How to Pick the Best Wood Glue for Your Projects

  • More than 20 Years Woodworking Experience
  • 7 Woodworking Books Available on Amazon
  • Over 1 Million Words Published About Woodworking
  • Bachelor of Arts Degree from Arizona State University

Come See What I'm Making on Etsy!

Check Out My Shop!

I receive Commissions for Purchases Made Through the Links in This Post.

This is How To Pick the Best Wood Glue for Your Woodworking Projects. There are a lot of different wood glues on the market, and if you let that noise get to you, it can be hard to make a decision. Instead of that, I’ll show you the easy way right now. Enjoy.

If You Like My Posts, You'll Love My Books

See My Woodworking Books Here

The Best Wood Glue

How-to-Pick-the-Best-Wood-Glue-for-Your-ProjectsSince people like to spend money on woodworking stuff, companies that sell woodworking stuff are always on the lookout for more ways to make more woodworking stuff and take that money. Wood glue is just another component of woodworking, so it’s no different for the marketers.

There are so many different glues out there that it can be super confusing to figure out which one is the best, and why it’s actually the best. Instead of doing all the research, and spending a lot of time figuring it out, I’ll show you a few good examples to get you started.

These examples are all really good performers, they are not expensive, and they’ll help you fulfill a very specific gluing need. It’s not about buying different glue for everything, it’s about having the best one when you actually need it.

Also, unless the circumstances that I outline don’t apply to any of your woodworking projects, you can feel comfortable just using the all around best glue that I share at the bottom of the post.

Save money, and it will be less confusing in the end.

Come See What I'm Making on Etsy!

Check Out My Shop!

See Also: Drying Time for Wood Glue

Best Glue for Indoor Projects

The best glue that you could use for your indoor woodworking projects is Titebond Original, which comes in a bottle with the red label. This is also called Titebond I, and it’s their number one wood glue.

It’s also the choice of millions of woodworkers who trust their projects to Titebond, and would trust them to no one else. It’s a fantastic all-around performer with excellent strength, and a nice amount of open time.

If you are making projects that are going to stay indoors, aren’t going to get wet, and are not going to be in contact with food, this is your go to glue of choice. You can get a nice size bottle for not a lot of money, and it won’t let you down.

See Also: 16 Awesome Reasons to Use Titebond Wood Glue

Best Glue for Outdoor Projects

If you’re going to make outdoor projects, especially projects that are going to get wet, then you need to glue that’s going to perform a little bit differently. In this case Titebond II is designed with outdoor projects and moisture in mind.

If you don’t make outdoor projects, and your projects are going to get wet, then don’t worry about this type of glue and take a look at the glue in the next section. However, if you do you make this type of project, this is definitely your glue.

This is an entirely different formulation that performs better in wet and outdoor type conditions. The last thing you want is to have one of your projects fall apart at the joints, and this is the way to protect from that.

Come See What I'm Making on Etsy!

Check Out My Shop!

This is sold in a similar bottle that has a blue label, so it’s really easy to see which one you need from across the woodworking store. Also, if you buy from Amazon, it’s easy to know you’re getting the right one.

See Also: 19 Incredible Tips on Working With Wood Glue

Best Glue for Water Contact

As well as being the best glue for the great outdoors, Titebond II is also the best glue for water contact for your project. This means, if you plan on getting your project wet, you might as well just glue those joints with Titebond II in the blue label.

Now, it should go without saying that you can’t make a wooden submarine using this wood glue and expect everything to be just fine. Even the best water resistant glues have their limitations.

However, using this type of wood glue for your projects that get wet instead of Titebond Original wood glue does make a significant difference in the water resistance. If this sounds like you, then use this type of glue.

See Also: How to Remove Glue From Wood

If You Like My Posts, You'll Love My Books

See My Woodworking Books Here

Best Glue for Food Contact

When it comes to making woodworking projects that are going to come in contact with food, it’s important that you are extra careful. The safety of you and the people who you sell to should be you’re number one concern at all times.

That being said, the best wood glue that you can use for items that will be in contact with food is Titebond III, also called Titebond Ultimate. This is a fantastic glue, and it’s rated for light contact with food on your projects.

When in doubt, you definitely want to use this wood glue as your weapon of choice against getting anyone sick from your products. It’s a little bit darker than the others, but that’s about the only noticeable difference.

Also, remember that food safety doesn’t mean you can put things that are hot, wet, or contain alcohol on your gluing. The harder you challenge the glue, the more likely you’ll cause it to break down.

The way you can see this type of glue from across the store is to look for the same shaped of bottle but with a green label. 

See Also: The Best Glue for Making Wooden Rings

Best All Around Wood Glue

For the best all-around wood glue, I actually have two options you can choose, and based on your projects, the choice will be easy for you. 

First of all, if you do a little bit of everything mentioned above, then I recommend just using Titebond III Ultimate would glue. Not only does it work for the normal stuff, but it also works for moisture and food as well.

Come See What I'm Making on Etsy!

Check Out My Shop!

This means that you never have to think. All you do is grab the same bottle of wood glue that you always use, and keep on using it on all of your projects. For a simple solution, this is definitely your winner.

Option two is for those of you that have absolutely no intention of making any type of woodworking project that will ever get wet, go outside, or make contact with food. If that’s you, Titebond Original in the red label is the way to go.

For the same reason as before, all you ever have to remember to do is reach for the same wood glue that you always use for all of your projects. It keeps everything super simple, and there’s a lot less to worry about.

See Also: 15 Best Tips for Making an Economy Woodworking Bench

Wood Glue Tips and Tricks

Gluing stuff shouldn’t be that complicated. Here are a few more tips to help you through the process, and increase your chances of success.

  • Choose the right glue based on the situation, and you’ll have a better success rate.
  • Don’t buy a gallon of each one of them unless you know you’re going to use it, because it does expire after a while.
  • If you want the simplest solution possible, just buy Titebond Ultimate and use that for all of your wood to wood joints in all situations.
  • It should go without saying that you need to make a very good joint in order for your wood glue to be successful.
  • If your glue ever gets old, or starts to separate in the bottle, throw it away and purchase a new one rather than take any chances.

See Also: 7 Helpful Tips on How to Make a Great Sanding Block

Your Action Assignment

Now that you know the best wood glue on the market, it’s time to get out into your shop and take action on what you’ve learned. Hop on Amazon, and pick up a couple different bottles to work with.

When you get them into your shop, start experimenting and seeing how they work. You definitely want to use them on a practice basis before you have to use them in real life.

Like anything, going into a situation inexperienced just invites more problems. If you at least glue a few of your scraps together and see how it looks before you have to work on an actual project, you’ll be glad that you did.

If you have any questions on the best wood glue for all of your woodworking projects, please post a question in the Q&A form and I’ll be glad to answer it. Happy building.

Post Author-

  • More than 20 Years Woodworking Experience
  • 7 Woodworking Books Available on Amazon
  • Over 1 Million Words Published About Woodworking
  • Bachelor of Arts Degree from Arizona State University
Buy My Books on Amazon

I receive Commissions for Purchases Made Through the Links in This Post.

Come See What I'm Making on Etsy!

Check Out My Shop!

 

You Can Find My Books on Amazon!

woodworking and guitar making books
 

An Exclusive Member of Mediavine Home

Westfarthing Woodworks LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.