Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: dragonman on March 21, 2016, 01:26:51 pm

Title: glue question
Post by: dragonman on March 21, 2016, 01:26:51 pm

hi everyone, greetings from wales , uk.
just ruined a hickory backed lemonwood elb longbow, was making for someone,  wasted expensive hard to get fancy wood, even hickory is expensive and hard to get over here....broke because of titebond II failure....the glue was about 4 years old and thought it would be ok...so was wondering,.how long do you guys keep your titebond for,   before you dont risk using  it??

cheers for any feedback will be much appreciated

dave

Title: Re: glue question
Post by: PEARL DRUMS on March 21, 2016, 01:48:08 pm

I use only TB3. That being said, I go through it quicker than it can go bad. How do you know the glue is the guilty party?

Title: Re: glue question
Post by: spinney on March 21, 2016, 01:51:02 pm

Dragonman,

Greetings from England.
Four years is asking a lot from titebond, I'd go more with 12 months once opened then discard.

Andrew.

Title: Re: glue question
Post by: PaulN/KS on March 21, 2016, 03:18:27 pm

I don't like to use it for anything important after one year.
I do keep the old stuff around to seal the ends of staves so it is not wasted.

Title: Re: glue question
Post by: tattoo dave on March 21, 2016, 04:51:20 pm

Hey Dave, below is copied and pasted from titebond website. But I still wouldn't trust it for bow lams after 1 year.

Titebond Original and Titebond II, remain usable beyond two years. Should Titebond Original become thick and stringy, or Titebond II turn into an orange-colored gel, these changes signify that the glue is no longer usable. The minimum shelf life of Titebond III is stated as one two years. When stored appropriately at room temperature, Titebond III is expected to last beyond its stated shelf life.

Tattoo Dave

Title: Re: glue question
Post by: dragonman on March 21, 2016, 05:07:31 pm

thanks for the info, guess it was too old then, also my workshop gets pretty cold..

Pearl...the bow was long and well within its tolerances, and the backing partly delaminated and the limb exploded...is weird though because it exploded whilst first stringing and lemonwood is pretty flexible...the wood looked too dry where it broke right through, but checked the moisture with my scientific gadget  and it said 12% which is ok......glue was all I could think,,,,but what went first , hard to say in this case

Title: Re: glue question
Post by: Hamish on March 21, 2016, 06:49:03 pm

Titebond doesn't like being used in the cold. I've had laminations open up straight after taking clamps off, 12 hrs after glue up.