I Bond with some Elmer’s®
Independent Review by Peter Brett Glue Products
As a one-time teacher of Design Technology I am often amazed by pupils’ (and adults’) perceptions of the adhesive power of glues. I guess it must be due to the advertising, where cars are held up by wallpaper paste or whatever, that some people have the perception that you can glue anything to anything. I have often had to explain to an anguished child that it isn’t possible to glue that tiny plastic wheel back on it’s metal axle with some measure of permanent success with ”superglue” or that the hot melt glue gun isn’t capable of magnificent feats of adhesive power. It is also true to say that the range of adhesives we have available to us now is quite a lot wider than even thirty years ago, and some of these adhesives are truly
amazing in their power and ease of use. So part of what I have to do in this article is to pick through the fantasy stories and focus on what are some really very good glues, that if used correctly, will give truly amazing results. Enter a small range of Elmer’s Glues that I was sent to try out. Established more than sixty years ago and acknowledged glue experts in the USA, Elmer’s is a brand that is fairly new to the UK. I think the popularity of specialist
glues, particularly for woodturners, has been a spur for some importers in the UK to turn those internet purchases into local ones. The name Elmer’s comes from the Borden® Company’s corporate symbol, Elsie the Cow, whose spouse was Elmer the Bull. From Elmer’s headquarters in
Columbus, Ohio a steady stream of innovative and traditional adhesive products aimed at all sections of the “gluing community” has flowed. For example, schools, industry, workshops and businesses all have specialist and general adhesive products for many of their needs provided by Elmer’s. The Elmer’s glues that are top of my list to review, because of my woodworking sideline, are the Carpenters’ Glues for interior and exterior. If I were to list the things I need in a woodworking glue they would be ease of application, ease of clean up, quicksetting, sandable and varnishable and non-toxic. (I make a lot of chopping boards)
Reply No. 209
The Elmer’s Carpenter's Wood Glue MAX is perfect for my particular needs as it ticks all my boxes mentioned above. Starting with the smell and consistency of the
glue – it smells almost sweet and wholesome. Definitely no nasty chemical fumes despite the fact that it resists heat, mould and mildew. The 473ml bottle I used has a clever little sealer/applicator top that actually works quite well and also prevents the excess air getting into the bottle so it doesn’t go off prematurely. A simple squeeze on the plastic bottle is enough to get a flowing bead of glue going that you can apply in a very controllable way. On a few test pieces that I tried, the glue was ready to take out of clamps after thirty minutes or so, though I would tend to let it clamp a bit longer if I wasn’t in a hurry. A slightly more than damp spontex cloth was all I needed to clean up the glue line after clamping and cleaning up with sandpaper and electric sander once set was easy, since the abrasive never even looked like it was going to clog. Turning to the Elmer’s All-Purpose Hardware Glue, I had a very similar experience. On my test pieces the setting time was similar and generally speaking I almost
always split the wood before the glue line gave way, even on some dodgy end grain! The interior glue was in an 118ml container, with the nifty sealer/applicator too, and purchasers should be aware that the glue is available in a wide range of sizes up to a full gallon quantity. From my point of view, the Elmer’s wood glues fitted very well into my pattern of usage and I would definitely recommend them to fellow woodworkers. I turned next to the Wood Fillers, which I generally hate using, but sometimes needs must, particularly on surfaces that are going to be painted. The first one I tried
was the Carpenter’s Tinted Wood Filler in a squeezy tube with a screw top lid. Getting to the filler was a simple matter of unscrewing the top and using a craft knife to cut the sealed nozzle to the sort of size to suit the job – getting a bigger or smaller flow as needed. The filler I tried was white, (but other colours are available) and was only suitable for indoor use. In a thin coating, this filler was ready to sand (by hand) in about ten or fifteen minutes and ready to overpaint with a waterbased paint in a couple of hours. I would tend to use this filler only on out of the way parts or surfaces to be painted as it has a plaster like finish that should be sealed for best effect. I really liked the easy application made possible by the squeezy tube container, and it helps to avoid contact with skin and eyes, as the filler is an irritant. The next filler I tried came in a small plastic tub. The lid was easy to pry off with a screwdriver, and the filler inside definitely had a different texture to the interior filler.
This filler needs to be applied with a palette knife or scraper and sets in about ten minutes if used in thin layers. The filler sands easily and will not shrink nor expand when set. To be honest, for my needs, this would be the filler I would tend to use, particularly if I could get it to match the colour of the woods I was using. For a really amazing Glue-It-All experience I tried some of the Elmer’s Glue-All MAX. This happened quite by chance some time ago, but to my mind, if you really
want an almost magic glue that will stick just about anything, then this is the stuff to try. I hear that there are a few other adhesives due to be launched in the UK from Toolstream; Krazy Glue recognized as the glue that bonds almost anything. That may be
interesting!
telephone 01444 440188
ToolBUSINESS+HIRE 5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36