Woodworking Glues

Polyurethane glue

Polyurethane glue: the promising newcomer
Before this glue debuted on the market a few years ago, you had to mix two components together to create a waterproof glue. Not any longer. For your outdoor projects, give this glue a try, and you'll like it. Just keep the following points in mind:

• This product needs a little moisture to make a strong bond. So before applying polyurethane glue to dry woods, wipe the area to be joined with a damp cloth.
• After clamping, the squeeze-out will appear as a brownish foam. Chuck says, "Resist the temptation to wipe it off when it's wet, or you'll end up with a sticky mess." After this foam hardens, it can be cleaned up by slicing it off with a sharp chisel, bevel side down, working the edge across the joint.
• Buy only as much as you'll use in a year because humidity can cause this glue to prematurely turn to a useless gel. Extend the shelf life by keeping the glue bottle closed as much as possible.

Why not hide glue?
Antique furniture restoration experts and some woodworking purists may wonder why we don't use hide glue in our shop. Historical considerations aside, hide glue's chief advantage its extremely long open time is also its chief disadvantage. Jan says, "We just never use it. White and yellow glues allow enough open time for virtually any assembly you're likely to run across, and you won't need to wait overnight for every joint you clamp. Also, unlike joints made with hide glue, joints made with these glues won't weaken overtime."

If you like this project, please check out more than 1,000 shop-proven paper and downloadable woodworking project plans in the WOOD Store.

WOOD Store