TG

"Thomas G. Marshall"

31/08/2009 12:28 PM

Does wood glue (in bottle) die with age?


Sorry for what's certainly unimportant, but I have a bottle of Elmer's
Wood Glue (which I've heard is roughly equivalent to Tite Bond and is
more or less a good product<----please advise) which is over 20 years
old. Is it likely still any good (in bottle and behaves perfectly
fine). It has not separated, nor changed consistency.

Thanks! Sorry if this is a WOT.


This topic has 25 replies

LZ

Luigi Zanasi

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

04/09/2009 3:01 PM

On Sep 4, 2:23=A0pm, Steve Turner <[email protected]>
wrote:

> * (have I ever mentioned that "anyways" is always plural here in Texas?)

In Quebec too.

Luigi

bl

burtwitlin

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

04/09/2009 10:31 AM

Love your reply. Dead nuts right on. How many cents are we talking
about?

TG

"Thomas G. Marshall"

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

07/09/2009 7:40 AM

On Sep 4, 10:27=A0am, Jack Stein <[email protected]> wrote:
> Thomas G. Marshall wrote:

...[snip]...

> > Thanks! =A0Sorry if this is a WOT.
>
> If by WOT, you mean Way Off Topic, it is, but only if you think this is
> a political only group.

Nah, I meant Waste of Time. For some reason in my usenet circles it
meant something different than merely off topic. The "OT" prefix is
usually what I see for that. Since '95 or so {shrug}, beats me which
the "usenet old-timers" use more offten...

Rr

RonB

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

31/08/2009 4:36 PM

On Aug 31, 5:53=A0pm, Sonny <[email protected]> wrote:
> A 20 yr old (vintage) bottle of Elmer's Glue? =A0That should fetch a
> pretty good price on E-Bay.
>
> Sonny

But do you serve it with red meat or seafood?

RonB

Sc

Sonny

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

31/08/2009 3:53 PM

A 20 yr old (vintage) bottle of Elmer's Glue? That should fetch a
pretty good price on E-Bay.

Sonny

Sb

"SonomaProducts.com"

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

31/08/2009 2:29 PM

Here is the Titebond answer on shelf life

http://www.titebond.com/FaqTB.asp

It seems they are saying as long as it is liquid. I especially like
this statement

"Should Titebond Original become thick and stringy, or Titebond II
turns into an orange colored gel, these changes signify that the glue
is no longer usable."


On Aug 31, 12:28=A0pm, "Thomas G. Marshall" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Sorry for what's certainly unimportant, but I have a bottle of Elmer's
> Wood Glue (which I've heard is roughly equivalent to Tite Bond and is
> more or less a good product<----please advise) which is over 20 years
> old. =A0Is it likely still any good (in bottle and behaves perfectly
> fine). =A0It has not separated, nor changed consistency.
>
> Thanks! =A0Sorry if this is a WOT.

Cc

"CW"

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

04/09/2009 5:25 PM


"Steve Turner" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I have a question: When are glue manufacturers going to take a cue from
> those few shampoo companies that make the upside-down bottles with flat
> "tops"? I don't even buy shampoo any more if it doesn't have that
> feature. I mean, how many hours of our lives have we wasted waiting for
> some gelatinous crap to come oozing out of those danged ol' "right-side
> up" bottles anyways?!*

I would imagine that the glue manufacturers figure that woodworkers are
smarter than the bottle. One shake is all it takes to get the glue to the
other end of the bottle.

nn

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

31/08/2009 9:42 PM

On Aug 31, 5:09=A0pm, jo4hn <[email protected]> wrote:

> =A0My feeling is that if it's over a couple > years old and you really c=
are
> about your project, use a crowbar on > your wallet and spend a few buck=
s
> for a new bottle.

Wow... no kidding. After 20 years even I wouldn't use it.

Robert

MH

"Martin H. Eastburn"

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

31/08/2009 9:22 PM

It can freeze itself to death.
Martin

Thomas G. Marshall wrote:
> Sorry for what's certainly unimportant, but I have a bottle of Elmer's
> Wood Glue (which I've heard is roughly equivalent to Tite Bond and is
> more or less a good product<----please advise) which is over 20 years
> old. Is it likely still any good (in bottle and behaves perfectly
> fine). It has not separated, nor changed consistency.
>
> Thanks! Sorry if this is a WOT.

Ll

"LD"

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

01/09/2009 6:41 AM

"Thomas G. Marshall" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:aa04fb73-6dc6-4666-be5e-5ec32ce70cea@q14g2000vbi.googlegroups.com...
>
> Sorry for what's certainly unimportant, but I have a bottle of Elmer's
> Wood Glue (which I've heard is roughly equivalent to Tite Bond and is
> more or less a good product<----please advise) which is over 20 years
> old. Is it likely still any good (in bottle and behaves perfectly
> fine). It has not separated, nor changed consistency.
>
> Thanks! Sorry if this is a WOT.

Cc

"CW"

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

07/09/2009 10:10 AM


"Steve Turner" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I don't know what kind of glue you're using, but when I have 3/4" of
> Titebond left in a quart bottle, one shake ain't gonna get it.
> Incidentally, when they get to that point I usually turn the bottles
> upside down and store them in a tin can.
>
Shake harder. Works for me.

Ll

"LD"

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

05/09/2009 4:51 AM

"Jack Stein" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Thomas G. Marshall wrote:
>> Sorry for what's certainly unimportant, but I have a bottle of Elmer's
>> Wood Glue (which I've heard is roughly equivalent to Tite Bond and is
>> more or less a good product<----please advise) which is over 20 years
>> old. Is it likely still any good (in bottle and behaves perfectly
>> fine). It has not separated, nor changed consistency.
>
> I've always used Elmer's wood glue, it is a good product. More important,
> I have a container of it that is at LEAST 20 years old and it works fine.
> It has thickened a bit but it's still yellow, just a little hard to get
> out of the bottle. Because of this, I bought a new bottle of the stuff
> because I never throw anything away... Still, I never had any glue joint
> fail using the old stuff.
>
>> Thanks! Sorry if this is a WOT.
>
> If by WOT, you mean Way Off Topic, it is, but only if you think this is a
> political only group.


It isn't?

Ll

"Leon"

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

01/09/2009 8:09 PM


"Mike O." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:28:17 -0700 (PDT), "Thomas G. Marshall"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>

>
> I don't know if the glue will be good after 20 years but the bottle
> might not be. I had a plastic quart bottle of Elmer's yellow in the
> garage for about 5 years and the glue seemed okay so I was going to
> try some on a small project. I was pouring some glue into a smaller
> container and dropped the quart bottle on the concrete floor. The
> plastic had turned brittle and just shattered. I instantly had glue
> everywhere.


Look on the bright side? :~) It hit the floor. Several months ago I
dropped a quart can of gel varnish on top of my Delta Moriser. I had that
crap all over the place too. I had to take the fan cover and fan off to get
the gel out. And then wipe down every square inch of the mortiser with
thinner.

MO

Mike O.

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

01/09/2009 4:13 PM

On Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:28:17 -0700 (PDT), "Thomas G. Marshall"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Sorry for what's certainly unimportant, but I have a bottle of Elmer's
>Wood Glue (which I've heard is roughly equivalent to Tite Bond and is
>more or less a good product<----please advise) which is over 20 years
>old. Is it likely still any good (in bottle and behaves perfectly
>fine). It has not separated, nor changed consistency.


I don't know if the glue will be good after 20 years but the bottle
might not be. I had a plastic quart bottle of Elmer's yellow in the
garage for about 5 years and the glue seemed okay so I was going to
try some on a small project. I was pouring some glue into a smaller
container and dropped the quart bottle on the concrete floor. The
plastic had turned brittle and just shattered. I instantly had glue
everywhere.

Mike O.

TG

"Thomas G. Marshall"

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

02/09/2009 3:14 PM

On Sep 2, 6:04=A0am, Phisherman <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:28:17 -0700 (PDT), "Thomas G. Marshall"
>
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Sorry for what's certainly unimportant, but I have a bottle of Elmer's
> >Wood Glue (which I've heard is roughly equivalent to Tite Bond and is
> >more or less a good product<----please advise) which is over 20 years
> >old. =A0Is it likely still any good (in bottle and behaves perfectly
> >fine). =A0It has not separated, nor changed consistency.
>
> >Thanks! =A0Sorry if this is a WOT.
>
> I use Elmer's Carpenters Wood glue. =A0It does have a shelf life. =A0Glue
> 20 years old probably would not be used on any furniture. =A0Buy some
> fresh glue, and try not to buy a larger amount than you can use in a
> year or two. =A0Keep cool, keep from freezing. =A0
>
> Maybe you can use the old glue to make some Silly Putty?
>
> http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Silly-Putty

I'm half tempted to notify the company: they probably could use it for
some testimonial.

Ok, ok. I'm beaten down----I'm giving up. I'll buy more. LOL...

Ll

"Leon"

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

01/09/2009 8:14 AM


"Thomas G. Marshall" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:aa04fb73-6dc6-4666-be5e-5ec32ce70cea@q14g2000vbi.googlegroups.com...
>
> Sorry for what's certainly unimportant, but I have a bottle of Elmer's
> Wood Glue (which I've heard is roughly equivalent to Tite Bond and is
> more or less a good product<----please advise) which is over 20 years
> old. Is it likely still any good (in bottle and behaves perfectly
> fine). It has not separated, nor changed consistency.
>
> Thanks! Sorry if this is a WOT.

If you moved a counter top appliance in your kitchen, one that does not get
used much, the one that you thought would be cool to have but never actually
use, and uncovered an old tooth pick, would you use it or throw it away?

dn

dpb

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

31/08/2009 7:56 PM

RonB wrote:
> On Aug 31, 5:53 pm, Sonny <[email protected]> wrote:
>> A 20 yr old (vintage) bottle of Elmer's Glue? That should fetch a
>> pretty good price on E-Bay.
>>
>> Sonny
>
> But do you serve it with red meat or seafood?

It's white; obviously not w/ red meat... :)

--

JS

Jack Stein

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

04/09/2009 9:27 AM

Thomas G. Marshall wrote:
> Sorry for what's certainly unimportant, but I have a bottle of Elmer's
> Wood Glue (which I've heard is roughly equivalent to Tite Bond and is
> more or less a good product<----please advise) which is over 20 years
> old. Is it likely still any good (in bottle and behaves perfectly
> fine). It has not separated, nor changed consistency.

I've always used Elmer's wood glue, it is a good product. More
important, I have a container of it that is at LEAST 20 years old and it
works fine. It has thickened a bit but it's still yellow, just a little
hard to get out of the bottle. Because of this, I bought a new bottle
of the stuff because I never throw anything away... Still, I never had
any glue joint fail using the old stuff.

> Thanks! Sorry if this is a WOT.

If by WOT, you mean Way Off Topic, it is, but only if you think this is
a political only group.

--
Jack
Using FREE News Server: http://www.eternal-september.org/
http://jbstein.com

KN

Keith Nuttle

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

04/09/2009 2:53 PM

burtwitlin wrote:
> Love your reply. Dead nuts right on. How many cents are we talking
> about?

To some who must utilize every thing cents does not make a difference
but how much is left. Is the bottle empty?

ST

Steve Turner

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

04/09/2009 4:23 PM

Keith Nuttle wrote:
> burtwitlin wrote:
>> Love your reply. Dead nuts right on. How many cents are we talking
>> about?
>
> To some who must utilize every thing cents does not make a difference
> but how much is left. Is the bottle empty?

Dang, I had to parse that about three times before it made cents (sic).

Geez, how much patience do you have anyway?

I have a question: When are glue manufacturers going to take a cue from
those few shampoo companies that make the upside-down bottles with flat
"tops"? I don't even buy shampoo any more if it doesn't have that
feature. I mean, how many hours of our lives have we wasted waiting for
some gelatinous crap to come oozing out of those danged ol' "right-side
up" bottles anyways?!*

* (have I ever mentioned that "anyways" is always plural here in Texas?)

--
See Nad. See Nad go. Go Nad!
To reply, eat the taco.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboyee/

ST

Steve Turner

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

04/09/2009 4:24 PM

Steve Turner wrote:
> Geez, how much patience do you have anyway?
>
> I have a question: When are glue manufacturers going to take a cue from
> those few shampoo companies that make the upside-down bottles with flat
> "tops"? I don't even buy shampoo any more if it doesn't have that
> feature. I mean, how many hours of our lives have we wasted waiting for
> some gelatinous crap to come oozing out of those danged ol' "right-side
> up" bottles anyways?!*
>
> * (have I ever mentioned that "anyways" is always plural here in Texas?)

(woops, I forgot to pluralize the first occurrence!)

--
See Nad. See Nad go. Go Nad!
To reply, eat the taco.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboyee/

ST

Steve Turner

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

04/09/2009 8:15 PM

CW wrote:
> "Steve Turner" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> I have a question: When are glue manufacturers going to take a cue from
>> those few shampoo companies that make the upside-down bottles with flat
>> "tops"? I don't even buy shampoo any more if it doesn't have that
>> feature. I mean, how many hours of our lives have we wasted waiting for
>> some gelatinous crap to come oozing out of those danged ol' "right-side
>> up" bottles anyways?!*
>
> I would imagine that the glue manufacturers figure that woodworkers are
> smarter than the bottle. One shake is all it takes to get the glue to the
> other end of the bottle.

I don't know what kind of glue you're using, but when I have 3/4" of
Titebond left in a quart bottle, one shake ain't gonna get it.
Incidentally, when they get to that point I usually turn the bottles
upside down and store them in a tin can.

--
Any given amount of traffic flow, no matter how
sparse, will expand to fill all available lanes.
To reply, eat the taco.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboyee/

jj

jo4hn

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

31/08/2009 3:09 PM

Thomas G. Marshall wrote:
> Sorry for what's certainly unimportant, but I have a bottle of Elmer's
> Wood Glue (which I've heard is roughly equivalent to Tite Bond and is
> more or less a good product<----please advise) which is over 20 years
> old. Is it likely still any good (in bottle and behaves perfectly
> fine). It has not separated, nor changed consistency.
>
> Thanks! Sorry if this is a WOT.

Estimates for storage life vary from one year on up with most "experts"
going for 2 years or so. Note the use of "experts" and "or so". My
feeling is that if it's over a couple years old and you really care
about your project, use a crowbar on your wallet and spend a few bucks
for a new bottle.
:-)
jo4hn

Kl

Kevin

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

02/09/2009 11:06 AM

On Tue, 1 Sep 2009 20:09:47 -0500, "Leon" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Look on the bright side? :~) It hit the floor. Several months ago I
>dropped a quart can of gel varnish on top of my Delta Moriser. I had that
>crap all over the place too. I had to take the fan cover and fan off to get
>the gel out. And then wipe down every square inch of the mortiser with
>thinner.

Look on the bright side, a while ago I dropped my bit set for my Akeda
dovetail jig. Picture 7 router bits sticking up from a little plastic
holder.


But I caught it.


But it was top heavy....


-Kevin

Pn

Phisherman

in reply to "Thomas G. Marshall" on 31/08/2009 12:28 PM

02/09/2009 6:04 AM

On Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:28:17 -0700 (PDT), "Thomas G. Marshall"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>Sorry for what's certainly unimportant, but I have a bottle of Elmer's
>Wood Glue (which I've heard is roughly equivalent to Tite Bond and is
>more or less a good product<----please advise) which is over 20 years
>old. Is it likely still any good (in bottle and behaves perfectly
>fine). It has not separated, nor changed consistency.
>
>Thanks! Sorry if this is a WOT.


I use Elmer's Carpenters Wood glue. It does have a shelf life. Glue
20 years old probably would not be used on any furniture. Buy some
fresh glue, and try not to buy a larger amount than you can use in a
year or two. Keep cool, keep from freezing.

Maybe you can use the old glue to make some Silly Putty?

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Silly-Putty


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