Replies

1. 
   mlindy | Nov 08, 2023 01:19pm | #1

   2-3 hours clamp time is usually sufficient for TB original.

2. 
   _mj_ | Nov 08, 2023 01:19pm | #2

   If the joints are good... not needing to be forced closed by the clamps, I'd be comfy at 3 hrs. If the squeeze out has a nice firm skin I'll take clamps off if I need 'em.

   Sounds like a good excuse to go clamp shopping.

3. 
   john_c2 | Nov 08, 2023 03:17pm | #3

   What those guys said.

4. 
   Gilded_Splinters | Nov 08, 2023 04:22pm | #4

   The cooler it is in the shop the longer you'll need, but a couple of hours should be fine.

   There's a white Franklin fast set glue I used for a long time in a production shop that grabbed hard in 10 minutes and had a working time not much longer.

   If you were organized or had a helper it was amazing. With well fitting joints clamps came off in under half an hour regularly. We had hundreds of clamps but lots of people using them.

   A quick internet search only yielded Tite Bond Speed Set. Might be the same thing. I bought it in drums so never saw a retail label but it was branded Franklin at that time.

5. 
   pantalones868 | Nov 08, 2023 04:54pm | #5

   I often do my glueups at night. I do quite a bit of lamination work and plastic resin glue is one of my go to glues for that. It requires that the temperature remain at 70 degrees or more and at 70 for 24 hours minimum if under stress. The higher the temperature the less time it takes. I developed a tent arrangement using moving blankets and a space heater to maintain the necessary temperature. Particularly at night there can be a significant drop in temperature in my shop.
   Doing other gluing, like with titebond, I like it a little cool to start and that is at 60 degrees usually ( + or -). The cooler temperature allows for a longer assembly time. Using the tent I can increase the temperature to say 80+ and get it down to 45 minutes or so clamping time if there are no stressed assembly parts. If I don't use the tent and the temperature drops overnight to 50 or below, ( I have a thermometer that tells me how low it was) I find that the glue has not set up even though it has set for several hours.
   I've been doing some laminating lately with TB lll to see how it works out. I had a 14 layer 1/4 " redwood arch, redwood hates to bend so lots of stress and set in a press overnight and I didn't use the tent. After several hours I took it out of the press and after a few minutes it popped apart and the glue was still wet where it had failed. The temperature had dropped to about 45 degrees, (freezing is not a problem where i live,) over that period although when I removed it the temperature was in the 70s.

6. 
   elmaduro | Nov 09, 2023 01:47am | #6

   Consider looking into 'rub joints' for certain glue-ups where clamps shouldn't be needed - might free up some time and stress.

7. 
   eddo234 | Nov 10, 2023 01:01pm | #7

   Back when I did lots and lots of kitchens, each with dozens of doors, we glued up door panels and clamped them for 30 minutes to an hour so we could use the clamps on the next batch, same with door frames (65-70 degrees or warmer). We didn't cut or sand them for hours though, they sat glued up, but unclamped. Never had a door come undone, ever in decades. Original Titebond.

8. 
   bilyo | Nov 10, 2023 03:55pm | #8

   On the extremely rare occasions that I've made a mistake, I've had trouble getting joints appart after 30 minutes or so using TB Original. I'm not suggesting that you remove clamps that quickly but you might do some tests with some scrap. Just glue up some same sized scraps and then try breaking them apart at intervals. This will help give you confidence in the best safe time you find.

1. 
   AndyO | Nov 12, 2023 06:36pm | #9

   Great question, have a look at this YouTube video from WoodcraftbySuman, which tests the bond strength with various clamping times. Spoiler alert, it’s as others have stated through experience - a few hours, say 4 to be safe. Taking the clamps off at 30 minutes is shown to produce a weaker joint and if your joints are not perfect, the curing time of the thicker glue may be longer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNAUsngRTsA&pp=ygURc3VtYW4gd29vZHdvcmtpbmc%3D

9. 
   ral3wood | Nov 12, 2023 07:59pm | #10

   I think clamp time is completely dependent on what kind of joint you are gluing up...

   Interesting video link from AndyO there - that kind of edge to edge joint is the kind I leave in clamps for overnight if not 24 hrs since there is nothing but the glue determining the strength. Similarly I leave half lap joints clamped for many hrs.

   But the majority of glue ups I do use some other type of joint - mortise and tenons, loose tenons (maybe Domino's), dovetails, even just biscuits, etc... Virtually all of those types of joints I can lift and move around without glue and they are quite stable. In those circumstances, the clamps are just squeezing the joints together and I use minimal clamp time - usually 30-45 minutes and then carefully set aside on a flat surface for a full 24 hrs. In those circumstances I cannot remember a glue failure over decades of many glue ups, but many times if I find a misalignment after even a few minutes it has already set enough to be impossible to get apart.

   So, I determine clamping time by the structural integrity of joint without clamps - especially when you have many glue ups to do!

10. 
    DRBWWing | Nov 13, 2023 11:48am | #11

    If the parts go together easily with very little clamping pressure to close, then what they guys said is true.

    However, if you've got to use some force to close a gap, I'd leave it overnight.

    Anything you're going to process - plane, sand, etc. safest to let glue cure overnight.

    That's me, my shop, my methods.