Titebond III

[tvrgeek]

Jeff beat me to it. I get mine via Amazon as the Borg only had small tubs.

I think of kiln dried for framing limber. Cheap. These days it tends to be inconsistent and the result is not very stable. Quality rough cut for woodworking is usually air dried and it takes years. I am sure there are many a kiln in Washington being a lumber producing state. What does your local hardwood suppliewr say about his stock?

 

[JimD]

I build things sometimes from construction lumber and shelving boards. My dining room table base, for instance, is built of 2x4s and 2x12s glued up with Titebond II. I measured the moisture content (meters are not very expensive now, I think I paid less than $50 for mine) and some was about 10% and some a little higher. Most of the glueups were to double the thickness. So a face was jointed and the two pieces were glued up. These joints have been fine. I did get a little movement in a couple spots where braces join the legs - there are large loose mortise and tenon joints connecting them.

Long way of saying 10-12% can work but not perfectly in my experience. The top of a cabinet in my great room, where I am right now, is made of 2 1x12s ripped with my track saw to get straight edges for the glueup and glued - also titebond II. No issues at all. I did not measure these boards so I don't know the exact moisture content.

My shop is not heated or cooled and it is plenty humid here in SC. My backyard ends at a large lake. I often have hardwood on my rack for a year or more before using it. Again, no issues.

So I would check moisture level in the wood, first. If that is under 10% I would back off on clamping pressure. Sometimes I use pipe clamps but I try to be careful with them, especially the ones on 3/4 pipe. I prefer to use light aluminum bar clamps from HF. They are far lighter and are much less likely to clamp too firmly. You only want enough force to pull the pieces together. I usually apply plenty of glue and have a little squeeze out to tell me when the clamping pressure is good. How much is enough is one of the many things where experience helps. No sqeeze out is not a good sign, in my opinion. Drips are going in the other direction but I'd rather have them than no sqeezeout.

I would only use epoxy if there are gaps in the joint.

 

[wndopdlr]

Moisture is likely the culprit. Are these panels failing when you bring them inside to your air conditioned house after you glue them up in the shop. A/C also removes moisture from the air and it might be the wood movement brought on by a dryer climate inside.

 

[Tarhead]

So you’re saying I may be clamping to tight

It's a possibility. I gave you my best SWAG not seeing any photos or in person.

For kiln-dried lumber near you check these out They probably run a weekly delivery route to local to you cabinet and boat builder shops. Call and talk to them:

Beety Lumber
14130 US Highway 64, Manns Harbor, NC 27953
(252) 473-6460

Beety Lumber Co | Manns Harbor | North Carolina | Wood List

Bill Beety the Owner of Beety Lumber Co, the Lumber-Retail in 14130 US Highway 64, the Manns Harbor, the North Carolina 27953.

www.woodlist.us

Precision Moulding and Woodworks, Inc
908 George St. New Bern, NC 28560 USA
Phone: 252-638-3850 | Email: brent@precisionwoodnc.com

Custom Wood Products | Precision Moulding & Woodworks | New Bern, NC

Precision Moulding and Woodworks creates exquisite custom woodworking including live edge table and countertops, moldings, flooring, and more.

www.precisionmouldingandwoodwork.com