# Glue for Dutchman



## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

I cut my first Dutchman today. Online, it looks like a lot of people use epoxy for these. This this an obvious choice for some reason or would standard yellow wood glue or polyurethane glue work just as well?


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Yellow glue will work for these - if the dutchman (also called a bowtie for those who do not understand the term), especially if it is tight fitting.

I can imagine the many ways to make the cut-out. Easy to end up with an uneven surface in the cut.

I expect the folks who use epoxy have gaps which can be easily filled with epoxy.

If you feel the cut floor is level and a good fit with the dutchman, yellow glue will work. If you feel you have gaps, it is better to use epoxy.

In your dutchman you have face grain to face grain. A strong joint. The sides of the dutchman are not adding to the strength of the joint.

The dovetail shape itself adds to the strength. I feel the glue is also to prevent the dutchman from popping out.


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## jschaben (Apr 1, 2010)

What Dave said. Urethane would also work but you have the risk of the foaming action pushing it up.


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

Thanks. Are there finishes that work better than others to cover the epoxy in the gap? I have just one side with a small gap ( not to toot my own horn or anything).


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Anytime you are gluing raw wood its works best to use the yellow glue. The glue soaks into the pores of the wood and turns plastic. If you are regluing something that has been glued before the pores of the wood are sealed with the old glue so you are essentially gluing glue to glue. For this application epoxy is the better choice. I haven't seen much use for polyurethane glues so I rarely use them. In my opinion it is a poor adhesive. 

On your Dutchman if the joint has some minor gaps I would first glue it with wood glue and come back later and fill the gaps with epoxy.


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## Midlandbob (Sep 5, 2011)

Any of the titebond I II or III would work but the short acting (or slow) epoxy might be good if gap filling was needed. The key is cross grain so most glues other than epoxy are not doing much.
For interest. This is a partial account of an old article about Nakashima's tables etc. most were fairly thick.
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"The butterfly key, used to edge-join two planks and to control actual or potential checks, has been known since Egyptian times. In Nakashima's shop, the butterfly tapers about 5 ° The bottom of the key is a hair smaller than the top, The recess is cut with an electric router about 3/4 of the way through and cleaned up with a sharp chisel. Then the key is glued and forced into place, with a single screw driven into each end from below for insurance. It's made about 3/16 in. proud of the surface, so it can be finished flush after the glue has set."


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