Can I trust this glue up?

[HomeyJay]

I assembled and glued everything in a project last night at around 5 and left everything in my garage overnight to dry / cure, intending to thickness plane everything this morning. When I assembled everything the temperature was around 13-14 C but last night, after around 5 hrs, the temp dropped to around 5C and I didn’t realise it had. This morning I brought the work (chopping board) into the house in the hope that if the glue hadn’t dried, the warmer temperature would help.

The glue is Titebond 2.
Can I trust this glue up to not fall apart when I put it through the thicknesser? I know that it’s all supposed to be good to go after 30 mins but I’m not sure that the low temperature hasn’t messed with the curing.

Can any of you more experienced guys please advise?

 

[Yojevol]

I don't think there would be a problem, but why risk it? For your own peace of mind leave it in the house for a few more hours.
Brian

 

[HomeyJay]

Yup, I was planning to leave it till lunchtime just to be safe!

 

[MikeG.]

Why put it through the thicknesser anyway? Just take a plane and/or belt sander to it, and remove that "threat".

 

[sunnybob]

you were on the limit when you applied it. minimum temp is 13c.
http://www.titebond.com/product/glues/2 ... 7a38930fa2

 

[MusicMan]

Most glues take 23 hours to develop full strength, and you need that for a planer. I'd leave it till tomorrow, whether hand or machine planing.

 

[Ttrees]

There seems to be a lack of good info on aliphatic resin on the net.
I am also on the verge of gluing in the minimum temperatures possible.

What interests me is the various stages in what could be the most perfect bond achievable.
Apart from the initial bond in say half an hour, I recently read about "clamp time" being a factor to consider.
I hadn't heard of the term before, and thought it was curing time that this reference was about.

I try leaving the clamps on for the curing time just to be safe.
I also try and keep the timber warm during this duration, as in not cold to the touch and leave it under a blanket with the heater underneath.

Gluing is done after a good bit of time in the workshop with the heater on under the parts first, in hope to get it not cold to the touch.
Often the heat gets turned off after three hours after glue up and goes in a tent.

I wonder if I am risking the maximum bond strength after turning off the heater for the night after three hours ?
I can't trust the (non adjustable) infrared laser thermometer I've got, as its giving off readings easily 3 deg celsius higher than it is.

 

[sunnybob]

Heres more than youll ever need to know about all three;
http://www.titebond.com/community/the-big-three

 

[Ttrees]

Not that I didn't learn anything from looking at that link Bob, but it doesn't answer much.
Anyone have a good link for information on gluing in colder environments?
Methods used, thermal mass, clamping times and so on, not everyone's shed is insulated so one would expect to find
more on the subject.
Here's what I'm doing to try and keep my timber warm when gluing, but now the timber in the shed hasn't been heated for two days
and I don't know how long it will take to get up to temp and for how long it will be keep before I can turn the heater off.
Not that I aim to shut the heater off straight away, but if its night by the time I need to glue anything.....

 

[sunnybob]

You have learnt from that, you have learnt that Titebond is no good in the cold.
I'm lucky in that my annual temps mean I can use Titebond for 11 and a half months of the year. Unfortunately, I cant recommend a low temp glue because I have never needed one. 8) 8) 8)
When I was lad back in England, (60 years ago now) my dad was a carpenter and he mixed up some really revolting stuff in a pot, which drove my mum to distraction over the smell. But I didnt pay much attention then, so not sure what the awful stuff was. It worked though, I have some things that he made and they are still well glued after all this time.

 

[ED65]

Not that I didn't learn anything from looking at that link Bob, but it doesn't answer much.

Titebond's site was revamped in recent years and a few snippets of technical info they used to have included in the old layout are now gone for some bizarre reason. Thankfully some of this information is effectively archived in mentions on various woodworking fora.

I think it should be assumed that the guidelines written for every glue are conservative, with a safety margin built in. This is the case with virtually everything, there's no reason for us to suppose it's different for adhesives. How large the margin is obviously we can't know however, and as per previous glue threads where strength is a vital consideration you do want to err on the side of caution.

That said though, I'm sure hundreds or thousands of woodworkers and DIYers have used their white or yellow PVA glues when it's colder than specified, sometimes in ignorance and sometimes deliberately when stuff needed to get done. I know I have and it's a sure bet I'm not the only one here. Speaking for myself however I avoid doing this on things where strength is paramount, so when in doot during the colder months I switch to epoxy if it works in the other ways needed.

Epoxy will cure much more slowly when the temperature drops, but it will cure unless it is really seriously cold; colder than most would actually be in the workshop in the first place!