Official Luthiers Forum!

Er... random question, I know.

In the summer months when the weather is nice here in Michigan, I do a lot of my woodworking out in the garage. When I moved my operation to the basement this fall, I left behind a basically brand new bottle of Titebond 1. I came across it in the garage the other day and it was frozen, brick-solid. Do you suppose it's Ok to use, or should I discard it?

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Mike Hoenerhoff
Elderly Instruments

Mike, I'd discard it. If you look at the back label on the bottle it says to "Keep from Freezing"

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

They say nobody reads anymore... I guess it's true!

Thanks!

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Mike Hoenerhoff
Elderly Instruments

If it freezes it's no longer usable.
-C

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Freeborn Guitars
and home of BeauGuard©

Chuck it. My local supplier won't even order it (gets shipped from the US) until temperatures are warmer. So once he's out, he's out until late spring.

You know, despite the advice of many individuals here that no doubt are far more knowledgeable than myself, I decided to experiment with my frozen glue. I took 2 2" pine board scraps and glued them together side-by-side and clamped them overnight. Today I tried breaking them apart at the seam and couldn't do it. I even put them on the floor with a dowel along the seam and stood on it. The boards cracked the joint did not.

I'm sure there could be long-term ill effects though. Or maybe the glue will not have the same sort of temperature or moisture tolerance it had before. I certainly won't be using it on any guitars, but I think I'll keep it around to glue up jigs, etc around the shop. I'll just have to make sure I keep it blatantly labeled as "Frozen Glue".

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Mike Hoenerhoff
Elderly Instruments

Titebond Original, II, and III are all freeze-thaw stable. This is tested through a minimum of 5 cycles. The worst scenario that is regularly encountered is the appearance of lumps. If this happens, tap the container on the corner of a workbench/countertop/any other solid surface that you find handy and it will return to its normal onsistency. Going through one or more freeze cycles will have no detrimental effect on adhesive performance.

As got the warning on the label: adhesives will last longer under stable storage conditions. If you keep it in a garage that varies from freezing to scorching over the course of a year, it will simply have a shorter useable life. In all honesty, I would have no reservations using a product that has been frozen at some point in my own projects.

In case you're wondering why you should believe me: I am a Technical Specialist for Franklin International (Titebond.) Officially, I am also the lab testing and technical troubleshooting guru. Let me know if you need any additional clarification.

Well thank you, Hugh. Now I know where to direct all of my Titebond questions! (Don't worry, I probably will only come up with about 100 more)

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Mike Hoenerhoff
Elderly Instruments

Now ain't THAT a hoot! So, would you be able to tell us which TiteBond would be best for gluing up fingerboards to necks and necks into bodies? My guess would be original, but hey, I have been proved wrong before!!

My dad was a beer salesman for 30 years and I used to ask my friends if they liked "Tuborg Gold" better than the "Tuborg Original" and they would always pick the "Gold" my father knew that they simply changed the labels, not the beer.

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"Talking about music is like dancing over architecture".
See the most insane first guitar build: http://www.virgilguitar.com
http://www.youtube.com/VirgilGuitar

Does that apply to Titebond Extend too?

Yes, this applies to Titebond Extend as well.

There are several products one could consider optimal for gluing neck joints. Titebond Original and Extend are both common choices, at higher production levels Super Titebond is also an excellent choice. I personally use an advocate Titebond Extend for luthiery due to its longer working time, superior creep resistance, and thermal resistance... Not to mention it steams apart nicely, which is great for future repairs and avoiding doofus of the month awards.

Hugh, thanks for sharing your expertise!

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck