Glue recommendation for redwood outdoors

[Howard Pollack]

Hi-  I'm building a garden bench out of redwood and would like a glue recommendation.  The assembly will be a bit fiddly so a long open time is helpful.  Most of the glue will be used for joinery, but there is one place where two boards must be laminated to get adequate thickness.  And my shop is cold especially at night (usually in the 50-60 degree range).  All suggestions (and reasons) for the glue are welcome.  Thanks  -Howard

[jteneyck]

Hi-  I'm building a garden bench out of redwood and would like a glue recommendation.  The assembly will be a bit fiddly so a long open time is helpful.  Most of the glue will be used for joinery, but there is one place where two boards must be laminated to get adequate thickness.  And my shop is cold especially at night (usually in the 50-60 degree range).  All suggestions (and reasons) for the glue are welcome.  Thanks  -Howard

Perfect application for epoxy.  West Systems 105-205 system will give you 60 - 70 minutes working time and cures down to 40F.  Link

John

[Willyou]

I think most wood glue is OK at 50-60 degrees; maybe taking a bit longer to set up and cure. Check with the manufacturer. If you need more heat, as with epoxy, make a temporary plastic or cardboard tent over the project with a 40-60 watt light bulb inside. This will easily and cheaply provide the needed heat.

[Bill_de]

Hi-  I'm building a garden bench out of redwood and would like a glue recommendation.  The assembly will be a bit fiddly so a long open time is helpful.  Most of the glue will be used for joinery, but there is one place where two boards must be laminated to get adequate thickness.  And my shop is cold especially at night (usually in the 50-60 degree range).  All suggestions (and reasons) for the glue are welcome.  Thanks  -Howard

At sixty degees you shouldn't have a proble. During the winter my shop is usually at sixty during all day. I have been known to bring something into the house over night, bringing it back out before breakfast.

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[ianab]

Outdoors use is actually a use case for Gorilla Glue (Polyurethane). I think that's good down to ~50F. Or John's suggestion of West Systems epoxy is good. 

Being a bit cooler usually extends the open time, as long as you don't get too cold and stop it curing at all. 

If in doubt, a temporary tent and small heat source should keep the piece over 50F overnight and allow a good cure. I have a small electric oil column heater I can slide under the assembly bench, then throw some old blankets over top. Set it on low and it keeps things "comfy" in the tent, even if it's down close to freezing outside.

[KC]

I just saw a FineWoodWorking article that talks about Gorilla poly being good down to 40 degrees.  While it may actually work and stick things together at 40 degrees, my personal experience after using it a LOT for over 20 years is that I can't imagine trying to even squeeze it out of the bottle at that temp... let alone spread it.  

It should be 55 or so in the shop this morning, so just for the hellofit I'm gonna try it.  If I was really gluing something I'd warm the shop up first, then take the glue in the house to warm IT up, then throw the electric blanket over whatever it was I was working on.  

It's been a long time since I had a temperature related failure.

[AHill]

You may want to consider throwing an electric blanket over the project while the glue cures. Another trick is to make a cardboard shelter and put an incandescent bulb inside. The bulb will heat up the shelter. Believe it or not, a light bulb is what they used to use in outdoor vending machines to keep the drinks from freezing in the winter.