Dumb wood glue question?

[Bcom]

Can regular Elmers white glue be used as a wood glue? I have to fill in some 1/2" holes in a table top and was gonna shove a 1/2 wooden dowel in each hole with some glue. Can i used regular Elmers white glue to do this? I hate buying a specific wood glue when it will never be used again. These holes are just old vise mounting holes on my workbench and im gonna fill them in to mount my new vise. Holes might be covered anyway with the new vise.

 

[Wolfman6]

Yes, Elmers will work fine for your needs.

 

[Musicinabottle]

Before all the counters come in, I'll second that, although regular wood glue such as Titebond would work better, but since you only have the white..........

 

[Certified Drunk]

Sure, just wipe off the excessive.

 

[rlitman]

Yellow wood glue is a LITTLE stronger, and dries a little faster, and has a better color match with most woods, but white Elmers glue will be just fine for your purposes.

 

[beakie]

line the wood dowels grains up with the table tops grain. help hide them a bit better.

 

[rlitman]

line the wood dowels grains up with the table tops grain. help hide them a bit better.

Can’t do that with dowels. Dowels will show end grain when used to plug holes. If you want to do this, you need to cut plugs yourself.

 

[Bcom]

Ok, thanks alot guys. Appearance aint a big deal. Just wanted to make sure the white elmers was adequate

 

[The Cobbler]

when I dowel holes to fill them I drill the hole to a bit smaller than the dowel so it's a tap in snug fit , do this all the time to re hang doors that have been pulled off the hinges

 

[jakemac]

when I dowel holes to fill them I drill the hole to a bit smaller than the dowel so it's a tap in snug fit , do this all the time to re hang doors that have been pulled off the hinges

i just squirt some glue in the hole, then jam in some toothpicks (fat end first), and screw it all back together.

 

[beakie]

Can’t do that with dowels. Dowels will show end grain when used to plug holes. If you want to do this, you need to cut plugs yourself.

good point. so often cut my own I had forgotten that.

 

[beakie]

when I dowel holes to fill them I drill the hole to a bit smaller than the dowel so it's a tap in snug fit , do this all the time to re hang doors that have been pulled off the hinges

while the are tough to put it, they "could" also pull out.

if glued in, and not so tight that the glue is squeezed out, the glue bond would be stronger.

 

[tarbellb]

If you put the proper taper on the plug you really dont even need glue.

Elmers is better then nothing, but remember Titebond Wood glue is cheap and excellent, and keeps unless it freezes.

 

[Bcom]

Ok guys, I completely contradicted myself by even asking this question. I bought some cheap wood glue anyway. There is also a drawer that needs fixed in the house and I figure I could also use the wood glue for that too.

 

[87GN]

How about 2p10?
http://www.fastcap.com/estore/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=103&idcategory=48

 

[bob15]

Ok guys, I completely contradicted myself by even asking this question. I bought some cheap wood glue anyway. There is also a drawer that needs fixed in the house and I figure I could also use the wood glue for that too.

What did you buy? Personally, I like using Titebond wood glues.

 

[apollo11]

I have 40 year old table made using white glue.
Still is holding tight.

 

[Bcom]

What did you buy? Personally, I like using Titebond wood glues.

The Gorilla wood glue was right next to the wood dowels in Wally world for $2.98

 

[wayne55]

I would use the wood glue now, but about 35 years ago I built a couple small tables with no nails or screws, just the white Elmers, and they are still holding up today.

 

[toolmiser]

When I was in High School shop classes 40 years ago, all we ever used is white glue, and I've never had a joint that was done properly-fail. If you use more recent types of glue and your joint isn't properly prepared there is a great chance they will fail.

 

[kctyphoon]

For what he's doing.. anything would work fine.. he could probably use maple syrup. It's just holding a dowel in that is gonna be covered anyway.

 

[BikerDad]

White glue should work fine in this application.

BUT.

For those unfamiliar with the differences between white glue and wood glues, there are two key ones. The first difference is yellow wood glues are stronger than white glues. Whether that matter depends on one's application. The second is that once cured, yellow glue is not reversible. White glue essentially is. It WILL be weakened and can even removed with water exposure. (Just check out Elmer's cleanup FAQ).

 

[BFBOB]

Plain ol' white Elmer's works just fine, but I prefer the water resistant Titebond II. BikerDad, regular Titebond is not considered water resistant. There are three varieties, regular, water resistant and weatherproof. Check the labels - the names seem to change now and then. I found the most water resistant type dried to a waterproof state too quickly for good cleanup doing cabinet work. The midgrade stays cleanable longer, but still stays pretty much waterproof after it dries fully.
And, yes, the color matches wood better. There's even a darker version for darker woods (not sure it's Titebond- just have seen it in stores).