# Gorilla Glue???



## rahtreelimbs (Sep 13, 2009)

Is this stuff good or is there something better???


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## Just Bill (Dec 29, 2008)

I used it when it was newer, did not like it. Messy, expands, limited shelf life, etc. Best used on outdoor projects that don't show. I still like yellow glue. Titebond II does the job for me.

Some people swear by it, I swear at it.


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## Picture Framer (Sep 11, 2009)

Gorilla Glue is a polyurethane adhesive. Taunton Press ran some interesting tests in conjunction with a university in Ohio and demonstrated that for wood applications polyurethane had only about half the strength of PVA. Hide glues had about two thirds the strength of PVA.


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

I have a bottle. Don't like it. They make a great duct tape, though.


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## SeeDBee (Oct 27, 2008)

*Gorilla Glue*

I was thinking it was just me. Can't seem to get it to work as advertised.


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

SeeDBee said:


> I was thinking it was just me. Can't seem to get it to work as advertised.


Nope, not just you ... messy stuff. I HAVE found it to be a little stronger than what I would gather from the other posts here but I think that may be because the little I did use was on very small pieces so actually hard to judge strength. 

I swear by yellow glue for just about everything, though others say titebond is much better. It's not that I doubt them, it's just that I buy the stuff by the gallon pretty often and titebond gets a little expensive that way and the yellow works just great.

Paul


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## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

I don't think that the expense is worth it.

What I've noticed is:

GG needs to have close fitting surfaces for maximum holding power

GG needs moisture to cure

GG expands and gives the false impression that it is a gap filling glue

I prefer Tite Bond III to GG. It seems to be as strong with none of the downsides.

BTW - Removing cured GG from your hands is easy. Just wear some latex gloves and work up a good sweat. The perspiration forces the GG off of your skin. (Wear the gloves while using??? Don't go there.)


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

Gorilla glue is good. The caveat is it has to be in the right applications. Gluing wood to wood, you're better off with a PVA. I use it on lots of applications, but not on anything wood to wood that I want to keep together for any structural integrity or length of time.


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## Big Dave (Sep 16, 2006)

I use it all the time and like it. No failures and the expansion doesn't bother me and I've learned to work with it.


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## TheRecklessOne (Jul 22, 2008)

Now someone may have mentioned it and I missed it, but there is Gorilla Glue and there is Gorilla Wood Glue. 

Short story long...

Gorilla Wood glue (in my opinion) is awesome. Limited clamping time makes it perfect for building cabinets. I assemble a cabinet with gorilla wood and biscuits or pocket screws and it works great. Building a whole kitchen full of cabinets or entertainment center is relatively time sensitive plus I just don't have enough clamps for all of them.

If I'm going to build heirloom furniture I'd probably go with titebond II because I expect to be patient when clamping and fastening.


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## badshot (Sep 14, 2009)

TheRecklessOne said:


> Now someone may have mentioned it and I missed it, but there is Gorilla Glue and there is Gorilla Wood Glue.
> 
> Short story long...
> 
> ...


What he said!:yes:


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## BHOFM (Oct 14, 2008)

One thing GG does well is treated lumber. It is water
proof to a certain extent.

One down side I found while doing some tests
with it. It does not like shock loading. It will 
stand a lot of stress, but fails when loaded 
quickly.

Once opened, the bottle has a rather short
shelf life. One of those, "It was fine yesterday,
and today is is a lump."!

I really don't like the mess. You need gloves
when using it. 

I like TBII And TBIII, just wash with soap and
water.

I bought a bottle for the tests and used it for
a couple projects, shop stuff, and one day it
was all white. We live in a medium damp
area and once moisture gets in the bottle
it is off and running. Time frame here was
less than a month.


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## tccoggs (Oct 19, 2009)

GG and other polyurethane glues don't seem to hold up well to UV exposure. I used to use it all the time, without many failures, but prefer to work with Tightbond 3 these days.


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## badshot (Sep 14, 2009)

One thing to note with GG Wood Glue is that it is water based, so do not use it on veneer as it will cause the wood to pucker and curl.


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## AZ Termite (Dec 20, 2008)

I don't use GG very often. One of the things I do use it for is gluing pen blanks. It works really well for gluing the brass tube it the blank. Another thing I have used it for is gluing plastic, its very well for that. Clean-up usually sucks, but overall the things I use it for, it works well.


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## wfahey (Oct 24, 2009)

I used GG to repair a teak trim piece and it worked quite well. I am not particularly fond of the way it expands but in this application it worked well and the expansion was not an issue.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

I've had great success using GG, especially when I was building boat docks, boat houses and piers on the local lake. Primarily I used it assembling on-site glulams for trusses. Every time I drive to town I pass a boathouse I built in 1999. The boat hangs in a sling-lift I installed in the drive-in covered slip, and the lift is attached to the site-built glulams. Those glulams are held together primarily with GG. I used plenty of lags and carriage bolts to draw the laminations together because I didn;t have enough clamps, but I guarantee you if I removed all the fasteners they would not fail. 

At that time I had 11 employees working for me. Needless to say they were all screwing once the glue was applied. We misted the beams with water bottles before we poured the GG and it went pretty smooth. I've also used it in other applications but for most shop applications I use Titebond. 

Rich that's a good tip. I have always sanded the glue of my fingers. I like your method better.


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## jcaddyer (Oct 4, 2009)

Gorilla Wood Glue was the first wood glue I used. I found that it was a huge mess but strong. After placing glue and using a ton of clamps I always had to clean up the ever expanding glue and sand it off. After purchasing Titebond II I will never go back to Gorilla Glue.


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

The polyurethane glues are good for somethings, like gluing wood to non-wood things, and are good for exterior uses. Messy stuff though...

Gorilla Glue now offers more than just the polyurethane glue. They have a regular wood glue, and likely other types too.


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## georgewoodie (Oct 20, 2009)

rahtreelimbs:

My understanding is the Gorilla Glue is good for materials that are different. Also it has been recommended for use on oily woods like teak. On teak, the wood must be "de-oiled' before application.

I use yellow glue for all woodwork unless the project will be subjected to a lot of moisture and for teak.

Woodie


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## ClarkMcGill (Aug 20, 2009)

I about cried the first time I used Gorilla Glue. I was gluing up the legs of my current project. I clamped them and went to bed. The next morning, I went down to look at them, and there was this foam like crap all over it. 

Little did I know that gorilla glue expanded. No where on my package does it say that, and I wish I would have looked into it. Needless to say, they eventually scrapped clean and I used them, but only to learn that gorilla glue has no place in fine woodworking. My advice is to stay away!!!


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## ghostofhoward (Feb 24, 2009)

i hate the stuff,i used to use it and had a few joint failures with it.


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## jonymahnty (Dec 14, 2009)

*Gorilla glue*

Can I think so much about my future plans in gorilla glue. Is Gorilla glue helpful in wooden business


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## Colt W. Knight (Nov 29, 2009)

Gorilla has no place in my wood working shop. Ive used that stuff twice. Both times it made more mess than I cared to deal with, and both times the bottle dried up before I could use it again. 

Too expensive, too messy, and too hard to work with. Gorilla glue may have its, non-wood uses, but I don't plan on buying anymore in the future.


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## del schisler (Nov 5, 2009)

Colt W. Knight said:


> Gorilla has no place in my wood working shop. Ive used that stuff twice. Both times it made more mess than I cared to deal with, and both times the bottle dried up before I could use it again.
> 
> Too expensive, too messy, and too hard to work with. Gorilla glue may have its, non-wood uses, but I don't plan on buying anymore in the future.


do you know that their are 2 kind's of that gorilla glue's One that foam's and the other doesn't When clamped The one that foam's doesn't clog up sanding belt's Myself i use the gorilla glue that is the white bottle It works very well and isn't messy it is like any other white glue to each his own


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## Colt W. Knight (Nov 29, 2009)

del schisler said:


> do you know that their are 2 kind's of that gorilla glue's One that foam's and the other doesn't When clamped The one that foam's doesn't clog up sanding belt's Myself i use the gorilla glue that is the white bottle It works very well and isn't messy it is like any other white glue to each his own


 
Yes, I also know that Gorilla Wood Glue costs 5.97$ a bottle, and Elmers carpenter glue costs 4.24$, and a gallon of titebond original is 16.19$. Since I have never had any joint failure with Elmers or Titebond, I still don't think Gorilla Glue has any use in my shop.


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## CDN_Maple (Dec 19, 2009)

Thanks for the advice...I recently received a bottle of Gorilla Glue and thought about using it on my next project. With all these comments, I will stick with old faithful.


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## cheese9988 (Jan 4, 2010)

I have used it on a number of occasions. I have never had any problems with strength. I assembled a couple of cigar boxes using only GG and nothing else, worked extremely well. The only problem I have had, compared to regular yellow glue, is the set up time. The GG seems to set up almost immediately and doesn't always give you time to get the part in the right spot before clamping.


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## Burnt_Blade (Dec 26, 2009)

I picked up a bottle of GG for I had heard it was the stuff to go to for outdoor projects where the it will be subjected to the possible moisture etc. I have not yet got around to building that project (grub box for camping), but will update when I do.


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## johnv51 (Oct 27, 2008)

Gorilla Glue is fair at best on outdoor projects. TB III is much stronger and waterproof when cured. GG is also fair for dis-similar materials but epoxy is much stronger, cures faster and is available in a variety of types and colors. I also no longer use it.


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