20 Best Wood Glue For Woodworking (2023 Updated)

My wood carving broke, so I searched the best glue for the repair job. This glue is amazing! It can be wiped off with a damp cloth when wet, so no drips show. The colour is neutral and doesn’t show obvious repairs.

The adhesion is strong within a few minutes. I didn’t need clamps or tape while drying for my small job. Reasonable price compared to other brands. My carving looks like it was never broken :).

Elmer’s Wood Glue Max works great! The Thermofoil on my outdoor cabinets was coming off. The cabinets get wet from the rain so this glue was perfect because it is waterproof. I used this glue to secure the Thermofoil back onto the cabinets.

We have lots of heat and humidity in FL and it also resists heat, mold & mildew. Best of all it is strong and worked perfectly.

I have been using this glue on both treated and non treated plywood, and it does a pretty good job with both. I wish it came with a smaller opening for small items. It does not dry clear, and excessive glue has to be removed with a damp rag before setting.

I have not attempted to sand and/or paint the glue, so I can’t give any feedback with those processes.

Generally I find that Titebond 11 Premium is a good wood glue provided that you have a tight fitting joint. Where it loses performance is when you have an ill-fitting joint and you want the glue to fill the small voids and set to a tight fit performance.

This does not seem happen, at least in the short term, as the void acts as a resivoir leaving the glue liquid as if it were still in the dispensing bottle, bear in mind that at this point air cannot get to the glue to help set it.

I dont know if over time the glue will set, maybe the manufacturer can comment on this. It would be great however, if the manufacturer can overcome this problem with a formula that allows the glue to set in voids with a reaction time onece it leaves the bottle, similar to say an epoxy glue.

in some instances, i. e. guitar building, you cannot use epoxy as a glue as the joint contact cannot be reversed to remove the glued timber, say a guitar neck, for potential repairs that may be required at a later date.

I have used this glue for many years now. If a non-waterproof glue is OK for your requirements then this is one of the best especially if only small amounts are needed each time. This glue has a very long shelf life and providing it is kept in a relatively cool place it will be usable for many years after original purchase.

Yes there are other excellent Titebond glues which have variant degrees of waterproofing qualities but these have a much shorter shelf life and need to be used much more quickly.

I am giving Titebond Extend II a tentative 5 stars. I have used it in mild weather with good results. The proof will be in 90 degree plus weather when regular Titebond sets up fast enough to make assemblies with dovetails or finger joints problematic.

ii.

Have been using this product – on and off – for over 25 years. Brilliant and sympathetic for restoration jobs (not just wood). Brilliant when you have a complex (slow) clamping-up project. Reversible.

Definitely has a place on the ‘glue bottle shelf’. In response to the reviews commenting upon the ‘short shelf life’, yes it’s annoying they no longer put the expiry date on the bottle but I always write the purchase date on it when it comes to workshop.

If it’s very thick when taking delivery, bringing it to room temperature will sort it. If it’s past its shelf life I have found it will separate out and go very thin. When in doubt, do a test glue by ‘edge jointing’ a couple of boards then try knocking them apart the next morning – you will soon see whether its sticking or not.

! This is a unique product without an equal, so I accept it for what it is and buy in small quantities for the immediate job in hand.

Made sisal on wood cat scratching board to be screwed onto a wall. Needed non toxic product to glue the sisal onto a wood board. My research found Titebond Liquid Hide Glue to be very low in toxins (as compared to other glues available) as my cat would be scratching this product daily.

Holds very well, no odour. Unsure regarding waterproofing as used indoors. More expensive but worth it to keep toxins out of my home. Preferable for use with childrens craft projects. Recommend.

The Franklin 5013 Liquid Hide Glue was a lucky find for me. I used it for two very minor cracks in a classical guitar’s top. I settled it into the cracks and wiped off the excess glue. It dries clear and not too shiny.

I understand that luthiers have used this ‘type’ of glue for centuries, probably making it themselves. So, as a modern person, to locate it ready-made makes it a valuable find. I watched a couple videos of the man who repairs Willie Nelson’s guitar and the product name appeared as a pop-up during the video.

Lucky, right? That gave me the brand name to find on eBay in the U. S. and in Canada. I am an amateur woodworker and knew about hide glue but had no brand name to pursue. One more consideration is that this glue can be dissolved and bad repairs un-done.

Or done over. So violin-makers can take apart instruments without ruining the wooden pieces, repair them on the inside, as it were, and put them back together again. Very cool!.

This glue worked really well to bond a non porous solid core pvc laminate to plywood panels. Has a similar consistency and open time of a Titebond pva glue so was easy to apply over a large panel area using a roller spreader.

Only downside is that it’s hard to find in stock online and that it’s not moisture resistant as a D3 or D4 pva, otherwise really happy with it.

I am a novice woodworker for only a few months now and did not know such a product existed for gluing melamine. Definitely worth the buy and works great. Fast glue up and stays together.

The two pictures I posted are of the 6×6 top rail , of my worn faded old house deck. The middle of the 6×6 shows the cracked open wood from years of sun rain and harsh weather. The top of the 6×6 in the same pictures , shows where I filled (thus repairing)the same type cracked open wood places , with Titebond lll Ultimate Wood Glue.

It dries to a light to medium brown color (like woods natural color), even though the glue in the bottle looks to be a whitish light tan color from the factory. The color in my pictures gives a false color(when dry) for you to see because of the cheap camera I am shooting my pictures with.

This glue is stronger than the wood itself (proven by independent tests) , and I dont expect to ever have to redo these same imperfections ever again , and this Titebond lll Ultimate is totally water proof.

I took these pictures after 3 full days of Hurricane type rains. And with the Thompson Tinted Wood Sealer I purchased from Walmart earlier this year , I expect to have my top deck rails restored quickly and inexpensively , and for the repairs I made with this Titebond lll to blend in with the natural wood tint.

I recently also rebuilt the inside braces of an acoustic guitar with Titebond Wood Glue. Titebond ll and lll are recommended by expert guitar builders as one the best wood glues in the world. I have saved a ton of money , along with getting the best service and guarantee in the business, offered by Walmart themselves , on every thing they stock.

I do home my buying from Walmart and delivery to my home is fast and dependable by Walmarts FEDEX delivery folks. And free delivery over any 35 dollar or more purchase. I do my own work on my country home , and anything I need that Walmart offers, I always buy from them.

Walmart offers the best service, prices and no questions warranty. And hey, get home delivery for the same price as visiting the store, so why waste your own gas, and risk getting the Covid 19 infection.

Have used this product in the past with great success. So the prospect of opening a new bottle of Ultimate Wood Glue is certainly very appealing. The sheer joy that I know will arise from my skilful application of this goo to various surfaces is something that I anticipate with tremendous excitement.

Indeed, this anticipation is currently flooding my brain with so many feel good chemicals that I am almost too scared to open the bottle for fear of breaking the spell. Perhaps I shall leave the glue sitting on the shelf, just for a while.

no rush.

Worked great for putting together outside corners on crown molding or even on connecting lengths over 16 feet. I used it with the spray activator. I would have given it a 5 star rating had it been for the fact that the original 2 oz container I purchased hardened with only 1/4 of the bottle used.

Could be because I stored it in my un-conditioned garage or that I am just a DIY’er and not a high volume user.

Very useful for assembling small parts without waiting for glue to dry, with a big saving of time and no standdown time as with traditional glues. Very strong bond with wood and also for locking grubscrews etc.

Have not had it long enough to be able to say how long it lasts in the container once it has been opened for first use.

A few years back I got a great deal on an office desk that I love. It’s been through daily use with work from home and the keyboard drawer I use for all my office supplies was barely hanging on with the screws and wood coming apart.

After unsuccessfully attempting to nail and screw the drawer back together, it stripped the holes and didn’t leave much more room to repair. Figured I’d give this glue a go before ultimately chucking the drawer out which I was bummed to think of doing.

Thankfully this glue is amazing!!! Glued the drawer together, albeit a little messy (thankfully it’s a hidden mess), allowed to dry for 36 hours and good as new. It’s been months of daily drawer use and it’s held up no issue.

Only wish I found this wood glue sooner instead of a year of battling with my broken drawer. Will be a staple in our house for sure.

The lockdown has given the family a great opportunity to watch me doing some long-overdue jobs around the house. Nineteenth on their list was a garden gate and fence to keep the dog out of the plants.

To my annoyance, my bottle of external wood glue had dried up, and was unuseable. This was largely my own fault, as I hadn’t done it up quite as tightly as needed to keep all air out. To my surprise, this make which I’ve always used was out of stock everywhere I looked – bearing in mind that a lot of stockists weren’t open.

So I alighted upon this Gorilla. I have to say – and this is entirely a subjective observation – that the first two joints I glued and nailed fell apart after a few minutes, and I had to use clamps! Now it’s probably due to my lack of experience, but I have the slight impression that this Gorilla doesn’t stick quite as quickly as the ‘other make’ that I’ve used for years.

The problem with the ‘other brand’ is that once the joint is made, you can’t change your mind. It is difficult to pull apart. I repeat that this isn’t a scientific test, just my impression. But I have used the old glue for 40 years of intermittent carpentry, and before that some powered stuff.

Maybe being able to pull a joint apart soon after isn’t such a bad thing; I remember once putting some dowels in and having a great problem when I realised that I done it wrongly! Otherwise, it’s just fine; the nozzle is good (the cause of my problem with the other) once you’ve fathomed out how to open it by pulling it upwards.

Of course, the real test will be to see if the dog gets through the gate and digs up the garden; then dog and I will be looking for refugee status. But this Gorilla is excellent, and the retractable applicator is really sensible.

Thoroughly recommended. Just a small thing; the ‘Click and Collect’ is very helpful. Thanks Hereford branch! STOP PRESS: family are so delighted with the gate that they are going to let me make another one! Joy of joys!.

Maybe the glue is okay, but the application technology is so bad, no one would ever know. The nozzle is impossible to work with. It’s fully of air and you have to squeeze with two hands to get anything to come out.

You can only applyt he glue in a downward fashion, so any project that requires you to apply glue at an angle or from underneath is impossible. All you’ll get is air coming out. Unusable.

Most glue is about the same. Evo, no-nonsense, etc. Gorilla glue dries clear and allows some wriggle room with setting. The best feature is the bottle. Excellent way to open and close. Glue cones out in the quantity you need and you don’t need a vice grip to force more glue out.

Much better than the others I’ve tried. I even reused the bottles with other glue I had in the house.

I’m ploughing through this bottle of glue making a workbench for myself and it’s proving itself over and over. I am laminating all the parts out of 120 x 32 southern yellow pine and 24 hours in the clamps and this glue is a wining combination.

Easy to clean off wet and scrapes off where any bits are missed. Highly recommended.

If you’re doing lots of glue ups this is a very economical value. Works out way cheaper than buying 8 or 16oz bottles. Just make sure you store it well as extreme cold can ruin many wood glues. My workshop is in an unheated detached garage so I keep the jug in the house and refill smaller bottles as needed.

Titebond has excellent features: a reasonable open time if you are gluing large or complex pieces; good initial grip; and creates a strong bond with the wood. It is best value when bought in the larger size and smaller amounts are then decanted.

It’s hard to find Elmer’s wood glue on the shelves anymore. I wanted non-weatherproof wood glue. Been using it for years and prefer it for most of my projects. Elmer’s wood glue gets the job done right for indoor products.

As a DIYer I’ve used this for years. The home repair stores only seemed to carry the super sizes. Long before the container was used up, it would dry out. I hate sending half used dried out containers to the land fill.

This seems like the perfect size. WE”LL SEE!.

added later, great glue, so great it bonded the tip shut. NOW i clean the tip, every time, thoroughly, and it never, never sticks. Should read my own stuff, now initial review: glue is so good have bonded to metal by mistake.

took a lot to get the knife out of that sheath, almost did not. Seriously, CLEAN the tip after use, it may bond that together, too. Sets up quickly, quickest i have ever seen in three decades of carpentry.

So strong i can set loose knife guards with it. Go through this stuff a lot. Best on the market, to me.

We loved this glue at first. Then discovered if you do not CONSTANTLY keep it stirred/shaken, it has NO bonding strength. We have had to make refunds to several of our customers after the items we shipped to them had stuff literally just falling off.

Be VERY CAREFUL of this glue!.

This glue sets up FAST! You weren’t kidding when you said 15 minutes clamping time. Great stuff, but be careful with when to use it. I glued a small block to a board and had a hard time to adjust its position about two minutes later.

I’ve been using Weldwood Plastic Resin Glue for more than 50 years, ever since my dad taught me woodworking by building a cherry bedroom suite for me as a kid. It requires careful measuring and mixing, and work must remain tightly clamped for at least 24 hours.

(I generally leave my work clamped for 72 hours,) so it’s not for casual jobs where you might just pull out a bottle of hide wood glue, but done according to the instructions, the glued joint IS stronger than the wood around it, and it will last forever.

I’ve used it both for original construction, and most recently, needed to repair a store-bought cutting board that had come unglued. Since Weldwood is waterproof after it has set up, that cutting board won’t be coming apart at that joint again, even though it goes in the dishwasher after each use.

For long term storage, the Weldwood glue powder will absorb moisture, even though the container seems tightly sealed, rendering the glue unusable. It’s easy to tell when mixing, because the powder and water should turn into a creamy liquid with the consistency of light molasses.

If the powder doesn’t dissolve in the water, then it’s absorbed moisture in storage and is no longer any good. To avoid that problem, I place the closed container of Weldwood Plastic Resin Glue inside a Food-Saver bag and shrink wrap it, so it draws all of the air out of the bag (and out of the glue container).

When the Food-Saver seals the bag, no air or moisture can get in to contaminate the glue powder and it will be ready when I open it to use next time. This is not the product to use for those “quick and dirty” projects, and it’s not going to provide strong joints unless they are tightly clamped, as it relies on clamping for the resin to penetrate the wood fibers on either side of the joints.

So, given that it has a focused scope of use, I’ve found no better wood glue on the market for those jobs where you are going to put in the time and effort do do things right and expect them to last forever.

This came up as an extremely good glue in Wood by Wright’s test of 64 different products. Good for long graIn to long grain, long grain to end grain, outdoor, gap filling and with strength more than the wood.

See his December 2019 you tube video “All About Woodworking Glue What is the best glue live” and accompanying spreadsheet. It came out best for exterior use even though the manufacturers recommend it for indoor use.

I used it with clamps to fix a longitudinal split in a board after resawing. It worked perfectly.

This is a very old form of glue, however it still has its place and is very useful. The glue is mixed with water when needed, the advantage is the extended set up time. I am building a Victorian Sleigh for my great grand daughter.

The runners are 10 laminations of ash wrapped around a fixture 70 inches long. The glue allows the time necessary to align all of the strips and clamp them down. It does require 24 hours of time to dry and must remain clamped in place.

When you purchase the glue there is a 4 digit date of manufacture code on the back , something like 7180, which is 2017 the 180th day. This product has a one year shelf life, take that into consideration when doing a project.

A good and useful waterproof glue. It expands whilst curing (so don’t use too much) and fills small gaps. It resists the weather here in Argyll which is very testing and the large plastic door that I used it to repair is holding up well.

I have also used it to make a sturdy generator trolley and it stands up to both the damp conditions and the vibration very well. I’d recommend it to anyone. It was a good price. The vendor sent it quickly and it was well packaged.

Tip. Store the bottle ‘top down’ to keep fresh glue at the nozzle.

This product is a superior replacement for the regular 2-part epoxy used for gluing steel tubes into wooden or acrylic pen blanks. On contact with moisture in the air, the glue foams up to fill all the gaps and so there is less chance of the blank splitting off the tube in the final stages of turning.

Cost is a fraction of epoxy (about 25%), has a longer shelf life, and does not need pre-mixing so less mess and no waste. A “win-win” product for turning pens & highly recommended.

Bonds well. Glued a metal hook to slate for hanging, and also mended neighbour’s garden ornament. Very pleased with performance so far. Will order again when I’ve used this. Would recommend to friends and family.

Amazing glue! Forget that it says “wood glue”. It will glue almost anything. I have used it most to seal small cracks in my concrete driveway to prevent water from getting into the cracks and freezing.

I used the 4oz bottle like a pen and followed the crack extruding the Rapid Fuse. It seals and appears to be immune to UV radiation. It has been there for about 3 years and isn’t turning loose. It works super well on wood too.

It appears to be based on the chemistry of super glues, but has a longer working time, and really sets up like epoxy. I use it on items that I have 3D printed which are plastics of several varieties, and it works there as well.

It is my go to glue for nearly every application!.