Your choice for go to glue spreader

[Jim Mackell]

Flux brush for joint work and plastic stock for larger surfaces. Old credit cards, motel room keys, etc. I always tell my friends, "When you stay at the no-tell motel, keep the room keys and give em to me!".

[Jeff Wittrock]

popsicle stick

[Andrew Bell]

For small bits I use small wedges of wood cut from scrap to spread and then can be thrown away - larger pieces I use a brush

[Curt Harms]

I do that too to make a stiff flux cleaner for circuit boards. My biggest problem with acid brushes is the stupid bristles always fall out, right in the middle of my glue-up.

Maybe try wrapping the bristles where they're pinched into the metal with tape. I do that then cut about half the bristles off and put it in a cat food can with some water in it. When the brush starts sheddding bristles then it's time for retirement.

[John P Lewis]

I use my pinky finger with Titebond. For hide glue I heat the working surfaces, squirt the glue, rub the pieces together and clamp. No spreading of the hide glue needed. I work with instruments so you might need to size the gluing surfaces for larger pieces for furniture.

[Steven Lee, NC]

index finger to whole hand depending on what the glue is being spread on. I almost always put on a nitrile glove before spreading and have a pile of freshones nearby that way I can remove the glove quickly and have a clean hand to work with or throw on another glove to spread more glue

[Bill Houghton]

One of those fake credit cards that come in the junk mail. For some reason, Xfinity and some other company whose name escapes me both think that if they send me a mailing with one of those cards in it every week, I'll eventually sign up just to stop them coming.