Titebond!?

[COWS]

I've been a long(ish) term user of gorilla wood glue. Maybe 8 or 9 years. In the last 6 months or so, I've started using titebond 3. Longer working time and apparently far superior to its competitors, why would I not transition? Bought a 16oz bottle last summer and found it almost 'grainy'. Like it had fine grit in it.

During a major glue up I had an issue (not glue related) and needed to dismantle my piece. It literally fell apart. The glue had really not taken much of a bond. Here I went back to my trusted gorilla. I guessed it may have been an old stock bottle.

I bought another 16oz bottle to try it out again a few months ago. Mainly used on small joints, dovetails etc and been fine. Still seems grainy but assume that's part of the ingredient. Today I had another major glue up and once again this stuff disappointed. I had to remove what I'd applied as it was so full of crap like it had a handful of sawdust mixed in it. Again, I reverted to the gorilla.

Both bottles were purchased from Axminster so would think their turnaround would be sufficient not to have bottles going off one the shelf. Am I just unlucky or is the rest of humanity wrong?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

The bottles probably carry a production date.

 

[johnnyb]

try an edge to edge glue up. give it a good testing. gorilla wood glue I've always liked tbh. titebond 3 seems good as well. if its not working email Franklin see what they suggest. let them know your on a forum might make them pay attention.

 

[mwinfrance]

That sounds like it is crystalising, as Phil says it is probably past it's sell by date.

 

[MikeK]

I have a small bottle of Titebond III, and it is definitely not grainy. If your bottle is not well past its useful life, it could have frozen at some time.

 

[recipio]

Titebond 3 should not be grainy - I suspect you have a faulty batch. My only failure with Titebond was using the ' extend ' variety to glue up some panels . They fell apart after a few hours in the clamps. Room temperature should ideally be above 10 c for all PVA glues.

 

[HOJ]

Regular user of TB3, never had an issue, check the lot number as follows:

"Lot numbering system is a 10 digit code.
The format is: Aymmddbat#. The "A" stands for Made in the U.S.A. The "y" is the last digit of the year of manufacture. Digits "mm" represent the month, and "dd" represent the day of the month. The final four digits represent the batch number used for quality control purposes. Therefore, a product with the lot number A104270023 was manufactured on April 27, 2011."

 

[COWS]

Thanks for the responses guys.

Sorry for the large pics but thought it necessary to see the problem.

First is the batch numbers match. Can't decode a date in the batch number. July 14 2022? I may have bought the first one in July, maybe August. . L/h bottle was bought 2-3 months before r/h bottle. I subsequently used most of this on hardwood flooring in my house. Seems to be ok.

L/h and r/h comparison. You can clearly see my issue with the r/h bottle. That is all garbage out of the bottle.

Noticed like a sediment laying in the bottom of the l/h bottle so gave it a shake and compared again.

...and a smear of the gorilla. Smooth and creamy.

 

[Mikebart]

I have a small bottle of Titebond III, and it is definitely not grainy. If your bottle is not well past its useful life, it could have frozen at some time.

Silly question but my titebond 2 and bottle of 3 have this winter frozen, is it now only fit for the bin?

 

[Spectric]

Silly question but my titebond 2 and bottle of 3 have this winter frozen, is it now only fit for the bin?

Is it worth the gamble, I would just buy a new bottle of Titebond 3 and keep it indoors over winter and then you know any jobs you do with it will be ok rather than coming apart. I have used TB3 and never had any issues except the mess I can get into with gluing up dowels.

 

[eribaMotters]

Silly question but my titebond 2 and bottle of 3 have this winter frozen, is it now only fit for the bin?

I'd do a couple of test joints,, you might be in luck.

Colin

 

[MikeK]

Silly question but my titebond 2 and bottle of 3 have this winter frozen, is it now only fit for the bin?

From the Titebond website:

=====
Bob Behnke, senior technical specialist at Titebond-manufacturer Franklin International, says that a dry, cool basement is an ideal place to keep wood glues. He adds that you might be able to extend the life of your glue even longer if you have room for it in your refrigerator.

“The worst storage conditions allow freezing, then thawing and heat,” explains Behnke. “Most wood glues are designed to withstand a minimum of five freeze/thaw cycles. With each cycle, the glue forms gels. Mixing easily breaks up these gels, but each subsequent freeze/thaw incident will make the gels more difficult to disperse.”

Eventually, you won’t be able to break up the gels at all, and the glue will remain solid. Heat also can cause the polymer to clump and gel.

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. If the glue comes out stringy or pasty or wants to stick to itself rather than to the wood, it’s probably past its prime. If Titebond II turns orange, it’s time for a new bottle.
=====

I left a bottle of TB 2 in my unheated garage over the winter a few years ago, and it didn't seem to hurt it when I used it in the spring. By contrast, a friend in Wiesbaden had to toss a gallon jug of TB 2 after his separated over the winter and turned a dark orange.

 

[COWS]

I have a small bottle of Titebond III, and it is definitely not grainy. If your bottle is not well past its useful life, it could have frozen at some time.

If I'm correct on the date, its unlikely been frozen. My workshop doesn't drop below +5c. It goes up to around 15c during the day over winter while I'm working. Its well insulated and humidity is fairly stable. Normally between 55-65%.

A friend of mine has used titebond's for some time so Ill see what he thinks of what I've got.

Thanks for posting the above @MikeK

 

[yetloh]

I have used standard TB and TB3 in the past and found it OK, but frankly I think it's over-priced. There are loads of perfectly good PVA glues out there at a much lower price which will perform equally well. If I want a really long open-time I will use TB Liquid Hide Glue which I have found to be very good, but it does have a limited shelf life. Another good glue with a decent open-time (up to 30 minutes) is Bison PU Max.

Jim