Titebond: New Date Code

[Philip1231]

I don't take chances with glue and finish. However, when it comes to bourbon and cigars, .......................

[Stwood_]

Sometimes, I wonder about "use-by" dates? I am in the school that questions canned goods only if they are leaking or bulging. Last year I threw out some cherry pie filling we used for camping trips. It was only half as old as our marriage of 39 years. A definite toss is baking soda and their baking mixes. Even flour gets skunky.

I will throw out shellac that is about 6 months past the mix date. I'm not sure about dry dates. Dry mixes pretty well. And, Deft lacquer lives forever. Durability of lacquer finish is pretty darn good, too. We have pieces approaching 40 years--no crazing or yellow.

Anyway, the type II Titebond is still working after freezing and heating for two, likely three, winters.

I haven't seen a *use by* date code in several years. I think they've all gone to *best by* date code.

And we've no problem using canned food past the date. If it isn't bulging, rusty, or leaking, we'll open it and ck it first. That seldom ever happens though, as we are diligent about rotating.

[Bill_Houghton]

I just cannot understand why all manufacturers don't use open dating: "This product should be used by XXX."  Some manufacturers have managed to start doing it without the world ending, and I'm not seeing them losing market share.

I was at my hardware store a year or so ago, looking at a tube of some specialty caulk, and called the company while I was standing there (cell phones do have their uses).  I found out that every tube the hardware store had was out of date - understandable, since the production and use-by dates were in code.

[mvflaim]

I just cannot understand why all manufacturers don't use open dating: "This product should be used by XXX."  Some manufacturers have managed to start doing it without the world ending, and I'm not seeing them losing market share.

I was at my hardware store a year or so ago, looking at a tube of some specialty caulk, and called the company while I was standing there (cell phones do have their uses).  I found out that every tube the hardware store had was out of date - understandable, since the production and use-by dates were in code.

Not to hi-jack this thread but, the same mentality works for mulch. If you buy Preen mulch at your local big box store and the label on the pallet is over six months old, the Preen has already gone bad. You're much better off buying the cheaper mulch and a can of Preen by itself and adding it in your mulch bed.

[Bibliophile 13]

I’ve gotten a longer shelf life out of opened bottles of Titebond II by squeezing most of the air out of the bottle before closing the cap.

[Handplanesandmore]

Don't forget the smell test too.

The good by dates are very conservative. I have used glues ( pva, ca, modern hide glie etc) passing their shelf life by more than one year on too many projects with zero issues.

Expired food or even medication is not necessarily trash, why glue?
Simon

[C. in Indy]

Temperature and environment are such a big factor for chemical changes as well.

Again as a hijack, when I turn pens I lately use "Doctor's Woodshop" friction shellac.   This is after a few initial years of using Shellawax.   The Shellawax has a lot of VOC content and will cure (crosslink) almost independent of temperature.   The Doctor's Woodshop shellac is very low-odor but really won't do its thing unless it is heated up considerably by friction.  Once I got that knack (turning hot), I really enjoyed its capabilities and durability.

[EricU]

I'm still eyeballing that lone, unopened gallon of Titebond Original 
. The color in the jug looks good....

the color on my bad gallon was fine.  I actually used some of it on something unimportant and it stuck.  Nowadays I just buy a new bottle for any important new project.

I always wonder how long the stuff has been on the shelf at the store. Got some gorilla wood glue and it was watery and took forever to set up. Maybe that's how they designed it, but next time I was at the store I got some titebond

[mvflaim]

the color on my bad gallon was fine.  I actually used some of it on something unimportant and it stuck.  Nowadays I just buy a new bottle for any important new project.

I always wonder how long the stuff has been on the shelf at the store. Got some gorilla wood glue and it was watery and took forever to set up.  Maybe that's how they designed it, but next time I was at the store I got some titebond

It's not only that but, how long did it sit at the manufacturer before it was shipped to a distributor's warehouse and sat there only then to sit on a retailer's shelf. When I worked at my old company, we made some caulk that expired before it was even sold to anyone.

[hbmcc]

Further digression:

Anyone who buys HP ink-jet cartridges knows expiration dates. Learned the costly way. They quit working at the date printed on the container (coded) holding the canister; electronic (coded) expiration. I bought an expired one at Off... Dep.... that failed on install the date of purchase. They call it "for your protection", or something similar. For my protection, my next printer was not HP.