Titebond vs Elmers

[Prashun Patel]

TBII or III for me. Great brand; long history of use; lots of positive testimonial; cheapest part of project; no need to switch...

[Dave Falkenstein]

My experience is the shelf life for Titebond is noticably longer than Elmer's. I switched to Titebond years ago after tossing more than one container of "aged" Elmer's. I have used Elmer's Probond for outdoor applications, and it works very well. Given the choice, I'll buy one of the Titebond products today. I have no idea what they cost.

[Paul Steiner]

I like titebond. It is thinner and less viscous than elmers. This makes it easier to spread and apply, that means more coverage and stronger joints.

[Lee Schierer]

Don't get Titebond II or III on your clothes, it does not wash out. I've never had a problem with using Elmers glue with a joint failure. Joint failure due to glue squeeze out is mostly myth. Thin glue layers work best and failure was most like due to too little glue being applied in the first place to cover the glued area or a poor fitting joint.

[Chris Tsutsui]

I have elmer's probond and it seemed the exact same as original titebond.

However, if I had a choice between elmers white school glue and titebond original, I would pay the $5 extra for titebond.

Elmer's white glue is intended more for construction paper and dried macaroni.

[Steve Sawyer]

However, if I had a choice between elmers white school glue and titebond original, I would pay the $5 extra for titebond.

Elmer's white glue is intended more for construction paper and dried macaroni.

One would think so, but I know of at least one cabinet shop that has been using Elmer's white glue successfully for decades.

It's major drawback is not being waterproof, and being thinner than Titebond, it doesn't fill gaps (as you might prefer say in a hand-cut mortise-and tenon joint). However it has one thing strongly in its favor - it has about twice the open time, so if I have an assembly that will take longer than usual to get everything together, I will go to Elmer's white glue without hesitation.

As a result, I have glue-bots of both in the shop.

[Chris Tsutsui]

Thanks for the insight on white elmers.

Most of my wood projects I don't care about water proofing. So I might consider white elmers or perhaps even MIXING white elmers with TBI as an experiment.

My problem with white elmers (I've used it on wood before), is I find that it soaks into end grain and just seems thinner and weaker than yellow wood glue. It does take a long time to set which might be good for complex glue-ups and clamping, but when I'm putting together something systematically with a brad nailer, I want something that will set a bit quicker.

[Chris Padilla]

Chris,

Glue is a tool and just like tools, there are many glues out there that do different things. As long as you're aware of the properties of your tool (glue), you should be all set. If you need a different tool (glue) to get the job done, by all means, go for it.

That is why you'll find Titebond I, II, and III in my cabinet but I also have Lee Valley's cabinet glue, Gorilla Glue poly, cyanoacrelate, epoxys of various cure times, plastic resin, urea, and now I have "veneer glue" as well. I'll soon be adding white glue to the arsenal although I may have to fight my daughter for it!