Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I bought 4 sheets of 3/4 ply today I went to a seconds yard and they were only $10 (australian) a sheet which i thought was good I'll be able to trim most of the imperfections off with my profile and such

which is the best glue to use?
is liquid nails really bad as I have 2 tubes left over from our house building and also being only $2 a tube here the price is attractive
marcel

As far as "glues" are concerned, I like Titebond. I am using Titebond II but there are people who say that Titebond III is far superior (too late for me). I also used epoxy thickened with micro fibers to laminate my side walls together.

I don't like liquid nails (my opinion some people swear by it), I'd rather use glue. I used it on a few places in my build. Then I had to remove or move the pieces for one reason or another. Luckily, it wasn't as permenant as I thought.

PL Polyurethane construction adhesive from HD (supposedly much better than liquid nails). I use the PL Caulk (Roof and Flashing sealant) also. Gorilla Glue (Polyurethane) if you want to go to the trouble of wetting the joints and put up with the foaming. Some type of carpenter's glue - I've always stuck with Elmer's (Probond and Carpenter's Glue.) Never used the Titebond that AF referred to. Have to give it a try

Geron

I just started to build my TD and I am using that Gorilla Glue for the first time. It seems like it holds well and the foaming out the sides isn't bad. It will cut and sand relitively easily. Wetting the wood was easy using a spray bottle. I think the best thing about it is that is is completely water proof. It is supposed to last for many years.... Only time will tell. I believe if you are using fasteners and glue as I am the extra strength from better glue may be overkill..... Just a thought....

Last year a friend was using part of my space to build a small boat. I was also building a boat at the time and we had spent some time on one of the boat forums where there was a fairly indepth discussion about the different types of glues. We participated in them for a few days and then we decided to try and do a few test on some of the different ones. I won't go into a lot of detail, but we did pick one to do a bit more testing on. It was a polyurethane product. We used Douglas Fir to make a small section of 3 frames or ribs tied together with 9 stringers. The frames were 30" across and 18" deep and were 2' apart making it overall 2-1/2' x 4' x 1-1/2" high. The stringers were 3/4" x 1". The frames were 1" stock half-lapped at the joint and then notched for the stringers. This made each glue joint have a surface area of 2-1/2 sq in. The stringers were fitted and pilot holes drilled for the fastners. Then the notches had a layer of glue applied to them, the stringers were replaced and brass screws were inserted to hold them in place while the glue was curing out. This was in June and we placed the frame on a shed roof on the back side of the shop where it stayed till just recently (approx. 9 mo.). This included being in sunshine, rain, snow and temps down to -26 on one ocassion and -20 on several others. I know it is a bit unscientific, but when we took the frame down to inspect it, we first used a small hammer to tap it all over to see if it rang true, or if it had dead spots. It not only rang true then, but even after we removed all the brass scews, there was no change in tone. Next we cut apart all the stringers at mid point and tried to separte them from the frames. Every joint separated due to a failure of the wood itself and not the glue line. We took 2 of the joints and put them into boiling water for an hour with equal results. We also took scraps of Marine plywood (Meranti BS 1088) and glued 2 pieces together. These were 3" x 12" and were over lapped 6". They were held together by a couple of ratchet clamps for 3 days. When we tried to separate them the glue lines held and the outer plies of wood separated. I for one prefer a good glue line to a lot of fasteners. In the pic below is the product that we used. It was ordered in the 28 oz sizes but also comes in the 10 oz size. I bought a case (12 ea) of the larger tubes delivered to my home (UPS) for $78. That figures out to $6.50 per tube delivered. The average builder would probably want to purchase the smaller 10 oz tubes. Below is a link to the site of the manufacturer and a picture of the description.

http://www.stickwithpl.com/products/pan ... uction.asp

My entire trailer's held together with construction adhesive, it's easy to use and crazy sticky. It's a lot handier to grab a glue gun and have at it than it is to mix up the epoxy, add the microfibers, and start dabbing at stuff with a tongue depressor. Both glues are stronger than wood.

I'll use epoxy when I need to: fiberglassing a boat or laminating things. But, where there's an alternative, I'll use that.

I'm using up all the leftover epoxy from the last boat. I prefer it as if you need to sand and ever get into the glue, liquid nails tends to ball up the paper. It is a lot less expensive though. I've got the epoxy, and am not planning a another boat for a while, at least not at this time. PS you can also sink a screw into cured epoxy and it will hold....Doug Hodder

That may hold true for LIQUID NAILS but the above mentioned PL product is not LIQUID NAILS. I have sawn it, planed it and drilled it with no problems After it is CURED. I have even sanded it. ALL products with a polyurethane title are not equal. Even epoxies differ widely between manufactures, so to group all versions of any type product is to do it a misjustice. Before condemming any product one should try it, test it and then make a recommendation as to it's use or not.

Elmer's now makes a polyurethane glue that looks like gorilla glue, claims the same thinf on the container...and sells for much less per ounce;
is it compareable to Gorilla glue ?

hammer & tongs wrote:Elmer's now makes a polyurethane glue that looks like gorilla glue, claims the same thinf on the container...and sells for much less per ounce;
is it compareable to Gorilla glue ?

I've used both. Can't tell the difference. Both foam and stick things together. It's called Elmer's ultimate glue and states that it is polyurethane

Geron

Thanks Geron...I'll use it with confidence..

Hey, Ol Timer, My comments were strictly for the liquid nails product. I've used lots of polyurethane glues and you're right, you can do just about anything that you want to them. The basic liquid nails product won't work with equipment like the polyurethanes. Sorry if I didn't make myself clear. In fact I was in Home Depot today looking for the product that you highlighted. I was thinking about using it to adhear the top aluminum skin... Doug Hodder

Geron wrote:

hammer & tongs wrote:Elmer's now makes a polyurethane glue that looks like gorilla glue, claims the same thinf on the container...and sells for much less per ounce;
is it compareable to Gorilla glue ?

I've used both. Can't tell the difference. Both foam and stick things together. It's called Elmer's ultimate glue and states that it is polyurethane

Geron

That's the stuff I'm using too--with a bull on the bottle.

I guess all glues fail in some way

http://www.simplicityboats.com/pl_premium.htm

here hey just used the glue PL Premium,

I would use wood screws with it.

I have also had very good luck with both the PL types of industrial adhesives and the standard ELMERS Carpenters glue. I have used the Elmers for all interior glueing and the PL for the tougher jobs like for the Al skin to plywood bond!

Worked for me!

Gerald in Winnipeg