for a personal project, so if it does delaminate in a couple of years I should be able to fix the damage (I hope!).

How often and after how long bad glue delaminates, usually?

 

[Noel]

yeah, to be fair if it delaminates it's a big deal, but I think I'll just risk it - it's something for a personal project, so if it does delaminate in a couple of years I should be able to fix the damage (I hope!).

How often and after how long bad glue delaminates, usually?

Yes, it should be fine and I don't think it will delaminate or break down.

 

[Katomi woodsmith]

Hiya, just a personal thought.
Given your test, I would use it, maybe not on high risk projects. The other option is be very kind to the kids/ g kids and let them have fun