ADHESIVE BONDING

OF WOOD

Technical Bulletin No. 1512

August 1975

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Forest Service

ADHESIVE BONDING
OF WOOD

By
M. L. Selbo, retired, formerly Chemical Engineer,
Forest Products Laboratory-Forest Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture

Technical Bulletin No. 1512

Washington, D. C.

August 1975

Selbo, M. L.
1975. Adhesive bonding of wood. U.S. Dep. Agr., Tech. Bull. No. 1512,
p. 124.
Summarizes current information on bonding wood into dependable, longlasting products. Characteristics of wood that affect gluing are detailed, as well as
types of adhesives and processes to be used for various conditions.
KEY WORDS; Bonding wood; adhesives; glues; glue types; glued products;
gluing techniques; glulam.
Oxford No. 824.8

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,

Washington, D.C., 20402. Price $1.55. Stock No. 001-000-03382
ii

FOREWORD
Mote than four decades ago Thomas R. Truax wrote USDA Bulletin No. 1500,
Gluing of Wood. In this bulletin, Truax laid down sound principles that have stood
the critical tests of time.
But adhesive technology has expanded enormously and there are many building
blocks to be added to the solid foundation Truax laid down in the 1920s.
When Truax bulletin was published, synthetic adhesives had not been introduced
and practically all wood gluing was done with glues formulated or compounded from
naturally occurring materials. Some of these glues (based on casein, blood, starch, and
animal extracts) are still being used, but in quantities far overshadowed by synthetics
such as phenol-,, resorcinol-, urea-, and melamine-formaldehyde resins, as well as vinyl
resins of various types.
Furniture was the major glued wood product when Truax wrote his technical bulletin;
softwood plywood, suitable only for interior use, was in its infancy. Currently, gluing
is involved in practically all branches of the wood-using industry. In housing, gluing
is employed extensively, particularly in prefabrication, but also on the building site;
plywood is mass produced in more than half of the States of the Union. Structural
laminated timbers ate produced for spans well over 300 feet and for structures as divergent as churches and minesweepers.
The technology of adhesives and gluing has come a long way. With some synthetic
resins, joints can be produced that withstand the ravages of the elements folly as well
as wood itself.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author appreciates the cooperation of gluing firms, associations, and equipment suppliers
in providing photographs and granting permission to Publish them. Photographs were Provided
by Rilco Laminated Products; Industrial Woodworking Machine Company; American Plywood
Association; Ashdee Division, George Koch Sons, Inc.; Carter Products Company, Inc.; Chas.
Smith Enterprises, Inc.; Newman Machine Company; James L. Taylor Manufacturing Company;
Evans Division, Royal Industries; Globe Machine Manufacturing Company, Inc.; Black Brothers;
and Treboda Limtr (Sweden).
iii

Use of trade, firm, or corporation names in this publication is for the information and convenience
of the reader. Such use does not constitute an official endorsement or approval of any product or
service by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the exclusion of others that may be suitable.

Mention of a chemical in this publication does not constitute a recommendation;

only those chemicals registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may
be recommended, and then only for uses as prescribed in the registration-and in
the manner and at the concentration prescribed. The list of registered chemicals
varies from time to time; prospective users, therefore, should get current information
on registration status from Pesticides Regulation Division, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. 20460.

Requests for copies of illustrations contained in this publication should be directed to the Forest
Products Laboratory, USDA Forest Service, P.O. Box 5130, Madison, Wis. 53705.
iv

CONTENTS
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Wood Properties Important in Adhesive Bonding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Shrinking and Swelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adhesives for Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Synthetic Adhesives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adhesives of Natural Origin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Improving Performance of Wood Through Gluing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Crossbanded Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Laminated Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
End and Corner Joint Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Preparing Wood for Gluing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Moisture Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Drying and Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Storage Before Gluing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Surfacing Wood For Gluing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Machining Special Types of Joints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cutting and Preparing Veneer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adhesives and Bonding Processes for Various products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Plywood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Laminated Timbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Furniture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ship and Boat Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sporting Goods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Particleboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Housing and Housing Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
New Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Gluing Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mixing Adhesive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Spreading Adhesive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Assembling Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Assembly Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pressing or Clamping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Curing Adhesive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Conditioning Glued Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adjustments in Adhesives and Gluing procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Gluing Treated Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Wood Treated With Oil-Soluble Preservatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Wood Treated With Waterborne Preservatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Wood Treated With Fire-Retardant Chemicals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Quality Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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ADHESIVE BONDING
OF WOOD

M 138 676

Figure 1 . T h e s e g l u e d - l a m i n a t e d b e a m s s t r e t c h i n g s k y w a r d a r e b u t o n e s t r i k i n g
example of todays profitable partnership between wood and adhesives. Soon
these beams will hold up the roof of a sports arena.

INTRODUCTION
common (fig. 1) but the gluing process
has never become static.
This publication brings together current information on use of adhesives for
bonding wood, so it can serve as a guide

Bonding of wood with glue is known to

date back to the Pharoahs and in all likelihood the first use of glue with wood was
much further back in antiquity. Since
then, glued wood products have become
1

in production of more dependable glued

products. The more important types are
emphasized because new synthetics are
appearing almost daily and to discuss all
synthetic and natural adhesives would
be an impractical and almost impossible
task.
The information presented here is based
on research carried out at the Forest Products Laboratory and elsewhere, as well as
on the authors experience both in research
and production gluing. A list of selected
references follows each major section.
Factors that affect the adequacy of the
glue bonds are emphasized, rather than
theories of adhesive bonding which, unfortunately, still remain in a somewhat
nebuous state. Even the world-famous
scientist Debye 1 steps lightly when approaching the subject of adhesion: The
forces between two molecules are supposed
to consist of a universal attraction, which
increases with diminishing distance until
the two molecules touch.
Blomquist1 states that . . . the actual
adhesion is more probably due to chemical
or physical forces . . . and Adhesion is
assumed first to require actual wetting of
the adherend by the adhesive. . . .
There seems to be general agreement
that a prime prerequisite for good bonding
is that the adhesive must wet the surfaces
to be joined. A related example is that
water generally wets clean, freshly machined wood surfaces and also forms strong

bonds between them when cooled to freezing temperatures. So, an adhesive apparently must wet wood surfaces and subsequently solidify to make a strong bonded
joint.
Putting a drop of water on wood and
observing the rate at which it is absorbed
has been proposed as a test for gluability.
This theory holds in most cases; however,
there are exceptions such as southern pine
treated with creosote to an 8 pounds per
cubic food retention. Actually the pine
was glued adequately to serve more than
25 years in bridge stringers, yet the oily
creosote certainly would have made the
water absorption test misleading.
One of the more successful attempts to
explain adhesive bonding of wood was
made in 1929 when Truax,1 Browne, and
Brouse discussed the theories of mechanical
and specific adhesion. Further theoretical
clarification undoubtedly will evolve. But
in the meantime, some practical engineering principles must be applied to assure
dependability in glue joints.
It is well known that numerous factors
(such as pressure, temperature, and assembly time) play an important part at some
time during the formation of a glue bond.
If these factors are controlled within a
reasonable range about the optimum for
each, high-quality glue bonds will result.
But if borderline conditions are used for
one or more of these factors-in other
words, if no substantial factors of safety are
employed-then the end results can be
catastrophic. Also, since the interactions
between the various factors are often illdefined, aiming toward optimum conditions is the safest practice.
In figure 2, good results are indicated
by the flat (horizontal) portion of the curve
and decreasing joint quality by the downward sloping part at left. Under laboratory
conditions good results can consistently be
obtained even when operating near the
breaking point of the curve. In plant production, the control of the factors is usually less exact and variable results may

M 136 540

Figure 2 .Gluing variables require more

control in plant production than might
be indicated from laboratory experiments.

See reference on Page 3.

Adhesives available today cover a wide

occur (indicated as out of control on the
figure), unless greater margins of safety are area in properties and performance characteristics, and the producer of glued wood
allowed.
In bonding wood with adhesives one products must be keenly aware of these
must be aware that wood is not a uniform facts when switching from one wood
substance, but a complex material that species to another, from one adhesive to
varies significantly in many properties
another, and from one product to another.
In general, the serviceability of a glued
density, for instance, which may range
from lower than 0.30 to higher than 0.80
wood assembly depends upon (1) the kind
and it would be mere chance if the same of wood and its preparation for use, (2) the
bonding material and procedure would be type and quality of the adhesive, (3) comsuitable for the entire range of wood patibility of the gluing process with the
species.
wood and adhesive used, (4) type of joint
Use of adhesives for bonding wood has or assembly, and (5) moisture-excluding
increased enormously over the past decades effectiveness of the finish or protective
and glued products vary in size from tiny treatment applied to the glued product.
wood jewelry to giant laminated timbers In addition, conditions in use naturally
affect the performance of a glue bond. For
spanning hundreds of feet. No single adadequate performance, a glue joint should
hesive has ever been formulated, and probably none ever will be, that will meet the remain as strong as the wood under the
service conditions to which the glued prodvarious requirements of all the innumerable applications of adhesive bonding. It is uct is exposed. If it does not, it becomes
therefore important that the user has the the weakest link in the assembly and the
proper background information to choose point at which failure first will occur.
and evaluate the adhesive best suited for a
particular application.
During the more than 30 years the
author has been involved in wood gluing
SELECTED REFERENCES
in plywood production, industry adhesive
research, and Government research on
adhesives and glued products-great
Blomquist, Richard F.
changes and progress have occurred in this
1963. Adhesives-past, present, and future.
field. The plywood industry, by far the
Edgar Marburg Lect., Am. Sot. Test.
largest user of wood adhesives, has grown
Mater., Philadelphia, Pa. 34 p.
to become an extremely important factor Browne, Fred L. and Brouse, Don
1929. Nature of adhesion between glue and
in the construction field. The structural
wood. Ind. and Eng. Chem. 21:80-84.
laminating industry has also shown a
Jan.
healthy growth as improved glues and de- Debye, P.J. W.
sign information have become available.
1962. Interatomic and intermolecular forces
Adhesives for furniture have shifted more
in adhesion and cohesion. In Adhesion and
Cohesion, edited by Philip Weiss, p. land more from those based on the natural17. Elsevier Publ. Co., New York
occurring materials to synthetics. The
Truax,
Thomas R.
bonding of wood with adhesives-gen1929. The gluing of wood. USDA Bull.
erally far more efficient than the use of
No. 1500. 78 p.
mechanical fasteners-has made possible a U.S. Forest Products Laboratory, Forest Service
wide range of products and uses for which
1974. Wood handbook: Wood as an engineering material. U.S. Dep. Agric.,
wood was considered unsuitable a few short
Agric. Handb. 72, rev., 432 p.
decades ago.

WOOD PROPERTIES IMPORTANT

IN ADHESIVE BONDING
Various properties of wood affect its
gluing characteristics. Perhaps the most
important is woods density, but the
amount of shrinking and swelling with
changes in moisture content is also an important factor, particularly where longterm serviceability of glue joints is required. In certain cases, pitch content,
oiliness, and the presence of other exudation products and extractives also have
some influence on gluability.

Table 1. Range in specific gravity values1

of some common species of wood (continued)

Species

Maple (Acer sp.):

Sugar (A. saccharum) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Black (A. nigrum) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Red (A. rubrum) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Silver (A. saccharinum) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

DENSITY

Two blocks of wood of equal volume

may vary a great deal in weight, even if the
blocks are of the same species. Weight of
wood is generally expressed either in
pounds per cubic foot or as a comparison
with the weight of an equal volume of
water (specific gravity, or sp. g.).
Table 1 shows the great range in specific
gravity among a number of the more important commercial species of the United
States. In general, strength properties of
wood increase with specific gravity. In a
Table 1. Range in specific gravity values 1
of some common species of wood

Species

Sp. g.

Hickories (Carya sp.):

Pignut (C. glabra ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Shagbark (C. ovata) ..................................
Shellbark (C. laciniosa). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pecan (C. illinoensis) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
White oak (Quercus sp.):
White (Q. alba) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chestnut ( Q. prinus). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overcup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Red oak (Quercus sp.):
Cherrybark (Q. falcata var.
pagodaefolia) .....................................
Northern red (Q. rubra) ..................................
Southern red (Q. falcata) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sp. g.

0.66
.64
.62
.60

.56
.52
.49
.44

Birch, yellow (Betula alleghaniensis) ............

.55

Ash, white (Fraxinus americana) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.55

Pine (Pinus sp.):

Longleaf (P. palutris) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Loblolly (P. taeda) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Shortleaf (P. echinata) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ponderosa (P. ponderosa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Eastern white (P. strobus) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sugar (P. lambertiana) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.54
.47
.47
.38
.34
.34

Elm, American (Ulmus americana) .............

.46

Larch, western . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.48

Tupelo, black (Nyssa sylvatica) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.46

Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) . . . . . . . . . . . .

.46

Douglas-fir, Coast (Pseudotsuga menziesii

var. menziesii) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.45

Hemlock, western (Tsuga heterophylla) .........

.42

Yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) .........

.40

Fir (Abies sp.)

Pacific silver (A. amabilis) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
White (A. concolor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
California red (A. magnifica) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.40
.37
.36

Spruce (Picea sp.)

Sitka (P. sitchensis) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Engelmann (P. engelmannii) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.37
.33

Alder, red (Alnus rubra) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.37

Cottonwood, eastern (Populus deltoides)........

.37

Aspen, quaking (Populus tremuloides) ............

.35

Redwood, young growth (Sequoia

sempervirens ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4

.60
.57
.57

.61
.56
.52

Balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) ............

.31

Cedar, Northern white-(Thuja

occidentalis) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.29

From 1974 Wood Handbook. Specific gravity

values are based on ovendry weight and green volume.

MOISTURE CONTENT (PERCENT)

M 137 283

F i g u r e 3 . Relation between air space in wood and specific gravity at various moisture contents.

similar manner, the glue-bond quality required for a dense species is greater than
for a lighter one. Hence, the chart indicates
the relative glue-bond quality required for
the species listed and for other species
falling within the density range given.
The solid wood substance of all species
has about the same specific gravity (1.45),
but in high-density species less of the volume in the capillary structure of dry wood
is occupied by air. As moisture is added to
the wood, the air space decreases (fig. 3).
When wood of different species is examined with the naked eye, the ratio of
wood substance to air space is not readily
seen. Under the microscope, the difference
in such characteristics as cell wall thickness, cell diameters, and pore space is
easily noticed. Figures 4 to 8 are photomicrographs of species covering a wide
range in these characteristics. The same
magnification is used for each photo.
The enlarged cross section of western
redcedar (fig. 4) shows that slightly more

M 139 600

Figure 5 . Aspen (quaking), 33 (wood

substance about 27 pct. and air space
73 pct.).

M 139 603

M 139 602

Figure 4 . Cross section of western redcedar, 3 3 (wood substance about 2 2

pct. and air space 78 pct.).

Figure 6. Douglas-fir, 33
(wood
substance about 32 pct. and air space
68 pct.).

than one-fifth of the area is wood substance

and the remainder is air space. A transverse
section of aspen (fig. 5) indicates this
species contains slightly more than onequarter wood substance and about threequarters air space. Throughout the cell
structure of this wood, numerous vessels
ate about evenly dispersed (diffuse-porous).
A transverse section of Douglas-fir (fig.
6) shows this species has about one-third
wood substance and two-thirds air space.
In Douglas-fir latewood the cell walls are
thick and the cell diameters relatively
small. In the earlywood the cell openings
increase and the cell wall thickness decreases.
Another diffuse-porous wood, sugar
maple (fig. 7), has about 42 percent wood
substance and 58 percent air space.
One of the most dense native species,
hickory, is shown in cross section in figure
8. Hickory surpasses practically all other
commercial native species in shock resistance and in some other strength properties. Hickory averages about 50-50 air
space and wood substance. Since hickory is
about 50 percent wood substance, compared to 20 percent for western redcedar,
it is reasonable to assume that splicing
of hickory requires different bonding
agents and procedures than splicing of
western redcedar.

M 139 604

Figure 7. Sugar maple, 33 (wood

substance about 42 pct. and air space
58 pct.).

SHRINKING AND SWELLING

In ordinary use, wood shrinks as it gives
off moisture and swells as it absorbs moisture. These dimensional changes generally
put stresses on joints in glued products,
the higher the stresses, the stronger the
glue joints must be to avoid bond failure.
Figure 9 shows the approximate change in
volumetric shrinkage of wood of various
specific gravities with changes in moisture
content from bone-dry to the fiber saturation point (the point at which further increase in moisture content causes no swelling or change in volume). These data also

M 139 601

F i g u r e 8. H i c k o r y ( t r u e ) 3 3 ( w o o d
substance about 48 pct. and air space
52 pct.).

M 137 286

F i g u r e 9 . Relation between volumetric shrinkage and specific gravity as the moisture content changes.

indicate the need for higher quality glue

and stronger glue joints as the density and
shrinkage potential of the wood increase.
Figure 10 illustrates how joints made
with three types of glue performed on three
species of various densities and shrinking
and swelling characteristics during three
soak-dry cycles. With each adhesive type,
the joints in the species of the highest

density and greatest shrinkage (white oak)

developed the largest amount of failure in
the glue joints; the joints in the lightest
species (Sitka spruce) developed the least
glue failure. Obviously, the glue and
gluing condition that have given excellent
bonds on a light species such as Sitka
spruce may not be adequate for a dense
wood such as white oak.
8

SELECTED REFERENCES

Stamm, A. J.
1946. Passage of liquids, vapors, and dissolved materials through softwood. U.S.
Dept. Agric., Tech. Bull. No. 929. 80 p.
Truax, T. R., Browne, F. L., and Brouse, D.
1929. Significance of mechanical wood
joints for the selection of woodworking
glues. Ind. and Eng. Chem. 21:74-79.
U.S. Forest Products Laboratory, Forest Service
1974. Wood handbook: Wood as an engineering material. U.S. Dept. Agric.,
Agric. Handb. 72, rev. 432 p.

Northcott, P. L.
1964. Specific gravity influences wood bond
durability. Adhes. Age 7(10):34-36.
Perry, D. A., and Choong, E. T.
1968. Effect of surface aging and extraction
treatment on gluability of southern pine
veneer. La. State Univ. Wood Util. Note
No. 13, 3 p. La. Sch. Forest.
Rice, J. T.
1965. Effect of urea-formaldehyde resin
viscosity on plywood wood bond durability. For. Prod. J. 15(3):107-112.

F i g u r e 1 0 . Effect of species on glue-joint delamination in gusset-type assembly

joints made of white oak, mahogany, and Sitka spruce framing members and
Douglas-fir plywood gussets. The specimens were exposed to three soak-dry
cycles (ASTM D 1101-59).

ADHESIVES FOR WOOD

Until nearly the middle of the 20th century, glues based on naturally occurring
materials were the principal adhesive
bonding agents for wood. The basic ingredients for these generally were byproducts of meat processing (for animal and
blood glues), or casein, soybean, and
starch.
In the early 1930s, synthetic resin adhesives began to appear on the woodworking scene; because of their versatility and
other advantages, they found widespread
use in the woodworking industry. Some
synthetic resin adhesives, when properly
used, will produce joints that remain as
strong as the wood even in unprotected
exposure to the weather. More of them,
and most of the natural glues, will produce adequate joints for normally dry interior use.

SYNTHETIC ADHESIVES
The more important adhesives for wood
are currently produced by chemical synthesis. The general synthesis of resin glues
is discussed in numerous textbooks and
other publications and will not be repeated
here. Production details may vary among
manufacturers and are usually not disclosed except in the patent literature.
A hardener or setting agent is usually
required to convert synthetic adhesives
from liquid to solid. These agents may be
furnished separately for addition to the
resin before use, or they may be present
(particularly with spray-dried powdered
resins) in the resin as supplied. Hardeners
sometimes fall in the class of catalysts
which increase the rate of curing but are
not consumed in the reaction.
Use of fillers with synthetic adhesives is
rather common. Fillers are generally inert
materials that are added to the resins in

small proportions to improve working

properties such as viscosity of the adhesive.
Walnut shell flour is the most commonly
used filler.
Extenders are low-cost materials (wheat
flour, for example) added to resins to reduce the cost of the adhesive. Highly extended urea resins are often used for plywood where low moisture resistance or
durability is adequate. When phenol
resins are used for bonding interior-type
plywood, they are commonly extended
with materials such as lignin, dried blood,
and specially treated Douglas-fir bark.
The chief advantage of some synthetic
resin adhesives is their excellent durability,
making glued wood products serviceable
under more severe exposures than was
possible with the nonresin glues. When
properly used, most synthetic adhesives
are capable of producing side grain-to-side
grain joints as strong in shear as the wood
itself with most species native to continental United States. Some are capable of
maintaining their strength under practically any condition of service where wood
is a suitable material. Others have only
moderate resistance to heat or moisture or
both and are not suitable for critical or
severe use conditions. Between these two
extremes in durability, a wide range of
synthetic resin adhesives is available.
Development of synthetic resin adhesives has facilitated manufacture of
many important glued wood products.
Among these are laminated bridge timbers, ship keels and frames, and other
laminated members for use under severe
service; plywood for boats, signs, railroad
cars, and other exterior uses; and components for houses and similar structures.
Most of the synthetic woodworking
adhesives currently in use set or cure by
chemical reaction. The rate of curing, like
10

M 131 639

Figure 11 . Test fence for evaluation of glue-bond durability in plywood. The Forest
Service maintains four such test areas to determine durability of adhesives under
different climatic conditions. One test area is near Madison, Wis.; one south of
Olympia, Wash.; one at San Joaquin Experimental Range, Calif.; and the fourth
at the Harrison National Forest, La. Various types of glued wood products are
exposed at each site.

The following generalizations are based

on numerous exposures ofglued specimens,
both laboratory-controlled and exposed to
the weather (fig. 11), and on service records from various parts of the country
(fig. 12).
While the synthetic resins can be considered in a variety of groupings, they are
discussed here under general headings.
These include phenolics, ureas, melamines,
polyvinyl resin emulsions, hot melts,
epoxies, contacts, mastics, and various
combinations of specific adhesives.

that of all chemical reactions, depends on

temperature, in this case the temperature
of the glue. Raising the glueline temperature speeds the rate of curing as well as
the rate of strength development of the
joint. This property is used to advantage in
high-frequency heating, steam-heated
platens, and other means of heating in
high-speed production processes.
One of the most important differences
among the various types of resin adhesives
is their durability, or resistance to deterioration under various service conditions. For
some types-the phenols, resorcinols,
ureas, melamines, and polyvinyls
considerable data and service records indicate their durability. With other types,
laboratory data and experience are much
more limited and hardly justify long-term
performance forecasts.

Phenolic Resins
Phenolic resins are formed by reacting
formaldehyde with phenol in what is called
a condensation reaction, These may be considered in four categories: High-tempera11

M 124 522

Figure 12 . Partial view of 11 creosoted laminated southern pine bridge stringers

installed on the Texas & Pacific Railroad near Woodlawn, Tex., 1944. No joint
separation or other sign of deterioration is apparent. The light gray material
shown on the stringers is sandy silt that has seeped down from the ballast above.

ture-setting phenolics, intermediatetemperature-setting phenolics, resorcinols,

and phenol-resorcinols. Because durability

of the phenolics is generally similar, this

phase is summarized after the individual
types are discussed.
12

HIGH-TEMPERATURE-SETTING
PHENOLICS
Phenol-formaldehyde adhesives were
first introduced in film form (about 1920).
In production of this type of adhesive, the
resin is deposited on a tissuelike paper and
the solvent removed by drying. The film
form of phenolic was particularly convenient for making plywood from thin
veneers since no increase in moisture
content was involved.
As softwood plywood approached mass
production status, phenolic resins became
available in liquid form, making exterior
plywood a reality. This development permitted application of adhesive by roll
spreaders and variation in spreads as
veneer quality required.
Phenolic resins are also available as
spray-dried powders to be mixed in water
or water-alcohol solutions before use.
These phenolic resins (both liquid and film
form) require heat for curing to complete
polymerization; thus they prompted development of hot presses.
Neat phenolic resins as used in the earliest production of exterior plywood had a
tendency to bleed-through or penetrate
the wood excessively, particularly in loosecut veneer. Incorporation of fillers such as
walnut shell flour or powdered oat hull
residue produced a more workable adhesive
by reducing penetration. Small amounts
of wheat flour or heat-treated dry blood
also have been used with phenolic resins,
reportedly decreasing the cure time. Recently, it has been reported that neat
resins, with higher solid contents applied
with thinner spread than the filled resins,
are performing very satisfactorily and also
permit higher moisture content in veneers.
The phenolic resins used for making
plywood are generally alkaline and require
high temperatures for proper curing. Acid
phenolic glues were also developed to set at
moderate-to-room temperatures, but acid
types have not found volume use. The excellent durability characteristics of the
alkaline phenolics prompted their wide-

spread use in structural plywood and other

applications.
The alkaline phenol resin adhesives
normally cure at 265 to 310 F. As a
result, their use is restricted almost
entirely to gluing the more durable types
of plywood and related thin products that
can be heated to these temperatures in a
practical time period. Phenol resins have
been formulated to cure at temperatures
as low as 240 F. for hot pressing, but
such formulations are not in common use
in the United States.
The major use of liquid phenol resin adhesives is for bonding exterior softwood
plywood, including boat hull plywood and
products for other marine uses. Their use
in hardwood plywood manufacture is more
limited. Liquid phenol resins formulated
specially for softwood plywood production
are generally quite reactive; as a result they
have relatively short storage lives. Where
longer storage is required, the powdered
phenol resins are often used. They are prepared for use by dissolving in water or in
water and alcohol and in some cases may
require addition of separate hardeners.
Phenol resins are commonly used with
some walnut shell flour or other filler, but
without extenders where highest joint
durability is required. In recent years, considerable amounts of interior-type softwood plywood also have been made with
phenol resin to which were added fairly
high proportions of extenders and fillers
such as ground bark, wood or walnut shell
flour, dry soluble blood, or certain other
agricultural residues. These phenol adhesives replaced conventional protein glues
used for interior plywood for several
decades.
Phenol resins can be formulated, within
limits, to suit the manufacturing operations of the glued products. The curing
cycle or length of the pressure period in the
hot press can be controlled at least partially by the proper amount and type of
catalyst and by the way in which the resin
is made. Assembly periods depend somewhat on reactivity of the adhesive, but they
13

can generally be controlled within practical

limits. With some formulations for highspeed, flat plywood production, assembly
periods as long as 15 minutes at 70 to
80 F. are permissible. For other formulations, an all-open assembly period of
several hours or days can be allowed, as
may be necessary in bag molding operations where a long layup period is unavoidable. Adhesives for bag molding (see
Pressing and Clamping) must permit assembly of neatly tack-free, glue-coated
veneers and yet later flow adequately when
heat and pressure are applied in the final
curing operation.
The dry film form of phenol resin adhesive is well adapted to gluing thin, and
particularly crotch, veneers because there
is no problem involved in controlling
spread. Moreover, the danger of bleedthrough is almost nil. Since the film
weighs about 12-l/2 pounds per 1,000
square feet and approximately one-third
of this weight is paper, a relatively light
spread of resin is obtained when a single
sheet is used per glueline. If film glues
are to be used successfully, the veneer
must be well cut, smooth, and uniform in
thickness. Since the film glue contains
little or no water, all moisture needed for
softening the resin and providing the
necessary flow during pressing must come
from the veneers. For this reason, the control of moisture content in the veneers is
even more critical with a phenol resin film
adhesive than with conventional glues
applied in liquid form.
Film adhesives normally do not give
good results on veneer at moisture contents
of less than 6 percent. The most satisfactory moisture content of veneer for gluing
with phenol resin films varies somewhat
with the species and veneer thickness; in
general, good results are obtained in the
range of 8 to 12 percent. Too high a
moisture content may cause blisters, excessive bleed-through, and starved joints;
one that is too low usually results in dried
joints of low strength. For furniture and
similar interior uses, optimum moisture

content with this type of glue is about 8

percent.

lNTERMEDIATE-TEMPERATURESETTING PHENOLICS
The intermediate-temperature-setting
types of phenol resin adhesives were developed as durable glues that could be
cured at 210 F. or less, such as in heated
chambers or electrically heated jigs.
Special formulations of phenol resins were
offered for this purpose, being more reactive at the lower curing temperatures because of rather highly acid catalysts. Thus,
this type of adhesive has often been referred
to as acid-catalyzed phenol resin. Some
formulations are suitable for gluing plywood at temperatures as low as 80 F. if
the pressure periods are overnight or longer
and if several days of additional conditioning are allowed before subjecting the plywood to severe service.
The acid-catalyzed phenol resin adhesives have been used to a limited extent
for gluing sandwich panels, prefabricated
house panels, and truck panels. They are
normally supplied as liquid resins with the
acid catalyst furnished separately for addition at the time of use. Acid-catalyzed
phenol resins do not glue as well on wood
at 6 percent moisture content as at 10 to
12 percent.
Since the introduction of the resorcinol
and phenol-resorcinol resin adhesives, the
acid-catalyzed phenol resin adhesives have
not been extensively used, although they
are generally somewhat cheaper and are
lighter colored than the phenol-resorcinol
and resorcinol resins. The acid-catalyzed
phenol resins are not considered as durable
as the resorcinol resin types for long-time
severe service and elevated-temperature
exposures.

RESORCINOLS
Adhesives based on resorcinol-formaldehyde resins were first introduced in 1943.
14

Almost immediately they found wide

application in gluing laminated members
such as keels, stems, and frames for naval
vessels, and for assembly gluing and
laminating in wood aircraft where the
combination of high durability and
moderate-temperature curing was extremely important.
The resorcinol resins bear many resemblances to phenol resins. A principal
difference is the greater reactivity of the
resorcinol resins, which permits curing at
lower temperatures. Resorcinols are supplied in two components as a dark reddish
liquid resin with a powdered, or at times
with a liquid, hardener. These glues cure
at 70 F. or higher, but usually are not
recommended for use below 70 F. with
softwoods and generally require somewhat
higher cure temperatures with dense hardwoods. Straight resorcinol resin adhesives
have storage lives of at least a year at 70
F. Their working lives are usually from 2
to 4 hours at 70 F.
Assembly periods are not too critical
on softwoods as long as the glue is still
fluid when gluing pressure is applied. On
dense hardwoods, such as oak, the assembly period must be adjusted (usually extended) to give a rather viscous glue at the
time the assembly is pressed. One- to 2hour assembly periods have been used with
good results when gluing oak at 70 to
80 F., but the actual assembly time for
a particular formulation depends on the
age and viscosity of the glue at the time
of spreading as well as the temperature,
absorptiveness of the wood, and other
factors. Resorcinol adhesives are ideal for
laminating large timbers that require considerable time to assemble and bring under
pressure. Very short assembly periods with
dense woods can result in starved joints
and should be avoided.
Resorcinol resin glues will cure adequately on thin plywood and other light
constructions of medium- to low-density
species at about 70 F. For such highdensity hardwoods as white oak, used for
laminating ship timbers and similar items,
curing for several hours at about 150 F.

glueline temperature has been necessary.

If facilities for raising the temperature of
the gluelines to such levels are not available, adequate bonds can be obtained by
extending curing periods.
These glues, as well as phenol-resorcinol
modifications, have earned an outstanding
reputation for performance under severe
service conditions. Bridge timbers laminated with them are still in excellent condition after more than a quarter century of
service. Laminated oak timbers for minesweepers have gained a similar reputation.
Resorcinol resin adhesives are not affected
by the commonly used preservative treatments, which permits treating the glued
timbers for long-term service. They also
bond treated wood, making it feasible to
treat the lumber and then glue the assemblies to the desired size and shape. This is
particularly advantageous where large,
curved members that cannot be treated in
cylinders are involved. Special formulations have also been developed for gluing
fire-retardant-treated wood.
PHENOL-RESORCINOLS
Phenol-resorcinol resins are modifications of straight recorcinol resin adhesives
produced by polymerizing the two resins
(phenol-formaldehyde and resorcinolformaldehyde). The principal advantage
of the copolymer resins over straight resorcinol resin is their significantly lower cost,
because the price of phenol is much lower
than that ofresorcinol. This cost advantage
apparently is achieved without any significant losses in joint performance. For wood
gluing, the volume of phenol-resorcinol
used now far exceeds that of straight resorcinol. Proportions of the two resin components in the copolymer are not generally
revealed by the manufacturers. Like their
components, the copolymer resins are dark
reddish liquids and are prepared for use by
adding powdered hardeners. The hardeners generally consist of paraformaldehyde
and walnut shell flour, mixed in equal
parts by weight.
15

Phenol-resorcinol resins generally have

shorter storage lives than straight resorcinol resins, usually somewhat under 1 year
at 70 F. Many manufacturers formulate
phenol-resorcinols to tit prevailing temperature conditions-fast-setting resins
for cool weather, somewhat slower setting
ones for warmer weather, and still slower
ones for hot weather. This is particularly
helpful for the laminating industry, where
the curing time could become prohibitively long with a slow-setting resin during
cooler weather and the permissible assembly time could be difficult to meet with
fast-setting resins during hot weather.
Research has shown that, as the curing
temperature is increased, the required
curing period decreases logarithmically.
Figure 13 shows the relation between
curing temperature and curing time for
five different resorcinol and phenolresorcinol adhesives. With glues A, C, and
E, about the same joint quality could be
obtained in laminated white oak when the
glueline was heated for about 6 minutes

or more at 150 F. as when it was heated

for about 2,500 hours at 80 F.
Originally, resorcinol and phenolresorcinol adhesives were rather costly,
which limited their use almost exclusively
to the most severe service conditions.
Within recent years, however, the price
has come to about a third of what was
common several decades ago.
DURABILITY OF PHENOLIC RESlNS
The durability of moderately alkaline
phenol resin, resorcinol resin, and phenolresorcinol resin adhesives is essentially
similar. When these glues are properly
used, they are capable of producing joints
that are about as durable as the wood itself
under various severe service conditions
studied. Properly made joints will withstand, without significant delamination or
loss in strength, prolonged exposures to
cold and hot water, to alternate soaking
and drying, to temperatures up to those
that seriously damage the wood, to high

M 112 243

Figure 13 . Minimum curing times required at different temperatures for five resorcinol and phenol-resorcinol glues on white oak. A and B are phenol-resorcinols;
C, D, and E are resorcinols.

16

Urea Resins

relative humidities where many untreated

species decay, and to outdoor weathering
without protection from the elements.
The joints between lumber laminations
or plies of plywood made with these adhesives will not separate when exposed to
fire. The glues are not weakened by fungi,
bacteria, or other micro-organisms and are
avoided by termites. These adhesives,
however, do not offer any significant protection to the adjacent wood. Consequently, wood products glued with these
adhesives should be considered no more
decay- or insect-resistant than solid woods
of the same species.
Glued wood is subject to shrinkage
stresses and, even if the glue joints are
durable, splitting and checking might
occur adjacent to or away from the glue
joints. For severe service, therefore, it is
important to employ treatments that protect against wood-degrading organisms
and also impart water repellency, thus reducing shrinking and swelling stresses in
the glued member.

Urea-formaldehyde resin adhesives

came on the market in the middle to late
1930s. By using different types and
amounts of catalyst, they can be formulated either for hot-pressing or for roomtemperature curing. They are compatible
with various low-cost extenders or fillers,
thus permitting variation in both quality
and cost. Even the hot-press formulations
set at appreciably lower temperatures than
the alkaline phenolic adhesives. Being
light in color or slightly tan, urea adhesives
form a rather inconspicuous glueline. But
exposure to moist conditions, and particularly to warm, humid surroundings, leads
to deterioration and eventual failure of
urea resin adhesive bonds. Durability of
urea-resin adhesives is summarized at the
end of this section.
Major uses for urea resins are in hardwood plywood, particleboard, and furniture manufacture. They are also available
in the retail trade for home workshop use.
Urea resins are generally marketed in
liquid form (as water suspensions) where
large-scale use is involved and shipping
distances are not excessive. They are available with solids contents from about 40 to
70 percent. They are also marketed as dry
powders, with or without catalyst incorporated. The powdered ureas are
prepared for use by mixing with water or
with water and catalyst if the catalyst is
supplied separately. In general, powdered
urea resin adhesives with separate catalysts
have longer storage lives than the liquid
urea resins or the powdered types with
catalysts incorporated.

Completely cured phenolic-type glue

joints (made with neutral or moderately
alkaline resins) are highly resistant to the
action of solvents, oils, acids, alkalies,
wood preservatives, and fire-retardant
chemicals. Thus, in general, well-made
joints bonded with phenol, phenol-resorcinol, and resorcinol resin glues are difficult
to destroy without destroying the wood
itself. However, as with other types of
glues, joints poorly made with these
durable adhesives may fail in service.
Acid-catalyzed phenol resins have
shown good durability in such applications as bonding honeycomb paper core to
plywood faces of sandwich panels. With
dense species, such as white oak, much
lower shear strength was obtained with
acid-catalyzed phenol glue than with
phenol-resorcinols. Under exposure to
elevated temperatures such as 158 F.,
the joint quality was reduced more than for
the conventional alkaline phenol resin
adhesives.

Urea resins are generally more versatile

than some other resin adhesives; the same
resin, as received from the manufacturer,
can be used for either hot-pressing or roomtemperature cure by addition of the proper
catalyst. Some manufacturers, however,
supply different resins for hot-pressing and
for room-temperature curing. Special
formulations have been developed for such
17

uses as high-frequency curing and for tapeless splicing of veneers.

Urea resin adhesives can be extended
with cereal flour to reduce cost where the
joint strength and durability attainable
with unextended glue are not required,
such as in mild exposures with lowshrinkage woods. Wheat and rye flours are
most commonly used for extenders, and extensions up to 100 parts by weight of
flour to 100 parts resin solids (100 pct.
extension) are used with room-temperaturecuring formulations for bonding hardwood plywood. Extensions up to 150 parts
flour per 100 parts resin solids (150 pct
extension) are sometimes used in hotpressing hardwood plywood.

Urea resins are normally not recommended for use on wood below 6 percent
in moisture content. This limitation
appears to be related to the porosity of the
species and to the rate at which moisture
is absorbed from the adhesive by the wood.
HOT-PRESS UREA RESlNS

Hot-press urea resin adhesives are

normally cured at 240 to 260 F.
Assembly periods vary considerably for the
different formulations. Many typical adhesives are formulated for assembly periods
of 10 to 30 minutes, but special formulations may permit assembly periods of 24
hours or more. Because of their relatively
Various grades of wheat flour affect the high reactivity, some urea resin adhesives
working properties of the adhesive differ- precure on hot cauls or platens before full
ently, particularly consistency and ten- gluing pressure is applied. This can be
dency to foam, and may also influence the avoided by use of cooled cauls and proper
effect of the catalyst used. Flour extension sequence in the spreading and pressgenerally makes the adhesive more viscous; loading operations.
Urea resins cure much faster than
the degree of change depends on the
phenol
resins at the same temperature.
amount and type of flour and also on the
When
this
advantage of ureas is added to
protein content of the flour (formaldehyde
their
lower
costs and lack of color, they
reacts readily with protein).
are attractive for gluing furniture and
A small amount of sodium bisulfite (1 to architectural plywood for interior use
2 pct. by weight) is sometimes added to where the greater durability of the phenol
the flour during mixing with the resin to resin glues usually is not required. Typical
help overcome differences in flours and to recommendations for curing hot-press urea
reduce the amount of additional water resins are 2 to 5 minutes for panels with
that might otherwise be needed to make a a total thickness of 3/16 inch or less and
spreadable mixture. The addition of 8 to 10 minutes for l-inch panels with
sodium bisulfite may affect the catalyst about 1/2-inch cores when the platen
system of some adhesives, and the user
temperature is 260 F. and one panel is
should obtain the recommendations of the glued per press opening.
glue supplier for the type and amount of
For certain products and service condiextension suitable for a particular product.
tions, the durability of hot-press urea
Extended glues often require somewhat resins can be improved by adding more
heavier spreads and shorter assembly durable resins or special resin-forming
periods than the corresponsing unextended ingredients. These additives are generally
glues.
referred to as fortifiers and the resultant
Urea resin adhesives for edge gluing, glues as fortified urea resin glues. The most
assembly, veneer splicing, and laminating widely used fortifiers are the melamine
of furniture parts are not normally ex- resins, but crystal resorcinol has also been
tended with cereal flours, but they do employed. The amount of fortifier varies
contain some walnut shell flour as filler considerably. Under more severe conditions, including outdoor weathering of
to improve working properties.
18

plywood, durability has generally improved as the amount of fortifier is increased. Because of the special interest in
melamine-urea resin adhesives, these are
described separately. No entirely adequate
room-temperature-setting fortified urea
resin glues have yet been introduced for
industrial use.

temperature and somewhat on the moisture content of the wood, amount of extension, and the amount of glue spread.
The minimum pressure period depends
on the type of glued product and upon the
temperature of the wood and the room, for
these temperatures control the speed of the
curing reaction. Because of slow heat transfer through the wood, room-temperaturesetting urea resin glues generally cure inadequately if the glue is spread on cold
wood and then clamped for only a short
time at 70 to 80 F. At 70 F. a
pressing period of at least 4 hours is generally required on thin, flat members, such
as plywood, and at least 6 to 8 hours is
required on heavy or curved members.
Longer pressing Periods are generally required for heavy species than for lighter
ones. In no case should pressure be released
until the squeezeout is hard.
Room-temperature-setting urea resin
formulations are often used in special heatcuring operations with heated jigs and
high-frequency curing to get faster setting
than is possible with conventional hotpress formulations. But if assembly periods
are excessive, the adhesive may precure before gluing pressure is applied. A roomtemperature-setting glue must be fluid at
the time pressure is applied to adequately
transfer glue to the unspread surface.
These glues will harden at temperatures
below 70 F. but at a very slow rate,
and joints with erratic strength and durability may result. Curing below 70 F.
is therefore generally not recommended.
In special applications where rapid
strength development at room temperature is of primary importance, the normal
room-temperature-setting urea resin formulation without catalyst may be applied
to one wood surface and a strong acidic
catalyst applied to the mating surface.
Sometimes the liquid catalyst is applied in
advance and air dried. The joint is then
assembled and pressure quickly applied.
The separately applied catalyst is assumed
to penetrate into the glue and to cause
rapid setting. Such strong catalysts cannot

ROOM-TEMPERATURE-SETTING
UREA RESINS

Urea resins classified as room-temperature-setting are formulated to cure at

temperatures of 70 F. or higher. They
were the first synthetic adhesives developed for practical use at normal room
temperatures. They were extensively used
in assembly gluing of aircraft parts, truck
body parts, and similar items before the
introduction of the more durable roomtemperature-setting resorcinol resin glues.
In addition to their use in cold-pressing
plywood (with hydraulic presses, I-beams,
and retaining clamps to maintain the
pressure after removal from the press),
room-temperature-setting ureas are now
used for edge gluing on clamp carriers,
in various assembly operations, and for
laminating furniture parts. Their availability in small retail packages as dry powders
that require only the addition of water
makes them very convenient for small job
and home workshop uses.
The working life of a glue of this type is
usually from 3 to 5 hours at 70 F. and
less at higher temperatures. Special slowacting catalysts increase the working life
of room-temperature-setting urea resins
during hot weather and make them mote
practical for use during summer months in
plywood and other commercial applications.
Assembly periods with these adhesives
are fairly short, usually with maximum
closed assembly of 30 minutes at 70 F.
for critical applications. The maximum
permissible assembly period depends on
19

be incorporated in the glue before spreading because they shorten pot life.
This technique is referred to as the
separately applied catalyst process.
When properly conducted, it results in
rapid development of joint strength, thus
permitting a shorter pressing period than
with adhesives having catalyst mixed with
the resin. The process has not been widely
accepted, however, because it is difficult
to obtain uniform mixture of catalyst and
resin. Uneven penetration results in erratic
joint quality; moreover, the highly acid
glueline does not seem to be as durable as
gluelines made with adhesive of the same
type without separately applied catalyst.

DURABlLlTY OF UREA RESINS

In general, well-made urea resin glue
joints develop high original dry strength
and wood failures with almost all U.S.
commercial species, good resistance to continuous soaking in cold water, and fair
resistance to continuously high relative
humidity and alternatively high and low
relative humidity. Nevertheless, a combination of high relative humidity and
high temperature deteriorates urea resin
glue bonds in a relatively short time.
Resistance to cyclic soaking and drying
exposures is reasonably good if the test
pieces are plywood or thin members, but
only moderate to low resistance is obtained
if the pieces are heavy laminations of dense
wood. This applies to short-term exposures. Over the long term, urea resin glue
joints deteriorate under the exposures mentioned, and the rate of deterioration usually
increases with the density of the species.
Urea resin glue bonds are generally destroyed by boil tests (generally 4 hr. boiling, 20 hr. drying at 145 5 F.,
4 hr. boiling, cooling, and testing wet,
Prod. Std. PS 1-66) as used for glue-joint
evaluation of exterior-type plywood.
The fortified urea resins ate more durable under practically all of the exposure
conditions named. They are followed, in

order of decreasing durability, by the

hot-press urea resins, room-temperaturesetting urea resins, and highly extended
urea resins. Tests made with hot-press urea
resin glue extended with rye flour showed
that the wet joint strength falls off slowly
as more flour is added. No important decrease in wet joint strengths was apparent
until 50 to 100 percent of extender, based
upon the weight of dry resin, had been
added. Under dry conditions, the dry joint
strength decreased still more slowly, and
joints containing twice as much rye flour
as resin exhibited high strength.
Under conditions conducive to development of mold and other micro-organisms,
joints made with extended urea resin glues
also lost strength more rapidly than unextended glues. The loss was noticeable with
as little as 10 percent flour and particularly
rapid for glues having greater extensions.
Tests with preservatives showed that the
mold resistance of flour-extended urea
resins could be increased by adding chlorinated phenols to the glue in amounts
equal to 5 percent of the weight of the
flour. (Concentrations lower than 5 pct.
appeared to offer less protection, but there
seemed to be little advantage in increasing
the concentration above 5 pct.) These
preservatives seem to delay the effect of the
micro-organism damage, but they are
unable to prevent it over long periods of
exposure to high moisture conditions.
Thus, except for highly fortified types,
the urea resins as a group are low in durability under conditions involving high
temperatures and humidities. At high
temperatures and extremely low relative
humidity the joints are more durable, but
this is mainly of academic interest because
such conditions rarely exist where glued
wood products are used. Gradual weakening of room-temperature-setting and hotpress urea resin glue joints occurs under
dry conditions at 160 F. A much less
significant weakening of room-temperature-setting urea resin glue joints has
been observed in birch plywood under
continuous exposure at 80 F. and 65

20

percent relative humidity. The rate of

strength loss is increased by high humidity
at 80 F.
Delamination usually occurs within a
few hours in boiling water. Urea resin
bonds tend to break down at temperatures that char wood; therefore, when certain urea resin-bonded plywoods are exposed to fire, even for short periods, the
plies may delaminate. Plywood panels
made with unfortified room-temperaturesetting and hot-press urea resin adhesives
have shown considerable delamination
after 2 to 3 years of outdoor exposure at
Madison, Wis. Panels made with fortified
urea resins have shown much less delamination in the same length of time. Under
exterior exposure and where high temperatures with or without high relative
humidities are involved, urea resin glues
are markedly less durable than phenol,
resorcinol, and melamine resin glues. (This
does not imply that melamine glues have
the same durability characteristics as
phenol and resorcinol resins.)
Admittedly, urea resin glue joints (in
unfinished specimens-no lacquer,
varnish, or paint) have shown much larger
decreases in strength than phenol, resorcinol, phenol-resorcinol, and melamine
resin glue joints after several years exposure to less severe laboratory-controlled
conditions. Nevertheless, high-quality
urea resin glue joints do appear to be
sufficiently durable for nonstructural
interior applications within the human
comfort range of temperature and humidity conditions. On the other hand, particularly with high shrinkage, dense species,
the more durable resin adhesives would
assure longer trouble-free service life.

Melamine Resins
Melamine resin adhesives are normally
of the hot-press type, curing at 240 to
260 F., similar to the hot-press urearesin glues. Special formulations have
sometimes been offered for curing at
temperatures as low as 140 F., but

they have not been widely used. Some of

the high-temperature-setting melamines
will cure adequately at temperatures from
140 to 180 F. if the curing period
is extended to 10 hours or more. Laminated Douglas-fir beams bonded with these
glues and cured overnight at 140 F.
have shown excellent performance in
outside exposure for up to 20 years.
Most of the melamine resin glues are
marketed as powders that are prepared for
use by mixing with water and sometimes
with a separate hardener. Those using
hardeners or catalysts will set much more
rapidly or at lower temperatures than
those cured without hardeners. There have
been indications, however, that the
catalyzed melamines do not have the same
resistance to weather that the uncatalyzed
ones have.
Pure melamine resin adhesives are almost white, but the addition of filler
usually gives them a light tan color similar
to the urea resins. The filler is usually
walnut shell flour, but occasionally wood
flour is used.
Melamine resins have been used to a
limited extent for gluing hardwood plywood where the darkness of phenol resins
is objectionable and durability approaching that of phenol resins is required. Melamine resins are considerably more expensive than phenol or urea resins.
Uncatalyzed melamine resin glues also
have been investigated for gluing heavy
laminated ship timbers at curing temperatures of 140 to 190 F. On Douglasfir they showed promising results, but on
oak the glue bond deteriorated when the
specimens were soaked in salt water
(simulating sea water) for 15 years.
Current commercial applications of melamine resin glues in structural wood laminating include bonding interior finger
joints, laminated decking, and laminated
beams with 60:40 melamine-urea combinations and high-frequency curing. The
melamine resins have been used successfully in high-frequency edge gluing where
a durable, colorless glueline is required.

21

As a group, melamine resin adhesives generally have a pot life of at least 8 hours
at 70 F. and they tolerate rather long
open and closed assembly periods.
Slow-curing, uncatalyzed melamine
resin glues have shown good durability
characteristics on laminated Douglas-fir
beams exposed for several decades to the
weather. Similar glues used for laminating
white oak failed almost completely after
15 years of soaking in salt water. Rapidsetting, catalyzed melamine resin glues,
in limited tests, have not shown the same
durability as indicated with uncatalyzed
melamines on softwood species.

durable than urea resins, cheaper than

straight melamine or resorcinol resins, and
capable of curing at lower hot-press temperatures than conventional phenol resin
glues.

Polyvinyl Resin Emulsions

Polyvinyl resin emulsions are thermoplastic, softening when the temperature is

raised to a particular level and hardening
again when cooled. They are prepared by
emulsion polymerization of vinyl acetate
and other monomers in water under controlled conditions. Since individual types
of monomers are not identified by the
manufacturer, this group is simply referred
Melamine-Urea Resins
to as polyvinyl resins or PVAs. In the
Melamine-urea resins are a special emulsified form, the polyvinyl resins are
group of hot-press adhesives produced by dispersed in water and have a consistency
either dry blending urea and melamine and nonvolatile content generally comresins or by blending the two separate parable to the thermosetting resin glues.
resins in liquid solution and then spray- They are marketed as milky-white fluids
drying the mixture. In either case, the to be used at room temperature in the
resins are supplied by the manufacturer as form supplied by the manufacturer,
powders, to be prepared by adding water normally without addition of separate
and catalyst. Reportedly, the adhesive pro- hardeners.
duced by spray-drying a mixture of the two
The adhesive sets when the water of the
resins produces somewhat more durable emulsion partially diffuses into the wood
bonds than the one produced by blending and the emulsified resin coagulates. There
the two powdered resins. At present, the is no apparent chemical curing reaction, as
most common combinations are said to with the thermosetting resins.
contain 40 to 50 percent by weight of
Setting is comparatively rapid at room
melamine resin and 50 to 60 percent of temperature, and for some constructions
urea resin on a solid basis.
it may be possible to release the clamping
In finger-jointing lumber for structural pressure in half an hour or less. Limited
laminated timbers, a 60:40 melamine-to- tests indicate that some of these glues
urea ratio is used. Such joints, when prop- set in most wood joints at 75 F. at a
erly produced, are considered adequate for rate comparable to that of hot animal glue.
The polyvinyl resins have indefinitely
normally dry interior service but are not
recommended where long-term exterior long storage (in tight containers) and
use is involved. The melamine-urea com- working lives (at normal room temperabinations are used in much the same way tures) and can be used as long as the resin
as the hot-press ureas and melamine glues, remains dispersed. Coagulation in storage
curing at 240 to 260 F. in manufac- by evaporation or freezing must be avoided,
ture of plywood. In finger-jointing opera- although special emulsions have been
tions, they are generally cured by high- offered that are said to withstand repeated
frequency heating. The melamine-urea freezing and thawing. The set resins are
resin glues offer advantages for hardwood light in color, often transparent, and result
plywood in that they are colorless, more in gluelines that are barely visible.

22

A considerable amount of variation glues appear to be suitable for edge-gluing

has been observed in the performance of applications. However, not all glues show
the different glues of this type. Some of such improvement and no quick and
the poorer ones gave considerably lower simple screening test is yet available for
joint strengths and developed little or no checking this property. Therefore, the user
wood failure compared to other types of must exercise caution in selecting such a
resin and nonresin glues. On the other glue for edge-gluing, particularly of dense
hand, joints produced with some of the species. Screening tests, by cycling panels
newer polyvinyl resins gave unusually high made with different glues between high
and low humidity conditions, might be adshear strengths although generally not
visable before using PVAs in full-scale
high wood failures, particularly with
denser species. Such results might be ex- production.
At the British Forest Products Laborapected of rather elastic-type adhesives, because the load probably will be distributed tory, joints made with 39 brands of PVA
more uniformly over the entire joint area were tested in an atmosphere of 25 C.
(77 F.) and 60 percent relative humidity
under test than with brittle glues. The
polyvinyl resin adhesives have little dulling under approximately one-third ultimate
load and normal loading rate. Joints with
effect on the sharp edges of cutting tools,
but a tendency to foul sandpaper has been 37 brands failed within 6 months; joints
with the other two brands survived and
reported.
Some PVAs soften and lose a portion of were still intact after 24 months.
Studies have indicated that some polytheir strength as the temperature invinyl resin emulsion glues are promising
creases above normal room temperature,
in assembly joints such as dowel, mortise
and the strength of many of them is
and tenon, and lock-corner. Their fast
appreciably reduced at about 160 F.
They are also generally weakened more by setting is of benefit and their elasticity
higher relative humidity conditions than may be an additional advantage where the
dimensional changes in the joint are nomiare the thermosetting resin glues.
Probably the most serious limitation in nal.
In terms of durability, polyvinyl resin
the use of these adhesives in woodworking
is the lack of resistance to continuously emulsion adhesives are considerably less
applied loads. Such cold flow is the resistant to warm, moist, or humid conditendency for a glue to yield to, rather than tions than the thermosetting resins. The
resist, the stresses exerted on the joint at PVAs lack resistance to water and high
normal room temperature. This limitation relative humidities, and a number tend to
has been most serious when polyvinyl soften at temperatures as low as 110 F.
resins have been used for edge-gluing Even at normal room temperatures, creep
lumber for solid stock, particularly high- or yield of the bond (cold flow) might
density hardwoods, which will not be sub- become a problem if heavy stress is consequently veneered. When such a stock is tinued on the joint. The low resistance of
exposed to low humidities, moisture con- polyvinyl resin emulsions to water and
tent changes most rapidly through the end moisture limit PVA use primarily to nongrain, with resultant shrinkage stresses structural interior applications, as in ceracross the ends of the panels. When these tain types of furniture joints.
stresses are of appreciable magnitude and
Thermosetting Polyvinyl
duration, the glue often fails, resulting in
Emulsions
open joints.
This cold-flow limitation has encourThermosetting polyvinyl emulsions,
aged considerable reformulation of poly- also identified as catalyzed PVA emulsions
vinyl resins so several currently available and cross-linked PVAs, have been avail-

23

able for a decade. They are modified PVA

emulsions and generally have heat and
moisture resistance superior to ordinary
PVAs, particularly when cured at elevated temperatures.
Room-temperature cure of these adhesives has been insufficient to prevent
creep when glued specimens were stressed
during exposure at 150 F. and high
relative humidity. Therefore, they are not

recommended for structural applications

because of creep (fig. 14).
On the other hand, in tests on hotpressed plywood made with a cross-linked
PVA, the joints performed almost as well
as those made with phenolic glues.
Further research has shown that these
adhesives cannot be classed with resorcinols
as being room-temperature-curing and
suitable for general structural applications.

M 122 542

Figure 14. Cross section of laminated oak glued with thermosetting or crosslinked PVA and subjected to vacuum-pressure soaking, steaming, and drying. The
bridging in the joint at the center might explain why PVA glues have performed
well in cyclic tests on mortise and tenon and dowel joints. Had a brittle glue been
used, fractures would probably have occurred either in the bond or adjacent to
the glueline. The elastic PVA yielded enough to retain the bond between the
joint surfaces.

24

They are, however, markedly superior to

ordinary PVAs in resistance to moist
conditions, and there is reason to believe
they would perform well in most nonstructural interior uses. In common with
some other adhesives, they would not be
expected to perform as well on dense,
high-shrinkage species as on lighter ones.

Hot Melts
Hot-melt adhesives for wood are furnished in solid form, usually as pellets,
chunks, granules, or in cord form on reels.
They involve a wide variety of thermoplastic mixtures that are converted by heat
to spreadable consistency and applied
while hoc and fluid; they set almost instantaneously as the heat dissipates from the
thin glue film to the greater mass of the
substrate. Pressure is applied on the joint
during formation of the bond. The bond
forms very rapidly, depending upon the
temperature difference between the glue
and the parts being joined. Setting times
as brief as a fraction of a second have been
reported.
One of the primary uses of hot melts in
wood gluing has been for edge banding of
panel products. Machines are increasingly
common in the furniture industry to apply
edge banding to panels with hot melts at
about 60 to 100 linear feet per minute.
The process is reported to lend itself to
application of veneer and thicker edge
bands to lumber and particleboard cores.
Hot melts are also being used to some
extent for bonding decorative overlays or
films to particleboard for counter and furniture tops and shelves, and for coating
panel products. Methods of application include roll coating, blade coating, and curtain coating.
The composition of hot-melt adhesives
varies a great deal and may include polymers, such as ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers, polyamides, polyolefins, and polyesters, as well as other resins or copolymers. These are generally modified with

plasticizers and other ingredients to

improve working properties.
Hot melts have melting points covering
a rather wide range. Transition points from
solid to a soft mass or liquid have been
reported from as low as 150 F. to as
high as 390 F., although working temperatures in the range of 375 to 410
F. are supposed to be more common.
Some hot melts are reported to be
water resistant and provide somewhat elastic gluelines; however, their resistance to
heat is generally poor. For best results,
good control is required of wood and glue
temperatures as well as the rate of application.

Epoxy Resins
Epoxy resin adhesives became available
in the 1940s and found a major use for
metal bonding in the aircraft industry.
However, epoxies do adhere to a variety of
substrates and in recent years have been
employed as bonding agents in numerous
special applications. They are probably the
most versatile adhesives currently available
in that they adhere to more different substrates than other synthetic or naturally
occurring bonding agents. They have not,
however, found extensive use for bonding
wood.
Epoxy resin refers in a broad sense to a
wide variety of polymers characterized in
their simplest form by an oxygen atom
linked to each of two adjacent carbon
atoms on a chain, as in ethylene oxide. The
earlier epoxy resins used for metal bonding
were condensation products of bisphenol A
and epichlorohydrin. Curing agents for
these resins were various amines and acid
anhydrides. Improvements in the working
characteristics of epoxies have been made
over the years and a wide variety of formulations are now available. They cure by
additional polymerization with very little
volume change or shrinkage while they
harden.
An important advantage of epoxy adhesives is that they can be formulated to

25

meet a variety of use conditions. They are

available as elevated- and room-temperature-setting; their pot life can be varied
from a few minutes to an hour or more;
they can be used with numerous types of
fillers; and can be modified with polysulfide and natural or synthetic rubber to
change their elasticity. As practically no
solvent or other product is given off during
the setting of epoxy adhesives, they have
very little shrinkage; thus, they can tolerate much thicker gluelines and are more
gap-filling than ordinary adhesives.
For wood gluing, use of epoxy resins has
been limited mostly to such special applications as repair work, sometimes in combination with glass fiber for reinforcement.
Clean, sanded surfaces have provided
better bonds for such applications (in the
authors experience) than smoothly planed
surfaces. In gluing white oak, Douglas-fir,
and Alaska-cedar with a number of commercial epoxy adhesives, better results
were invariably obtained on sawn surfaces
than on smoothly planed surfaces. In shortterm soaking tests (vacuum-pressure impregnation), epoxy adhesive bonds failed
on white oak, but several formulations
showed promising results on the two softwoods.
Since epoxy adhesives are available in so
many varieties for many different applications, and in consistencies from free flowing to thixotropic, close cooperation between producer and user is necessary for
best results.

Rubber adhesives are unique in that

they develop considerable strength immediately upon contact of the surfaces to be
bonded. Full joint strength, however, develops rather slowly, and the ultimate
strength is generally much lower than for
ordinary woodworking glues.
Emulsion-type rubber-base adhesives
are also available and their performance is
similar to the solvent type in many respects. However, the emulsion types have
less resistance to moisture.

Mastic Adhesives

One of the definitions for mastic is any

of various quick-drying pasty cements used
for cementing tiles to a wall. To the
authors knowledge, the term mastic adhesive was first used in connection with
wood bonding to describe thick, pasty soybean glue for hot-press plywood. Various
adhesives of mastic consistency have
been marketed over the years. Their basic
ingredient was often rubber, but lately
compositions based on materials such as
polyurethanes, polyesters, silicones, and
epoxies have come into use. Mastics are
sometimes marketed as construction
adhesives, which could be misleading
because they generally provide less rigid
bonds than commonly used in laminated
timbers and other structural applications.
Because of their gap-filling properties,
they do not require close-fitted joints, and
have apparently performed well in gluing
plywood flooring to joists and bonding an
Contact Adhesives
underlayment such as particleboard to
structural plywood floors. Increased stiffContact adhesives are generally based on ness and strength have been reported for
natural or synthetic rubber in organic sol- such bonded systems. But long-term data
vents. Adhesives of this type based on neo- on the initial benefits gained from such
prene rubber have found wide use for bond- mastic bonds appear to be lacking for
ing plastic laminates to plywood or m o s t f o r m u l a t i o n s . H o w e v e r , s o m e
particleboard for counter-tops, restaurant mastic-type adhesives based on urethane
and kitchen tables, and similar products. resin have remained elastic for several years
Generally, both surfaces to be bonded when exposed to weather.
The bond strength of the mastic adare spread with glue, the solvent is allowed
to evaporate, and only contact pressure is hesives based on rubber and various synthetic materials is generally much lower
required to form the bond.

26

than that of conventional thermosetting

wood adhesives, but this would not necessarily limit the usefulness of mastics in
applications where high joint strength is
not a prerequisite for good performance.
Gap-filling properties and ability to retain
resilency over the long term can be highly
important.

ADHESIVES OF NATURAL
ORIGIN
Adhesives of natural origin-such as
animal, casein, soybean, starch, and blood
glues-are still being used to bond wood
in some plants and shops, but are being
replaced more and more by synthetics.
Animal glue is probably the natural
adhesive most widely used, although
casein glue is being used a great deal for
structural laminating.

Animal Glue
Animal glue is a gelatin adhesive obtained from waste or byproducts of the
meat processing and tanning industries.
The most common raw materials are hides
or trimmings of hides, sinews, and bones
of cattle and other animals. Trimmings
from the leather industry (from tanned
hides) are also utilized.
Glue made from hides is generally of
higher grade than glue derived from bones
and tendons. However, there is considerable variation in the quality or grades of
glue from hides as well as from the other
sources. Glues for woodworking, as well
as most other uses, are commonly blends
of two or more batches from the same
stock or from different classes of stock.
Source is important only insofar as it
affects grade.
Each class of glue is sold in cake, flake,
ground, pearl, shredded, and other forms;
but the form of the glue is no particular
indication of quality. The chief difference
between the various forms is in the time
required to put the glue into solution. The

finely divided forms absorb water more

rapidly and can be dissolved more easily
than the cake and flake forms. The higher
grade glues in the flake form are usually
light in color and nearly transparent.
Lower grade glues tend to be dark and
opaque.
Color and transparency, however, are
not dependable indications of quality because low-grade glues are sometimes
bleached. Also, foreign substances such as
zinc white, chalk, and similar materials are
frequently added to transparent glues to
produce what are technically known as
opaque glues. The added materials, while
they apparently do no harm, do not increase the adhesive qualities. Aside from
the fact that they give an inconspicuous
glueline in light-colored woods, the
opaque or whitened glues have no apparent advantage over otter glues of the
same grade.
Marked improvements have been made
over the years in the standardization of
methods for grading animal glues for
woodworking. The definitely established
tests and specifications give the user of
animal glues means to insure uniformity
and to secure a product suited to his
operating needs.
PREPARING ANIMAL GLUE FOR
USE
In preparing animal glues for use, a
number of precautions must be observed if
satisfactory results are to be obtained. The
proportion of glue and water should be
varied to meet manufacturing conditions.
When the right proportions have been
worked out, they should be used consistently. The glue and the water should be
weighed out whenever a batch is prepared.
Clean, cold water should be used and the
mixture thoroughly stirred at once to allow
a uniform absorption of water by the dry
glue and prevent the formation of lumps.
The batch should then stand in a cool
place until the glue is thoroughly water
soaked and softened. The soaking may take

27

for pressing exists when the glue is thick

enough to form short, thick strings when
touched with a finger, but not thick
enough to resist an imprint or a depression
readily. The thickening time or assembly
period is ususally fixed by the operating
conditions that dictate how much time
shall elapse between spreading and pressing. The grade of glue and the proportion
of water added in mixing become, therefore, the variables by which the manufacturer can fit the glue mixture to his
operating conditions. When once established, the glue grade and proportion of
water should be adhered to except when
temperature changes in the glue room or
wood require a change in the mixture.
When the assembly period is fixed by
the operation, and the temperature in the
glue room rises, an adjustment must be
made to accelerate the speed of thickening.
This adjustment can usually be made most
easily by mixing less water with the glue.
Strong joints may be made with a number of grades of animal glue, but different
STRENGTH AND DURABILITY OF
gluing conditions must be used according
ANIMAL GLUE JOINTS
to the grade of the glue. If wood joint
Making uniformly strong joints depends tests are made with glues of different
primarily upon having the proper correla- grades under a uniform set of gluing condition of gluing pressure and glue viscosity tions, the grade of glue that gives the best
at the moment pressure is applied. With results is the one best adapted to the paranimal glue solutions, the consistency de- ticular gluing conditions employed. The
pends on cooling and drying effects. For joint test results are not necessarily an
the first few minutes after the animal glue accurate measure of the inherent strengths
has been spread on the wood, the cooling of the other grades tested.
With respect to maintaining strength
effect is much more important than the
drying; this temperature-viscosity rela- over the long term, animal glue in threetionship varies with the grade and with the ply birch plywood joints showed no signiconcentration of the glue solution. High- ficant loss in strength after 5 years exgrade animal glues thicken to the proper posure at 80 F. and 65 percent relative
pressing consistency quicker and at higher humidity. Cycling of similar specimens
temperatures than do low-grade glues of between 65 percent relative humidity and
equal concentration. Assuming glues of 30 percent relative humidity produced
equal grade, one mixed with less water very little strength loss in the joints. This
will thicken more rapidly than one mixed is the approximate change in moisture content that can be expected in interior woodwith a greater quantity of water.
Warm animal glues, as they normally work in normal use in heated buildings in
exist in the spreader, are too thin for press- the northern part of the United States.
ing and some thickening must occur before In this type of service, properly designed
pressure is applied. The best consistency and well-made joints of animal glue should
only an hour or two or longer, the time
depending upon the size of the particles.
The glue should then be melted over a
water bath at a temperature not higher than
150 F. High temperature and long, continued heating reduce the strength of animal glue solutions and are to be avoided.
The glue pot should be kept covered as
much as possible to prevent the formation
of a skin or scum over the glue surface.
Strict cleanliness should be maintained
for glue pots and spreading equipment as
well as tables and floors in the glue room.
Old glue soon becomes foul and provides
a breeding place for bacteria that cause
decomposition, exposing the fresh batches
to the constant danger of becoming contaminated. Glue pots should be washed
every day and only enough glue for a days
run should be prepared at a time. If these
simple sanitary precautions are not observed, poor joints are likely to result.

28

give long-term satisfactory performance,

particularly if the glued products have a
reasonably good moisture-excluding finish.
Such a finish retards moisture changes and
thus reduces the rate of stresses induced by
shrinking and swelling.
Furniture and other products glued with
animal glues often serve satisfactorily in
spite of occasional exposures to relative
humidities up to 80 percent or more.
Protection afforded by the finish usually
prevents the moisture content of the wood
from reaching equilibrium values, particularly if the exposure to dampness is not
prolonged. Degradation of the joints is
more apt to occur with dense, high-shrinkage species than with lighter species that
exert lower stresses on the glue joints.

Casein Glue
Casein glue has been used in Europe for
at least a century and in the United States
for more than two-thirds of a century. The
basic constituent of casein glue is dried
casein which, when combined with alkaline chemicals (usually lime and one or
more sodium salts), is water soluble.
For some uses, the principal requirements of casein glue are water and mold
resistance combined with adequate dry
strengths. For other applications, it is
desirable to formulate a less expensive
casein glue that possesses low staining
tendencies, long working life, high dry
strength, or good spreading characteristics,
even at some sacrifice of water resistance.
The glue supplier can produce, therefore,
a variety of casein glues of different properties from which the user may choose
according to his needs.
PREPARATION OF CASEIN
When milk becomes sour, it separates
into curd, the chief protein constituent,
and whey. The curd, after being washed
and dried, is the casein of commerce.
When formed in this way, it is known as
naturally soured casein. Casein is also

precipitated by mineral acids, such as hydrochloric or sulfuric, and by rennet. In

preparing the glue, caseins precipitated by
different methods require different
amounts of water to produce solutions of
similar viscosity. Satisfactory glues can be
produced from caseins precipitated by any
of these methods, provided the casein is of
good quality.
The starting point in the manufacture of
casein is skim milk-that is, whole milk
from which the fat has been removed in
the form of cream. The usual steps in the
manufacturing process are: (1) Precipitation of the casein; (2) washing the curd to
remove the acid and other impurities;
(3) pressing the. damp curd, wrapped in
cloth, to remove most of the water; (4) drying the curd; and (5) grinding it to a
powder. The care with which these steps
are carried out determines the quality of
the finished product.
FORMULATION OF
CASEIN GLUES
The principal ingredients of a casein
glue are casein, water, hydrated lime, and
sodium hydroxide. A properly proportioned mixture of casein, water, and hydrated lime will yield a glue of high water
resistance, but its working life will be very
short. A glue can also be prepared of
casein, water, and sodium hydroxide.
When properly prepared, such a glue will
have excellent dry strength and a long
working life, but it will not have the
water resistance ordinarily associated with
casein glues. By adjusting the proportions
of sodium hydroxide and lime, glues of
high water resistance and convenient working life may be obtained.
Casein glues containing sodium hydroxide and hydrated lime cannot be mixed
in dry (solid) form and shipped. The hygroscopic properties of sodium hydroxide
prevent storing a casein glue containing it
without danger of decomposition. The
alkali can be introduced in an indirect
manner, however, so that the casein can

29

be mixed with all the necessary ingredients, except water, in the form of a dry
powder that can be handled and stored
conveniently. One way is to replace the
sodium hydroxide with chemically equivalent amounts of calcium hydroxide and a
substance that, when dissolved in water,
reacts with the calcium hydroxide to form
sodium hydroxide. Any convenient
sodium salt of an acid whose calcium salt
is relatively insoluble may be used,
provided it is not hygroscopic and does
not react with the lime or the casein
when the mixture is dry.
Prepared casein glues. -Most manufacturers of wood glues furnish casein glues
containing the required ingredients in
powder form ready to mix with water.
They are prepared for use by merely sifting
them into the proper amount of water and
stirring the mixture. They usually contain
the essential ingredients of casein, hydrated lime, and sodium salt, and are
occasionally formulated to reduce staining,
hardness, or to impart other properties.
Many of the formulas were protected by
patents, most of which are now outdated.
Directions for mixing these glues with
water are usually furnished by the manufacturer
Wet-mixed casein glues. Some glue
users may prefer to mix the ingredients
directly from the basic materials casein,
sodium hydroxide, and lime. Approximately the following proportions of
ingredients should be mixed in this order.

lngredients
Casin
water
Sodium hydroxide
water
Calcium hydroxide
(hydrated lime)
Water

Parts by weight
100
150
11
50
20
50

This glue remains usable for some 6 to 7

hours at temperatures between 70 and
75 F. It is capable of producing joints

that will have good dry strength and

water resistance.
Sodium silicate may be used in place of
sodium hydroxide or in place of dry
sodium salts, and a glue so prepared will
differ from one prepared by the formula
above. Particularly, a much longer working life is obtained with a glue using
sodium silicate and having alkalinity
equal to that obtained by the use of sodium
hydroxide or other sodium salts. There is a
considerable range ofpermissible lime content (above that necessary to react with the
sodium silicate); however, the working life
decreases as the proportion of calcium
hydroxide increases.
A small amount of cupric chloride in
casein glue has been found effective in
increasing the water resistance. This improvement is most striking in glues that
do not contain as much lime as required
for optimum water resistance. It is not
always advisable to use the maximum
amount of lime because high-lime glues
almost invariably have a short working life.
In such cases, it may be expedient to obtain high water resistance by adding
copper chloride rather than the maximum
amount of lime.

USE CHARACTERISTICS OF
CASE/N GLUE
Casein glue sets as a result of chemical
reaction and loss of moisture to wood and
air. Hence, its rate of setting is affected by
the temperature of the wood and surrounding atmosphere, the moisture content of
the wood, and other factors. Longer setting
time is required in a cold shop than in a
warm one, and wood high in moisture
content will retard the setting rate.
Casein glue will set at a temperature
almost as low as the freezing point of water,
but the setting period required to develop
strong joints at such temperatures varies
from several days to several weeks. The
time depends also on the species glued.
The wet strength developed at low tem-

30

peratures may never be as good as that preservatives ate sometimes added to casein
developed at normal room temperatures. glues. Federal Specification MMM-A-125
gives minimum requirements for waterA pressing period of 4 hours at 70 F.
is considered a minimum for straight and mold-resistant casein glues. Prolonged
members; for curved members, a some- exposure to conditions favorable to mold
what longer period is desirable.
growth or other micro-organisms, howCasein glue will produce adequate bonds ever, will eventually result in failure even
with wood at a wide range in moisture in joints made of casein glue containing
content from about 2 to 18 percent. To preservative.
Outdoors or where high humidities,
avoid serious shrinking or swelling stresses
on the joints, however, the moisture con- either continuous or intermittent, ate intent of the wood at the time of gluing volved, casein glue joints ate not durable.
should be slightly lower than the average Casein glues containing preservatives have
shown greater resistance to high humidiexpected in service.
ties than have unpreserved caseins, but the
preservative did not prevent eventual
DURABILITY OF CASEIN GLUE
destruction of the glue bonds under damp
Well-made casein glue joints will de- conditions. Consequently, casein glue is
velop the full strength of most low- and not considered suitable for glued products
medium-density woods in shear parallel to intended for exterior use, or for interior
the grain and will retain a large part of use where the moisture content of the wood
their strength even when submerged in may exceed 18 percent for repeated or
water for a few days. With dense woods, prolonged periods. Voluntary Product
however, casein glue develops only me- S t a n d a r d P S 5 6 f o r s t r u c t u r a l g l u e d
dium to low wood failure percentages laminated timbers limits casein-glued
when the joints ate tested in shear (fig. 15) material to service where the equilibrium
To improve resistance to deterioration moisture content of the wood does not
caused by molds or other micro-organisms, exceed 16 percent.

M 132 434

F i g u r e 1 5 . Percentage failure in wood of various species glued with carein, urea

resin, and phenol-resorcinol resin when joints were tested in block shear (ASTM
D 905). With both resins, the joints were about as strong as the wood; with casein,
a large percentage of the failures in the denser species were in the glue, indicating
that the glue bond was the weakest link.

31

M 138 1994

F i g u r e 1 6 . Building erected in 1935 with casein glued-laminated arches. It is currently used for packaging research at the Forest Products Laboratory. Arches are
in excellent condition.

or mote in the United States (fig. 16).

In Europe, similar structures that ate much
older ate not uncommon. This should be
adequate basis for confidence in casein glue
as a structural bonding agent for softwood
laminates used under normally dry interior
conditions.
In joints where the grain of the pieces
bonded is not parallel, casein glue has not
performed neatly as well, particularly with
dense wood having high shrinkage.

Casein glue joints have demonstrated

good resistance to dry heat. Results of test
exposures to temperatures as high as 158
F. for periods up to 4 years have indicated that the glue bonds in bitch plywood ate about as resistant as the wood to
this type of exposure. Temperatures that
chat and burn wood cause decomposition
of casein glue. Chatted wood exposed to
fire, however, conducts heat to its interior
very slowly so that softening of casein
glue joints takes place only next to the
zone of char.
Laminated softwood structural membets bonded with casein glue have given
excellent service when protected from exterior and damp conditions for 35 years

Soybean Glue
Soybean glue was introduced to the
plywood industry in the Pacific Northwest
during the early 1920s, and for many

32

years was the major glue used for making

softwood plywood (interior type no practical exterior glue had yet been developed).
The protein constituents of soybean glue
that supply the adhesive properties ate
somewhat similar to those of casein.
The basic adhesive material in this glue
is the protein from soybeans. The oil is
first removed from the bean by expeller or
solvent processes. The coarse meal is then
usually passed through a roller mill
(smooth tolls) to crush the shell loose from
the kernel. The kernel is ground to the
desired particle size, usually in a hammermill. The flout is mixed with small
amounts of chemicals and is then ready for
shipment (usually in 100-lb. bags) to the
plywood plant.
Soybean glue almost always is used as a
wet-mix glue. Usually, the glue powder is
first mixed with sufficient water to make a
smooth dough free of dry lumps. Then
additional water is added slowly with the
mixer running. If the requited additional
water is added all at once, the dough
might break up into lumps, making it
nearly impossible to obtain a final smooth
mixture. Slaked lime, caustic soda solution, and sodium silicate ate usually added
to the mix in that order with short periods
of mixing between the addition of each
ingredient. To prevent or reduce foaming,
a small amount of pine oil or other defoaming agent is usually added to the glue
mix.
Directions for mixing and the amount
of each ingredient to be added ate furnished by the glue manufacturer.
Softwood plywood well glued with soybean glue is toughly comparable in water
resistance to bitch or similar density plywood bonded with casein glue, and is
generally considered satisfactory for normally dry interior service. Soybean glue
has not proved entirely satisfactory for
gluing hardwoods, particularly the denser
ones.
Soybean glue is generally not recommended for hardwood plywood; if both

casein and soybean glues ate used for making plywood of the same species, soybean
glue generally shows the poorer water
resistance. However, it is appreciably
superior to starch glues in resistance to
moisture and high humidity.
As the standards for performance of
plywood have become stricter over the
years, it increasingly has become common
practice to fortify soybean glue with a
certain amount of dried blood or occasionally casein casein if the plywood is
cold pressed and blood if it is hot pressed.
Since softwood plywood is being produced
mote and mote by hot pressing, the bloodfortified soybean glues ate predominant.

Blood Glue
Glues made of soluble dried blood or
blood albumin have been used to some
extent in the United States, but they ate
mote common in some European and
Asiatic countries.
Blood albumin, a slaughterhouse byproduct, coagulates and sets firmly when
heated to a temperature of about 160 F.
It then shows a significant resistance to the
softening effect of water. This character istic makes it a desirable material for glue
to use in products such as plywood.
A number of patents have been granted
on glue formulations based on blood. As
with other protein glues, alkalies such as
caustic soda, hydrated lime, sodium silicate, or combinations of these ate employed in formulating blood glues. Thermosetting resins (usually phenolic) are also
sometimes incorporated to increase the
resistance of the glue bonds to degrading
influences.
Hot-press blood glues ate probably the
most resistant of the protein-type glues to
weathering and similar severe service but
ate not recommended for long-term
exterior use as ate the phenols and resorcinols and some other synthetics.

33

SELECTED REFERENCES

American Society for Testing and Materials

Standard method of test for strength properties of adhesive bonds in shear by compression loading. Des. D 905. (See current
edition) Philadelphia, Pa.
Blomquist, R. F.
1964. Durability of fortified urea-resin glues
exposed to exterior weathering. For. Prod.
J. 14(10):461-466.
Blomquist, R. F., and Olson, W. Z.
1957. Durability of urea-resin glues at
elevated temperatures. For. Prod. J.
7(3):266-272.
Carlson, Herbert E.
1962. Bonding with hot melts. Adhes. Age
5(11):32-33.
Carroll, M. N., and Bergin, E. G.
1967. Catalyzed PVA emulsions as wood
adhesives. For. Prod. J. 17(11):45-50.
Carruthers, J. S.
1958. The comparative durability of assembly glues in England and Nigeria. Dep. of
Sci. and Ind. Res., For. Prod. Res. Lab.,
Princes Risborough, England
Cheo, Y. C.
1969. Hot melt coatings for wood products.
For. Prod. J. 19(9):73-79.
Cone, Charles N.
1959. Resin-blood glue and process of
making the same. U.S. Pat. No.
2,895,928. 8 p. July 21.
Fotsyth, Robert S.
1962. New developments in synthetic resin
hot melts. Adhes. Age 5(8):20-23.
Freeman, H. G., and Kreibich, R. E.
1968. Estimating durability of wood adhesive in vitro. For. Prod. J. 18(7):39-43.
Gillespie, R. H., Olson, W. Z., and Blomquist, R. F.
1964. Durability of urea-resin glues modified with polyvinyl acetate and blood. For.
Prod. J. 14(8):343-349.
Hartman, Seymour
1970. High temperature adhesive. For.
Prod. J. 20(12):21-23.
Kopyscinski, Walter, Norris, F. H., and
Herman, Stedman
1960. Synthetic hot melt adhesives. Adhes.
Age 3(5):31-36.
Kreibich, R. E., and Freeman, H. G.
1970. Effect of specimen stressing upon
durability of eight wood adhesives. For.
Prod. J. 20(4):44-49.

Kreibich, R. E., and Freeman, H. G.

1965. Testing adhesives for creep can provide
data on adhesive systems which will help
improve structural bondants. Adhes. Age
8(8):29-34.
Lee, Henry, and Neville, Kris
1967. Handbook of epoxy resins. McGrawHill Book Co., New York.
McGrath, J. J.
1967. Hot melts featured at adhesive meeting. For. Prod. J. 17(4):22.
Northcott, P. L., and Hancock, W. V.
1966. Accelerated tests for deterioration of
adhesive bonds in plywood. Durability of
Adhesive Joints, Spec. Tech. Publ. No.
401. 62-79. Am. Sot. Test. Mater.,
Philadelphia.
Olson, W. Z.
1955. Polyvinyl-resin emulsion woodworking glues. For. Prod. J. 5(4):219-226.
Olson, W. Z., and Blomquist, R. F.
1962. Epoxy-resin adhesives for gluing
wood. For. Prod. J. 12(2):74-80.
Picotte, Gordon L.
1965. Toughness of structural adhesives.
Adhes. Age 8(2):21-23.
Rundle, V. A.
1969. Hot-melt coatings for wood products.
For. Prod. J. 19(9):73-80.
Selbo, M. L.
1969. Performance of southern pine plywood
during 5 years exposure to weather. For.
Prod. J. 19(8):56-60.
Selbo, M. L.
1965. Performance of melamine resin adhesives in various exposures. For. Prod. J.
15(12):475-483.
Selbo, M. L.
1958. Curing rates of resorcinol and phenolresorcinol glues in laminated oak membets. For. Prod. J. 8(5):145-149.
Selbo, M. L.
1949. Durability of woodworking glues for
dwellings. Proc. For. Prod. Res. Soc.
3:361-380.
Selbo, M. L.
1949. Glue joints durable in beams laminated of common lumber. South Lumberman 179(2244):60-62.
Selbo, M. L., Knauss, A. C., and Worth, H. E.
1965. Glulam timbers show good performante after two decades of service. For.
Prod. J. 15(11):466-472.
Selbo, M. L., and Knauss, A. C.
1958. Glued laminated wood construction
in Europe. Proc. Am. Soc. Civil Eng.
84(ST 7). 19 p. Nov.

34

Twiss, Sumner B.
1965. Structural adhesive bonding. Part II:
Adhesive classification. Adhes. Age
8(1):30-34.
U.S. Department of Commerce
1973. Structural glued laminated lumber.
Voluntary Prod. Stand. PS 56-73. Natl.
Bur. Stand., Washington, D.C.
U.S. Forest Products Laboratory, Forest Service
1967. Casein glues: Their manufacture,
preparation, and application. U.S. For.
Serv. Res. Note FPL-0158.15 p. U.S.
Dept. Agric., For. Serv. For Prod. Lab.,
Madison, Wis.
U.S. Forest Products Laboratory, Forest Service
1963. Durability of water-resistant woodworking glues. Rep. 1530. 41 p. U.S.
Dept. Agric. For. Serv. For. Prod. Lab.,
Madison, Wis.
U.S. General Services Administration
1969. Adhesive, casein-type water and mold
resistant. Fed. Specif. MMM-A-125.
Fed. Supply Serv., Washington, D.C.
Williamson, D. V. S.
1965. Hot melt adhesives in Europe. Adhes.
Age 8(8):24-27.
Williamson, F. L., and Nearn, W. T.
1958. Wood-to-wood bonds with epoxide
resins-species effect. For. Prod. J. 8(6):
182-189.

Selbo, M. L., Knauss, A. C., and Worth, H. E.

1966. Twenty years of service durability of
pressure-treated glulam bridge timbers.
Wood Res. News 44(3):5-16, Part I;
44(4): 10-14, Part II.
Selbo, M. L., and Olson, W. Z.
1953. Durability of woodworking glues in
different types of assembly joints. For.
Prod. J. 3(5):50-57.
Simpson, W. T., and Soper, V. R.
1970. Tensile stress-strain behavior of flexibilized epoxy adhesive film. USDA For.
Serv. Res. Pap. FPL 126. 13 p. U.S.
Dept. Agric. For. Serv. For. Prod. Lab.,
Madison, Wis.
Skeist, Irving
1964. Modern structural adhesives for use
in the building industry. Adhes. Age
7(4):21-26.
Troughton, G. E.
1967. Kinetic evidence for covalent bonding
between wood and formaldehyde glues.
Inf. Rep. No. VP-X-26, 22 p. For.
Prod. Lab., Vancouver, B.C.
Truax, T. R., and Selbo, M. L.
1948. Results of accelerated tests and longterm exposures on glue joints in laminated
beams. Trans. Am. Sot. Mech. Eng.
70:393-400. May.

IMPROVING PERFORMANCE
OF WOOD THROUGH GLUING
Both resistance to splitting and uniformity in strength properties can be improved by gluing together sheets or layers
of wood with the grain in adjacent layers
at approximately 90 (plywood).
By gluing together layers all having the
grain approximately parallel (laminating),
the strength in bending and in tension in
the direction of the grain can be improved.
Two-by-fours laminated from low-grade
veneers can be produced with much more
uniform strength properties than solid
structural 2 by 4s. This is accomplished
by dispersion of strength-reducing defects.
By end-joint gluing, material of any
desired length can be obtained; and by
edge gluing, any desired width is obtainable.

To produce high-quality, adhesivebonded wood products, it is not only important to know and understand the properties and use characteristics of the
adhesive, it is equally important to know bow
to select, prepare, and use the wood so that it
will serve to the best advantage.
Wood has good stability and excellent
strength properties in the grain direction.
Across the grain it is stable at constant
moisture content but shrinks with decreases in moisture and swells with increases in moisture. Normal straightgrained wood of some species may also
split or check along the grain when subjected to rapid reductions in moisture
content.
35

CROSSBANDED
CONSTRUCTION

(housing, concrete forms, packaging).

Hardwood plywood goes to furniture,
paneling, and other uses. Several types of
Crossbanded construction includes a plywood are shown in figures 18, 19, and
large variety of panel products consisting 20. Veneer plywood is most commonly
usually of an odd number of layers of wood made and used as flat panels (figs. 18 and
glued together with the grain in adjacent 19). It may also be made as flat panels
layers at an angle of about 90. Ply- and later bent or formed within limits as
wood, the most common form of cross- may be required (fig. 20, A). Plywood
banded construction, is defined as a with sharp or compound curves may be
crossbanded assembly made of layers of formed by pressing the veneers (coated
veneer or veneer in combination with with glue) in molds of the desired shape
lumber or other core materials and joined and curing the glue with radio-frequency
with an adhesive. The plywood construc- energy or other types of heat. As a rule,
tions probably most widely used are veneer curved plywood formed to the desired
plywood and lumber core plywood. The shape during manufacture is more stable
term veneered panels is often used for than plywood bent to form later.
lumber core plywood. A veneered panel
Most plywood is three or five ply. In
could also have a particleboard core (fig. three-ply construction, the two outside
17), with or without crossbands. Flush plies are called faces, or face and back,
doors are generally of crossbanded con- and are usually laid at right angles to
struction.
the grain of the center ply or core (fig.
The bulk of softwood plywood produc- 18, A). In five-ply panels the outside plies
tion goes to structural applications are also called faces, or face and back, and
the center ply is the core (fig. 18, B). The
second and fourth plies are termed the
crossbands and are usually at right angles
to the grain of the face, back, and core.
Plywood construction other than threeor five-ply may be used, but odd numbers
of plies are generally symmetrically
arranged on each side of the core. The
core may be veneer, lumber, or various
combinations of veneer or lumber laminated so that they act as a single ply (fig. 19,
A, B, C, D). In recent years it has been
found advantageous to make panels of four
veneers. The two center ones are glued
together with the grain parallel and serve
as the core in a three-ply panel. In a
similar manner three or more laminated
veneers could serve as core. Panels may
range in total thickness from less than
one-eighth inch to more than 3 inches.
They may vary in number and thickness
of plies, kinds and combinations of woods,
and durability of the glues required for
M 138 529
various service conditions.
The chief advantages of plywood as comFigure 17. Three- and five-ply veneered
panels with particleboard cores.
pared with solid wood are: (1) Greater
36

M 138 743

Figure 18. Three constructions of all-veneer plywood: A, three-ply; B, five-ply;

and C, seven-ply.

M 138 746

Figure 19. Three different constructions of lumber core plywood and one with laminated veneer core: A, three-ply; B, five-ply, with veneer edge banding; C, sevenply, with laminated veneer core (used where showthrough must be avoided and
good stability is required); and D, extra thick lumber core plywood. Crossband at
middle of core reduces dimensional changes of core.

37

M 138 744

Figure 20. Three types of curved plywood: A, conventional five-ply, all-veneer

plywood bent to form; B, laminated core with veneer crossbands and faces; and
C, five-ply, spirally wrapped plywood tubing.

resistance to splitting and checking,

(2) more nearly equal strength properties
along the length and width of the panel,
(3) dimensional changes with changes in
moisture content that are more nearly
equal in length and width and distinctly
less than the changes of solid lumber in
width, and (4) the plywood production
processes utilize wood more efficiently.
These advantages are present because
the direction of the grain of each ply is
generally at right angles to that of adjacent
plies. The strength of a piece of lumber or
veneer along the grain is much greater
than the strength across the grain. When
pieces are glued together with the direction of their grain at right angles, the high
strength and dimensional stability of each
piece along the grain resist the stresses and
movement of adjacent pieces across the
grain, and the strength and stability of the
panel in the two directions are, in effect,
equalized. The result is a more nearly
homogeneous product than solid wood.
Because of the cross plies, plywood panels
are very resistant to splitting in planes at

right angles to the plies. Along planes

parallel to the plies, the splitting characteristics resemble those of solid wood.
The glued, crossbanded product, therefore, is more nearly constant in width and
length under varying moisture conditions.
It is not necessary that the cross plies be
thick or that they occupy a very large part
of the total thickness of the crossbanded
product. In a five-ply veneered panel with
a core of nominal l-inch lumber and face
and back of 1/28-inch veneer, for example,
the crossbands are frequently of 1/20-inch
veneer. The choice of thickness depends on
the tensile strength of the species. The
crossbands must be sufficiently strong in
tension parallel to grain to withstand,
without breaking, the stresses developed
by the core when it tends to expand or
contract as the moisture content changes.
To realize fully the advantages of crossbanded construction, the panels must be
properly designed and glued. The tendency of panels to cup and twist may be
greater in improperly constructed plywood
than in the average panel of solid wood of
38

the same thickness. Crossbanded panels

may be considered to be relatively free
from stress at the time the glue sets.
When the moisture content changes
thereafter, however, adjoining plies try to
shrink or swell in directions at right angles
to each other but each ply restrains the ply
or plies next to it. Since the moisture in the
panel during service is rarely distributed
as it was when the glue set, plywood
panels may be considered as continually
under stresses that tend to rupture the glue
joints or to distort the panel. The further
the moisture content departs from that existing when the glue set, the greater will
be the stresses developed. The development of these stresses cannot easily be
prevented but their magnitude and effect
can be largely controlled by choice of
species, proper design, well-glued joints,
and control of moisture content at the time
of gluing.
In crossbanded products that are properly designed, the forces exerted by the
plies on one side of the core balance in
magnitude and in direction the forces exerted by the plies on the other side of the
core. This balance is partly accomplished
by the use of an odd number of plies so
arranged that for any ply on one side of the
core there is a corresponding parallel ply
on the other side at the same distance
from the core.
In addition to being correctly spaced
from the core, the wood in corresponding
plies should have the same shrinkage and
density properties to obtain a balanced
effect. The shrinkage of wood varies with
the species and the method of cutting,
and the stresses developed vary with the
density. In some cases, the difference in
shrinkage between edge-grained wood and
flat-grained wood of the same stock is
greater than between similarly cut wood of
different species. Consequently, flatgrained and quartered material of the same
wood may not balance so closely as woods
ofdifferent species. For best results, therefore, corresponding plies should be of the

same species, of similar density, and cut

in the same manner.
Since the outer plies of a crossbanded
construction are restrained on only one
side, changes in moisture content induce
relatively larger stresses in the outer glue
joints. The magnitude of stresses depends
upon such factors as thickness of plies,
density, shrinkage of the woods involved,
and the amount of the moisture content
changes. In general, one-eighth inch is the
maximum thickness of face plies that can
be held securely in place when moderately
dense woods are used and large moisture
changes occur. For panels where face
checking would be objectionable, such as
in doors and furniture, thin face veneers
(1/28 in. or 1/32 in.) are preferable to
thicker ones.

Quality of flies
In thin plywood, the quality of all the
plies affects the shape and permanence of
form of the panel. For greatest stability all
plies should be straight grained, smoothly
cut, and of sound wood that is of uniform
growth and texture.
In thick, five-ply (lumber core) panels
the crossbands in particular affect the
stability and quality of the panel. Imperfections in the crossbands, such as marked
differences in the texture of the wood,
irregularities in the surface, or even pronounced lathe checks, may show through
thin face veneers as imperfections in the
surface of the panel.
Figured veneer cut from burls, crotches,
stumps, and similar irregular material is
not straight grained but is used because of
its attractive appearance. It shrinks both
with the width and length of the sheet,
whereas plain veneer shrinks chiefly in
width. This difference in shrinkage between the two types of veneer causes warping when they are used as opposing plies
in thin panels. With combinations of
plain and figured veneer, it is not practical
to have a strictly balanced construction and
the effect of the unsymmetrical arrange39

ment must be compensated for in some

other way. Ordinarily, by laying figured
veneer over a thick and properly crossbanded core, the construction is made stiff
enough to prevent the unbalanced stresses
exerted by the thin faces from excessively
warping or distorting the panel. Thick,
five-ply veneered panels (fig. 19, B and C)
make it possible to use a figured veneer on
the panel face and a straight-grained veneer
on the back.

For certain types of panels that are held

securely in place by mechanical means,
tendencies toward warping might be unimportant. For others, such as lids and
doors that generally are mechanically
fastened at one edge, even a small amount
of warp might be objectionable. In panel
products, twisting and cupping are the
most common types of warping.
TWISTING

Causes and Prevention of

Warping

Corresponding plies on opposite sides of

the core should not only swell or shrink
in the same direction, but the stresses
In a panel that is symmetrical and should be of the same magnitude. If the
balanced about its central plane, opposing stresses are not balanced with respect to
plies must have about the same moisture direction, the distortion that results
content when glued. Variations in mois- frequently is twist, a form of warping
ture content of corresponding plies at the in which the four corners of the panel will
time of gluing bring about shrinkage not rest simultaneously on a flat surface.
differences that may result in warping.
Generally, twisting in plywood is reLarge changes in the moisture content of lated to grain direction. While factors
the wood after gluing should be avoided other than grain direction can cause twistbecause they induce internal stresses of ing, they are not so frequently encountered
large magnitude that could cause warping, in practice. If plywood or veneered tops,
checking, and weakening of joints.
unattached to supporting members, are
Warping may be expected if the panel twisted, it is most likely that grain direccontains veneer that is partially decayed, or tion of the panel plies is at fault.
veneer that has abnormal shrinkage
In five-ply veneered panels with comcharacteristics, such as exhibited by com- paratively thick cores and thinner crosspression wood or tension wood.
bands and faces, the crossbands are the
Cross grain or short grain that runs most essential element in maintaining
sharply through the crossband veneer from a panel free from twist. In this construcone surface to the other often causes the tion, the grain of the crossband on one side
panels to cup. Cross grain that runs should be parallel to the grain of the
diagonally across the crossband veneer is crossband on the other side of the core.
likely to cause the panel to twist unless The amount of variation from this condithe two opposing crossbands are laid with tion that may occur without twisting
the grain parallel to each other. Failure to depends upon such factors as thickness of
observe this simple precaution is the cause core, density of core, moisture content of
of much warping in crossbanded construc- the core at the time of gluing, and
tion. While it is impractical to eliminate change in moisture content after gluing.
all crossgrained veneer, that showing an With thin, experimental panels, a variaexcessive amount of cross grain should be tion of 5 in grain direction of opposing
rejected for most plywood manufacture. crossbands has caused distinct twisting.
It can be used for purposes where its Examination of commercial, five-ply
effect is not harmful (cabinet backs, for veneered panels has often disclosed proexample).
nounced twisting with a variation of 15.
40

While the crossbands of five-ply construction are usually the critical elements,
the faces are critical in three-ply construction. If the crossbands of five-ply, thick
core construction are properly laid, variations in the direction of grain of the faces
seldom cause objectionable distortion. In
five-ply, thin core construction, however,
parallel grain is important in the faces
as well as in the crossbands.
Ordinarily, the causes of twisting are
easily detected. To avoid or reduce twisting that occurs when grain direction of
plies is not parallel, changes in manufacturing procedure are usually required. One
of the simplest and least costly methods
of reducing twisting is to select for crossbands such species as basswood, aspen, and
yellow-poplar that generally produce
reasonably straight-grained stock. If the
value of the product justifies the added
cost, the veneer should be clipped and
trimmed parallel and perpendicular to
the grain rather than parallel and perpendicular to the axis of the veneer bolt.
Since adjacent pieces of sliced veneer are
very similar in grain formation, twisting
may be reduced or avoided by using two
adjacent pieces of sliced veneer for the two
crossbands of one panel. They must be laid
with the grain parallel to each other in
the panel. The same principle could be
applied to rotary-cut veneer for crossbanding by properly marking and arranging the
veneer as it comes from the lathe to insure
that matching sheets would be used for
the two crossbands of a panel. Such precautions, however, may or may not be
practical in a commercial operation, depending on the cost of the final product.
If a panel changes in moisture content
to a marked degree at the edge while the
center changes very little, the stresses developed may cause twisting. This condition can be detected by determination of
the moisture content at the edges and at
the center of the panel. Much of the twisting will probably disappear when the panel
is reconditioned to a uniform moisture
content. Twisting has also been observed

when plywood panels were fastened

rigidly (particularly if glued) to supporting
members or frames whose shrinkage
characteristics differed from those of the
plywood panel.

CUPPING

Ordinarily, the exact cause of cupping

is much more difficult to establish than
the cause of twisting. However, cupping
difficulties are often more easily eliminated in commercial operations than are
the causes of twisting.
Cupping generally results from forces
that restrain the core unequally on the two
sides. If, for example, a crossband was
glued to only one side of a core, the core
would be greatly restrained on one side
in its movements with moisture changes
but not at all on the other side, and cupping would surely result. The direction of
the cupping would depend on whether the
core increased above or dried below the
moisture content it had when the glue set.
If the crossband on one side differs distinctly in shrinkage characteristics or
strength properties (along the grain) from
the corresponding crossband on the other
side, cupping may be expected. A few
of the more common causes are:
1. Crossband on one side thicker than
on the other. When the core attempts to
change dimensions under changes in moisture content, the movement of the core
will be restricted more strongly on the
side with the thicker crossband (assuming
both crossbands ate of the same or similar
species) and cupping will result. Unequal
sanding of the faces of a three-ply panel
produces an effect similar to that caused
by the use of faces of unequal thickness.
Minor variations in the thickness of thin
faces on five-ply, lumber-core panels will
not ordinarily cause objectionable distortion.
2. Short-grained crossband on one side
and a straight-grained crossband on the
other. When the grain of a sheet of
41

veneer dips abruptly through the sheet

from one surface to the other, the sheet
will have greater shrinkage in length than
a sheet in which the grain is parallel to the
plane of the sheet. If such a short-grained
sheet is laid as one crossband and a
straight-grained sheet as the opposing
crossband, the short-grained sheet will not
offer the same resistance to the movement
of the core as the straight-grained one and
cupping will result.
3. Partially decayed crossband on one
side and a sound crossband on the other.
When the core shrinks or swells under
moisture changes, the decayed crossband
offers less resistance to the dimensional
changes of the core than the sound crossband and cupping results.
4. Reaction wood in one crossband and
normal wood in the other. One of the
characteristics of reaction wood is a high
degree of longitudinal shrinkage as compared with normal wood. If a sheet of
veneer containing reaction wood is laid as
one crossband and a sheet of veneer of
normal wood as the other, the sheet containing reaction wood will tend to shrink
or swell longitudinally while the corresponding crossband of normal wood will
tend to remain more nearly fixed in the
lengthwise direction. Consequently, the
core will be restrained unequally on the
two sides and cupping will result. If a
crossband contained both reaction wood
and normal wood, distortion in the form
of combined twisting and cupping might
result.
In exterior flush doors it is conceivable
that longitudinal shrinkage of the inner
face and longitudinal swelling of the outer
face, during the cold season, could also
contribute to cupping.

or storing the plywood or because of the

way in which the plywood is built into the
finished item.
One rather common cause of warping
that is not related to grain direction or
quality of plies is permitting plywood to
dry (or to regain moisture) more rapidly
from one side than from the other. It has
been observed frequently that the top panel
of a pile of panels will be warped because it
dried more rapidly from the upper surface
than from the bottom. When panels are
piled solidly, the top of the pile should
be kept covered to prevent rapid loss or
regain of moisture by the top surface. If
considerable change in moisture content is
expected, it is often desirable to protect
the ends and edges of the panels from rapid
changes in moisture content.
When a finish that is highly resistant to
the passage of moisture is applied to one
side of the panel and either no finish or one
low in resistance to moisture movement is
applied to the other, moisture will move in
or out of one surface more rapidly than the
other. In this case, cupping may result
just as when panels ate allowed to dry
more rapidly from one surface than from
the other.
While plywood shrinks and swells
much less than normal wood does in either
the tangential or radial direction, it
shrinks and swells more than normal wood
does in a longitudinal direction. A plywood panel that is fastened firmly to a
longitudinal supporting member, therefore, may warp or pull loose from the
fastenings under severe changes in moisture content. If the design requires a
fastening between plywood and framing
members, provision should be made
wherever possible to permit a slight movement of the plywood relative to the
supporting member just as a solid tabletop
HANDLING AND
is ordinarily fastened to the frame to permit
a
slight swelling or shrinking of the top.
FABRICATION
Softwood plywood glued to studs in walls
It is quite possible that well balanced of houses or mobile homes usually does
and properly constructed plywood will not change enough in moisture content to
warp because of methods used in handling cause any warping problems.
42

REQUIREMENTS FOR
CROSSBANDS

If the flatness of plywood is an important consideration, as often is the case

with furniture plywood, one of the
essential requirements of good crossbanding veneer is straightness of grain. Of the
straight-grained species that have been
available in quantity and sizes suitable for
veneer cutting operations, yellow-poplar
has been a favorite.
If the crossbanding is to be laid under
thin face veneers, it should be uniform in
texture and free from defects. Species that
show marked contrast between the earlywood and latewood, such as Douglas-fir
and southern pine, are less desirable than
those in which the contrast between earlywood and latewood is slight, such as basswood, aspen, and yellow-poplar. The
defects that can be permitted in the
crossbanding depend upon the thickness
of the face veneer and upon the quality of
finish demanded. A high-gloss finish will
accentuate minor surface irregularities
much more than a matte finish. If the
thickness of the face veneer is about one
twenty-eighth inch, as often used, and if
a finish that shows no irregularities under
reflected light is desired, the crossbanding
must be essentially free from defects and
the edge joints must be tightly glued.
When the plywood panels are thin (onefourth inch or less, they can be more easily
distorted by the shrinking or swelling of
the crossbands, and low shrinkage characteristics and low specific gravity of crossbands become desirable properties. For
lumber core panels, the specific gravity
and the shrinkage characteristics of the
crossbands are probably less important so
long as one crossband balances the other
and stresses do not cause rupture of adjacent glue bonds.
The limited supply of species that possess all or nearly all of the desirable characteristics for crossbanding necessitates the
use of less desirable species. Sweetgum
and tupelo, for example, are frequently

used for crossbanding although they are

not so inherently straight in grain as might
be desired. Birch and maple have been used
although they are comparatively high in
specific gravity and somewhat irregular in
grain direction. Even though the less
desirable species are used for crossbanding,
satisfactory items can be produced if the
characteristics of the species are recognized
and the operating procedures adjusted to
compensate for some of the deficiencies.
For instance, a thinner veneer of high
tensile strength can be substituted for a
thicker one lower in strength.
Table 2 shows the average shrinkage and
density values of some woods commonly
used for plywood and veneered panels.
Shrinkage data for quartered (radial) and
rotary-cut (tangential) stock are shown
since some species are manufactured and
used extensively in both forms. The table
permits selection of species that have about
the same density and percentage of
shrinkage. Differences in density between
two woods can be compensated for by
varying the thickness of the plies in inverse proportion to their specific gravities.
This method of compensation results in
using a proportionately thicker ply of the
lighter species, which might be advantageous in some cases. The practice,
however, requites thorough knowledge of
the properties of the wood and is not
common.
REQUIREMENTS FOR CORES

A high percentage of core total plywood thickness helps maintain a flat, unwarped surface. In general, the core should
comprise five- to seven-tenths of the total
thickness of a five-ply panel where flatness
is important.
When crossbands and face veneers are
relatively thin, the cores for high-grade
panels must be practically free from knots,
knotholes, limb markings (local areas of
cross grain occurring in the region of
knots), and decayed wood. Unless re43

Table 2 Average shrinkage and density values of wood commonly glued1

Shrinkage 2

Common species name

Hardwoods
Alder, red . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ash, white . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Aspen, quaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Basswood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Beech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bitch, yellow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cottonwood, eastern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Elm, American . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mahogany (Swietenia sp.) ..................
Maple, red . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Maple, sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Oak, northern red . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sweetgum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sycamore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tupelo, black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tupelo, water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Walnut, black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Yellow-poplar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Density 3

Radial

Tangential

Percent

Percent

4.4
4.9
3.5
6.6
5.5
7.3
3.9
4.2
3.7
4.0
4.8
4.0
5.3
5.0
5.1
4.2
5.5
4.6

7.3
7.8
6.7
9.3
11.9
9.5
9.2
7.2
5.1
8.2
9.9
8.6
10.2
8.4
8.7
7.6
7.8
8.2

0.41
.60
.38
.37
.64
.62
.40
.50

4.8
3.3
4.2
4.5
3.9
4.6
2.9
2.6
4.3

7.6
7.0
7.8
9.1
6.2
7.7
5.6
4.4
7.5

.48
.39
.45
.52
.40
.51
.36
.40
.40

Softwoods
Douglas-fir, coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fir, white . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hemlock, western . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Latch, western . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pine, ponderosa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pine, shortleaf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pine, sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Redwood, old-growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Spruce, Sitka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.54
.63
.63
.52
.49
.50
.50
.55
.42

Data from Wood Handbook.

Shrinkage from green to overdry condition expressed in percent of dimensions when green.
3
Density expressed as specific gravity based on ovendry weight and volume at 12 pct. moisture content.

moved, such defects may be visible on the

faces of panels after they have received a
finish. The size of defects that may occur
in cores without showing upon the finished
faces depends largely upon the thickness
of the crossband and face veneers. Prevailing commercial practice varies as to the
maximum size of knots and blemishes
permitted, depending in part upon the
quality of finish demanded from the item
and in part on how readily minor
irregularities in the surface may be detected during the common use of the item.
A veneered tabletop, for example, is often

viewed in reflected light that causes even a

minor irregularity in the surface to show
clearly; on the sides and ends of the same
piece, minor irregularities in the surface
may be much less conspicuous. Decayed
wood has a different shrinkage rate than
sound wood and under moisture changes
this shrinkage difference may cause
noticeable irregularities on highly finished
surfaces.
Edge-grained cores are better than flatgrained cores because of their lower shrinkage in width. With most species a core
made of all quartersawed or of all-flat44

sawed material remains more uniform in

thickness with moisture content changes
than one made by combining these two
types of material. Use of narrow core strips
makes surface irregularities caused by
mixed grain (flat sawn and vertical) less
obvious. For high-grade cores of softwood
it is desirable to use quartersawed stock.
If both edge- and flat-grained material or
even all flat-grained lumber is used in
softwood cores, the panels are mote likely
to show wavy and irregular surfaces than if
the stock is all edge grained. Edge-grained
material is more desirable than flat-grained
for softwood core stock for the additional
reason that the hard bands of latewood are
less likely to show through thin face veneers, Mixing species in the same core
invites irregularities in the surface because
of the differences in the shrinkage characteristics of the different species. It is important, of course, that all pieces in any
one core be at the same moisture content
when the core stock is surfaced. Otherwise,
when the moisture content of the stock
equalizes in service, some pieces will swell
or shrink mote than others and irregularities in the surface will result.
The best core woods for high-grade
panels have low density, low shrinkage
characteristics, slight contrast between the
earlywood and latewood, and are easily
glued. Yellow-poplar and basswood as well
as several foreign species are desirable core
woods. Edge-grained redwood is very
satisfactory. Sweetgum and tupelo are used
extensively for cores. Ponderosa pine is
used extensively for cores in doors. Such
cores are commonly built from small
pieces of wood which are byproducts of the
manufacture of sash and other millwork
and are faced with thick veneers. Ponderosa pine, because of its lower density
and shrinkage characteristics, is less apt to
cause showthrough than denser species.
Many other species are used successfully
for core stock even though they may lack
some of the most desirable properties.
Satisfactory panels can be fabricated even
if the most desirable species are not avail-

able for cores. As a general rule, however,

the less desirable the species, the more
care will be required to fabricate satisfactory panels.

LAMINATED CONSTRUCTION
Glued-laminated or parallel-grain
construction, as distinguished from
plywood or other crossbanded construction, refers to two or more layers of wood
joined with an adhesive so that the grain
of all layers or laminations is approximately
parallel. The size, shape, number, and
thickness of the. laminations may vary
greatly. Glued-laminated construction
may be used as a base or core for veneer,
as in doors or tabletops and other furniture
panels, or it may be used without veneer
covering for chair seats, tabletops, bleacher
seats, and bench tops, structural beams
and arches (fig. 21), boat timbers, laminated decking, airplane propellers, spars,
spar flanges, or for sporting goods items
such as baseball bats and bowling pins
(fig. 22).
While the properties of glued-laminated
products are generally similar to those of

M 118 468

Figure 21. Model of laminated arches

used in churches, gymnasiums, supermarkets, and similar structures.

45

longer available in solid timbers (fig. 23).

The manufacture of glued-laminated
beams, arches, and trusses has become a
very important segment of the wood industry. Glued structural members that
may be used in full exposure to weather
as well as those intended for dry service
are being produced. Laminated utility
poles for power transmission lines are
further examples of expanding application
of the laminating technique. It seems
probable that increasing scarcity of large
timbers will lead to further expansion in
the use of laminated products even through
production of laminated items involves
skills and equipment not necessary in producing items from solid wood.

M 138 358

Figure 22 . laminated bowling pin (unfinished).

M 994 395

solid wood of similar quality, manufacture by gluing permits production of long,

wide, and thick items out of smaller and
less expensive material and often with less
waste of wood than if solid wood alone
was used. Curved members may be fabricated by simultaneously bending and
gluing thin laminations to shapes that
would be very difficult or impossible to
produce from solid wood. The essentially
parallel direction of grain of the wood
to the longitudinal axis of these laminated
products gives them strength that is often
far superior to solid wood cut to the
same size and shape. Boat timbers, for example, are laminated in sizes that are no

Figure 23. Laminated white oak ship

frame.

Selection of Species and Grades

For many glued-laminated items, the
selection of species is partially limited by
the properties desired in the finished
article. White oak is desired in ship timbers, for example, because it combines
excellent properties to hold fastenings with
high strength and durability under wet
exposures; Sitka spruce is often specified
for booms, spars, propellers for wind
46

tunnels, and masts because of its high

strength-weight ratio; and yellow birch is
also sometimes favored for small aircraft
propellers because of toughness.
Softwood species, principally Douglasfir, southern pine, western larch, and hemlock, are used largely in laminated arches
and beams because of favorable cost, availability, and adequate strength properties.
These softwood species are the mainstay
of the structural laminating industry while
others find special applications where their
properties are desired. Occasionally,
gluing characteristics and resistance to adverse use conditions may affect the choice
of species, although tests have shown that
glue joints of long-term durability and
high strength can be produced with practically all domestic species. To attain this
high joint strength and permanence,
however, the gluing procedure must be adjusted more carefully and the adhesive
must be of better quality for some species
than for others.
Product quality or grade requirements
are often established by design criteria or
by use requirements. Defects permitted in
spars or propellers, for example, are
sharply limited. Severely curved parts of
high-strength laminated members generally require clear and straight-grained
wood, free of significant defects, so that
the laminations may be bent to the desired
curvature without breaking. Defects such
as large holes, knots, and decay reduce
effective glue-joint area. Surfaces containing pitch, cross grain, and knots do not
glue so well as clear wood. Medium- to
large-sized knots and knotholes aggravate
glue-joint delamination when the exposure
involves alternate wetting and drying.
Lower grades of lumber, consequently, are
less adapted to laminating timbers for exterior use than for interior use in which
they are kept dry and undergo less severe
changes in moisture content. If the members are well treated (after gluing) with an
oil-borne preservative, lower grades might
be used for exterior service if strength requirements are met.

Sapwood is as durable as heartwood

under continuously dry conditions, but
under moist service conditions the sapwood of even the durable species is susceptible to attack by wood-degrading
fungi and by insects. When the laminated
product must be durable under moist
exposures, the wood should be treated with
a suitable preservative.

Stresses in Laminated Members

Differences in shrinking or swelling are
the fundamental causes of internal stresses.
Within a single member, adjacent laminations should shrink and swell in about the
same amounts and in the same direction.
Laminations, therefore, should have somewhat similar shrinkage properties (table 2)
and be at about the same moisture content
when glued.
Maximum lengthwise shrinkage in a
straight-grained piece of normal wood is
only about one-third of 1 percent, but the
shrinkage across the grain may be 10 to 30
times more. Cross grain as well as knots,
burls, and other growth characteristics
affect the strength of laminations. For this
reason, slope of grain and knots are
restricted in laminated timbers. In bending members, laminations with smaller
knots and straighter slope of grain are
usually placed in the outer laminations
with the grade decreasing toward the
center of the member.
If two or more pieces having different
shrinkage values are glued together, even
though they are straight grained, a moisture content change will cause them to
shrink or swell in different amounts and
thus set up stresses. Flat-grained or plainsawed lumber shrinks or swells more in
width with moisture changes than verticalgrained or quartersawed lumber. If
internal stresses are to be avoided, therefore, flat-grained wood should not be
glued to edge-grained wood. In softwood
species for structural use, matching of
47

grain in adjacent laminations is much less

critical than with dense high-shrinkage
species. The top and bottom laminations
on a laminated member are less apt to face
check if the pith side is turned out because
its shrinkage is less than the sap side
(fig. 24). Where the laminations come
from small trees, this might be a worthwhile practice to follow.

woods can be bent more severely than softwoods of the same thickness.
Relief of Stresses
The stresses that develop in gluedlaminated members due to differences in

If adjacent laminations differ in moisture content at the time of gluing, stresses

in the glue joint and irregularities in the
surface will develop when the laminations
later come to a common moisture content.
The pieces should therefore be conditioned
to about the same moisture content before
being glued. For structural members, a
range in moisture content no greater than
5 percent between laminations in a single
assembly is suggested. If exact trueness of
surface is important, as it may be in furniture, even this range may prove excessive.
Stresses will also be created if the interior
portion of any one board differs greatly in
moisture content from the outer portion
or shell, and it is suggested that such
differences not exceed 5 percent.
Laminations up to about 2 inches thick
are most commonly used in gluing straight
timbers, provided that suitably dry stock
is available. Within this 2-inch limit, the
thickness of the lamination does not affect
the performance or durability of wellglued joints, so that different thicknesses
may safely be glued in the same laminated
assembly. It may sometimes be desirable
to use more than one thickness of stock
in flat assemblies to attain maximum
utility from the lumber supply or to fabricate a laminated member to close dimensions. For curved members, the maximum
thickness of laminations is usually governed by the curvature to which the laminations are bent. The minimum radius to
which dry, clear, straight-grained lumber
can be bent without breaking is about 100
to 125 times its thickness and varies a great
deal with the species of wood as well as
within the same species. In general, hard-

M 138 756

Figure 24. End section of laminated

beam having the pith side out in top
and bottom laminations. Particularly
in boards from small trees, the pith
face has less checking tendencies than
the sap face. (Fourth lamination from
bottom shows section through vertical
finger joint.)

48

the properties of the various laminations

will gradually disappear if the glued article
is kept for a long time at a constant
moisture content. This is because of stress
relaxation and creep characteristics of wood
with time. Stresses due to moisture
difference between laminations, or within
laminations, at the time of gluing will not
reappear after having once been relieved.
Stresses due to cross grain or to differences
in the shrinkage properties of the adjacent members, however, will reappear if
the moisture content is changed after the
stresses have once been relieved.
END AND CORNER JOINT
CONSTRUCTION
When the end grain surfaces of two
pieces of wood are glued together, a butt
joint is formed. Mitered joints are usually
cut at a 45 angle with the grain and must
essentially be treated as butt joints for gluing purposes. If two pieces of plywood are
glued edge to edge or if the edge of one
piece of plywood is glued to the face or
surface of another, only partially effective
glue bonds are obtainable since edge grain
of certain plies only is bonded to edge
grain of plies of adjoining pieces. Several
types of corner joints are shown in figure
25. The importance of moisture control
where miter and other corner joints are
involved is illustrated in figure 26. A
somewhat different corner joint where
moisture control and choice of low-shrinkage material is important is shown in
Figure 27.
No gluing technique has yet been devised to make square-end butt joints (fig.
25, H) sufficiently strong and permanent
to meet the requirements of ordinary
service, and no adhesive has been offered
for commercial bonding of such joints.
Figure 28 compares bending strength
(by two methods) of several types of glued
corner joints made of particleboard. A
miter joint with a plywood spline appears
the most promising.

M 138 532

Figure 25. Various types of corner

joints: A, slip or lock corner; B, dado
tongue and rabbet; C, blind dovetail;
D, dovetail; E, dowel; F, mortise and
tenon; G, shouldered corner; and H,
butt end to side grain.

To obtain acceptable strength in pieces

spliced together endwise, it is necessary
to make a scarf, finger, or other sloped
joint (fig. 29). The plain scarf with a low
slope generally develops the highest
strength, but is also the most wasteful of
material and requires considerable care
both in machining and gluing to obtain
consistently high-quality joints. If the
grain of a board to be spliced makes an
angle with the face of the board, the
scarf should be cut with the slope of the
49

M 136 539

Figure 26. Miter joints can open when high-shrinkage material is used and wide
variations in moisture content occur. A glued spline or other reinforcement can
reduce or prevent joint separation. Vertical-grained material, having lower shrinkage in width, will reduce chances for separation of this type of joint.

grain rather than against it to more nearly

approach side grain on the scarfed surface.
During the gluing operation, end slippage
should be prevented to keep the parts in
proper alignment, and a slight overlap is
desirable to insure adequate pressure on the
joint (fig. 30). If the members slip endwise during the pressing operation, the
joint will not receive sufficient and uniform
pressure and erratic strengths may be expected. Even plain scarf joints with a low
slope are not as strong as clear wood (of the
same quality) in tension parallel to the
grain. Tests on specimens containing scarf
joints stressed in tension indicated the
average strength ratios given in this tabulation:
Slope of Scarf
1
1
1
1

in 12 and less steep

in 10
in 8
in 5

Strength ratio
(jointed/nonjointed)
(Pct.)
90
85
80
65

M 138 461

Figure 27. Corner joint showing effect

of serious moisture changes after fabrication (somewhat exaggerated to
emphasize need for control of moisture content). The advantage of edge
grain over flat grain in this type of
construction is also evident.

Adequate data are lacking on the durability of glued scarf joints with very steep

50

M 137 679

Figure 28. Comparison of relative

bending strength of different types of
corner joints in particleboard. In addition to the mechanical reinforcement
in four of the joints, they were also
glued.
M 138 527

Figure 29. End joints for splicing lumber (occasionally also used for panel
products): A, scarf joint (when used
with a low slope, can develop almost
the full strength of wood); B, horizontal finger joint (cut parallel to wide
face of board); C, vertical finger joint
(cut perpendicular to wide face of
board). Type C is the most commonly
used finger joint for structural purposes.

slopes. If strength is important, therefore,

it is probably advisable to avoid scarfs
steeper than 1 in 10 for exterior use or
other severe exposure.
Approximate tensile strengths (expressed as a percentage of clear wood)
of various types of end joints are shown in
figure 31.
Finger joints (fig. 29, B and C) lend
themselves more readily to rapid production and uniform quality than do plain
scarf joints and are more practical where
their strength is sufficient for the design
involved. Figure 32 illustrates a suggested
method for applying pressure when gluing
finger joints. When pressure is applied
only in the longitudinal direction, unreliable bonds in the outer fingers may

result. With short fingers, this effect is not

as pronounced as with long lingers.
Figure 33 shows a number of linger
joints where the slope (angle between axis
of member and sloping joint) and tip
thickness (tip of linger) are held constant,
51

but the pitch (distance center-to-center of

finger tips) increases from three-sixteenth
inch to one-half inch and consequently
the length also increases.
The tensile strengths of such joints,
made with various slopes, are shown in
figure 34. The sloping joint area (per
square inch of section) is included for
comparison. Reasonably good correlation
between strength and joint area is indicated. This is logical because wood is
roughly 10 times as strong in tension as in
shear, and the number of strengthreducing finger tips decreases with increased joint area (fig. 33).
The joint geometry is as important as
good glue and gluing practices to produce
high-strength finger joints.
Finger-joint machining lends itself
quite well to mechanized continuous
operation. Figure 35 shows equipment
that trims (or squares) the ends of boards

M 41 387

Figure 30. Scarf joints should be properly alined for gluing.

or planks, cuts the fingers, and applies

glue to the fingers in rapid succession.
Where strength is important, joints
such as the plain end to side grain (fig. 25,
H) have proved entirely inadequate because

M 138 748

Figure 31. Approximate percentage of the tensile strength of clear wood obtainable with different types of end joints. (Nearly the full tensile strength of a lowdensity species has been obtained with butt joints in laboratory experiments but
no practical glue or gluing procedure have been developed to do this commercially.)

52

internal stresses from moisture changes.

In the manufacture of such parts, it is
therefore necessary to reinforce the endto-side-grain joints with devices such as
dowels and tenons (fig. 25, E and F). Even
then, the stresses that recur with seasonal
changes put a severe strain on the joints,
which makes it very desirable to protect
such joints against changes in moisture
content. The strength and permanence of
M 138 526
all types of end-to-side-grain joints depend
Figure 32. Suggested method for apupon the type of glue and gluing techplying pressure (P) to finger joints
nique, the accuracy of the machining, and
while glue is curing
the design and fit of the parts.
In manufacturing wood assemblies,
such as furniture, it is often necessary to
they are commonly subjected to unusually fasten together two parts that shrink and
severe stresses in service. Under changing swell differently with moisture changes.
moisture conditions, the end-grain surface Tables and desks, for example, are usually
of the joint tends to swell or shrink in all designed so that the tops can be expected
dimensions of the joint while the side- to swell or shrink differently than the
grain surface of the joint swells or shrinks frames. Even if feasible, it would be unonly in one direction. Joints that are not desirable to glue the tops rigidly to the
subjected to much external stress may frames because the differences in shrinkage
serve satisfactorily, for example joints characteristics would tend to distort the
made by gluing facing strips of veneer on tables. Chests are often designed so that
the end edges of a crossbanded tabletop the tops and bottoms can be expected to
(fig. 19, B). In furniture parts, however, shrink or swell appreciably in width, while
stresses might easily exceed the strength of on the ends the wood grain runs lengthend-to-side-grain joints in service. Ulti- wise across the width and no significant
mate failure of the joints usually results change in this dimension can be expected.
when external stresses are combined with If the tops and bottoms of such items are

M 120 740

Figure 33. Finger joints with constant slope (1:14, angle between axis of member
and sloping joint) and tip thickness, but with increasing (from left to right) pitch
and length of fingers.

53

M 123 420

Figure 34. Tensile strength of Douglas-fir finger joints with constant tip thickness
and six different slopes. For each slope the pitch varied from three-sixteenth to
one-half inch (see fig. 33).

glued or fastened rigidly to the ends,

subsequent swelling or shrinking with
moisture changes can be expected to cause
splits and distortion, to break the joint,
or to rupture the wood. In designing wood
items, it is important to provide for de-

vices, such as slotted screw holes, that

permit normal shrinking and swelling
when two elements differing in shrinkage
properties must be jointed together or to
insure that all joining elements have
similar shrinkage properties.

SELECTED REFERENCES
Bohannan, Billy, and Selbo, M. L.
1965. Evaluation of commercially made
joints in lumber by three test methods.
U.S. For. Serv. Res. Pap. FPL 41, 41 p.
U.S. Dept. Agric. For. Serv. For. Prod.
Lab., Madison, Wis.
Bryant, Ben S., and Stensrud, R. K.
1954. Some factors affecting the glue bond
quality of hard-grained Douglas-fir plywood. For. Prod. J. 4(4):158-161.
Cass, S. B., Jr.
1961. A comparison of hot-pressed interior
plywood adhesives. For. Prod. J. 11(7):
285-287.

Freas, A. D., and Selbo, M. L.

1954. Fabrication and design of glued laminated wood structural members. U.S.
Dept. Agric., Tech. Bull. No. 1069.
220 p.
Haskell, H. H., Bair, W. M., and Donaldson,
William.
1966. Progress and problems in the southern
pine plywood industry. For. Prod. J.
16(4): 19-24.
Heebink, B. G.
1963. Importance of balanced construction
in plastic-faced wood panels. U.S. For.
Serv. Res. Note FPL-021. 5 p. U.S.

54

M 138 686

Figure 35. Finger-jointing equipment: A, trim saw; B, cutter (or shaper) head; and
C, glue applicator.

Dept. Agric. For. Serv. For. Prod. Lab.,

Madison, Wis.
Heyer, O. C., and Blomquist, R. F.
1964. Stressed-skin panel performance. U.S.
For. Serv. Res. Pap. FPL 18. 12 p. U.S.
Dept. Agric. For Serv. For. Prod. Lab.,
Madison, Wis.
Jarvi, R. A.
1968. Laboratory test for prepressing of plywood. For. Prod. J. 18(3):53-54.
Lambuth, A. L.
1961. Prepressing plywood assemblies. For.
Prod. J. 11(9):416-419.
Raknes, E.
1967. Finger jointing with resorcinol glue at
high wood moisture content. Norwegian
Inst. of Woodworking and Wood Tech.
Rep. No. 32.
Raknes, E.
1969. Finger jointing structural timbers
with a high moisture content. Norsk
Skogind 23(6):184-190.
Roth, A.
1970. A new type of finger joint. Pap. ja
Puu 52(1):25-28.

Selbo, M. L.
1963. The effect of joint geometry on tensile
strength of finger joints. For. Prod. J.
13(9):390-400.
Stensrud, R. K., and Nelson, J. W.
1965. Importance of overlays to the forest
products industry. For. Prod. J. 15(5):
203-205.
Strickler, M. D.
1970. End gluing of lumber. For. Prod. J.
20(9):47-51.
Strickler, M. D., Pellerin, R.-F., and
Talbott, J. W.
1970. Experiments in proof loading structural and end-jointed lumber. For. Prod.
J. 20(2):29-35.
U.S. Forest Products Laboratory, Forest Service
1966. Some causes of warping in plywood
and veneered products. U.S. For. Serv.
Res. Note FPL-0136. 8 p. U.S. Dept.
Agric. For. Serv. For. Prod. Lab., Madison, Wis.
U.S. Forest Products Laboratory, Forest Service
1974. Wood handbook: Wood as an engineering material. U.S. Dept. Agric.,
Agric. Handb. 72 rev. 432 p.

55

PREPARING WOOD FOR GLUING

Glues vary in properties and use characteristics as well as in quality, but in most
instances failure of glue joints can be
traced to improper preparation of the
wood. Among the various factors causing
inadequate glue bonds, the most prevalent
is lack of proper moisture control, both
before and after gluing.

of glued members. A change in moisture

content generally develops stresses on the
glue joints; the magnitude of these stresses
is roughly proportional to the magnitude
of the change with a particular species.
A certain percentage change in a dense
wood develops greater stresses than the
same change in a light species.
Glue joints will remain most nearly free
from stresses if the moisture content of the
MOISTURE CONTENT
glued parts (when the glue sets) equals the
The moisture content of wood at the average moisture content the product will
time of gluing is important because it attain in service. The moisture content of
affects the quality of the bond and the wood for gluing, when increased by the
performance of the glued product in water from the glue, should be as near
service.
as possible to the average moisture content
Satisfactory adhesion to wood is ob- that the glued member will have in
tained with most adhesives when the wood service.
is at moisture contents of about 6 to 17
The moisture content of dry wood in
percent, and with some glues well beyond service above grade in dwellings in the
this range (up to 25 pct. has been re- United States commonly varies from about
ported for resorcinol adhesives). The pre- 4 percent to about 13 percent. The wood
cise upper and lower limits vary with ad- in a chair in a dwelling in northern
hesive type and formulation. Satisfactory Minnesota, for example, may have a
joints have been made experimentally with moisture content as low as 4 percent in the
wood that was near the fiber saturation winter and as high as 10 percent in the
point (with resorcinol-type glues) and at same room in the summer. Wood in a simivery low moisture contents (with casein lar item in a dwelling along the Gulf Coast
glue).
may maintain a moisture content varying
The moisture content of the wood little from 13 percent throughout the
affects the rate of change of viscosity of year. Except for the coastal areas and
many adhesives during the assembly certain arid inland areas, the moisture
period. It also affects the rate of setting content of wood in heated buildings will
and, in hot pressing, it affects markedly average about 7 or 8 percent for the year.
the tendency to form blisters (unbonded Dry wood in protected but unheated
areas caused by formation of steam in the shelters has an average of about 12 percent
joint when moisture content is too high). moisture throughout a large part of the
Consequently, the moisture content of the United States, but the average is less in the
wood may necessitate adjustments com- arid areas and more along the coasts.
patible with the gluing procedure.
The amount of water added to the wood
Most importantly, moisture content of in gluing varies from less than 1 percent
the wood at the time of gluing has much in lumber 1 inch thick to over 60 percent
to do with the final strength of the joints, in thin plywood where the amount of wood
the development of checks in the wood, is small in proportion to the amount of
and the stability (freedom from warping) glue. Calculated percentages of moisture

56

added to wood in gluing are given in table

3 for a number of species in constructions.
Thickness of the wood, number of plies,
density of the wood, glue mixture, and
quantity of glue spread all affect the increase in the moisture content of the wood
when the glue is spread. If pertinent tables
are not readily available, the percentage
of water added with the glue may be calculated from the following formula:2
0.000192WG

L 1

TS

P =

= percentage of water added

= pounds of water in 100
pounds of mixed glue
G = pounds of mixed glue used
per thousand square feet of
glue-joint area
L = number of laminations
L 1 = number of gluelines in glued
assembly
T = average lamination thickness
(in inches)
= specific gravity of wood (dry)
S

where P
w

Thin veneer, even if dried almost free

of moisture, will take up so much water
from wet glue that its moisture content
will become higher than the probable
average for the plywood in service. Very
dry veneer is easily split or cracked and is
difficult to handle before and during the

Both this formula and the percentages listed in

table 3 are based on the assumption that all wafer
added by the glue is absorbed by the wood. The
assumption is somewhat erroneous, but the method
yields results sufficiently accurate to guide in selecting suitable moisture contents.

Table 3. ---Calculated percentages of moisture 1 added to wood in gluing (jive-ply construction)

Adhesive

Glue
spread 2

Lamination
or ply
thickness
Inch

Wood species
Hard
maple

White
oak

Pct.

Southern
pine

.6
.9
1.2
1.7

Pct.
1.8
2.7
3.6
5.3
.8
1.1
1.5
2.2

Pct.

1.3
2.0
2.7
3.9
.6
.8
1.1
1.6

1.9
2.7
3.7
5.5
.8
1.1
1.5
2.2

Pct.
1.8
2.6
3.5
5.1
.7
1.0
1.4
2.1

.4
.6
.9
1.3

.4
.6
.8
1.2

.6
.8
1.1
1.6

.6
.8
1.2
1.7

.5
.8
1.1
1.6

3/4
3/4
3/8
3/8

Pct.
1.4
2.1
2.8
4.2

Urea resin
Do................
Do................
Do................

65
95
65
95
45
65
45
65

3/4
3/4
3/8
3/8

Resorcinol or
intermediatetemperaturesetting
phenol
Do................
Do................
Do.................

45
65
45
65

3/4
3/4
3/8
3/8

Casein
Do................
Do................
Do...............

Mahogany Douglasfir

Moisture calculated on the basis of average specific gravity values as follows: Hard maple, 0.63; white oak,
0.67; mahogany, 0.49; Douglas-fir, 0.48; southern pine, 0.51. Glue mixtures used were:
Casein, 1 part solids to 2 parts wafer; urea resin, 1 Part solids to 0.65 part water; resorcinol and intermediate-temperature-setting phenol, 70 pct. solids.
2
In pounds per square foot of joint area.

57

Lumber

gluing operation. It also very quickly

reabsorbs moisture during handling.
Therefore, it is not practical to dry it
below 2 or 3 percent moisture content.
Furthermore, experience has shown that a
moisture content of 5 percent or less in
the veneer at the time of gluing is satisfactory for furniture and similar uses.
Lumber with a moisture content of 6 to
8 percent is satisfactory for gluing into
furniture and similar items that will be
used in most of the areas of the continental
United States. Lumber for use in unheated
buildings or shelters, and in partially protected installations, should generally contain about 11 percent moisture before
gluing. The moisture added in gluing will
then bring the total moisture to about 12
percent. In moist, wet, or unprotected exterior exposures, glued members may
develop moisture contents well above 12
percent. A moisture content range of 12 to
15 percent, however, is generally satisfactory for such gluing.
The manufacturer shipping glued articles to various parts of the country and
making products for various uses cannot
provide for all the variations to be met
in service. He must, therefore, aim at
approximate averages. Wherever feasible,
a finish that effectively excludes moisture
will guard against checking and joint
failure because it slows down the rate of
moisture changes.

In drying lumber, although the desired

average moisture content may be reached,
individual differences may be considerable;
variations can occur in the moisture content of individual boards and even between
different parts of the same board. It is
desirable to reduce these differences as
much as possible before gluing. In laminating nominal l-inch boards, for example,
moisture content should vary no more than
5 percent between members in a single
assembly or between different parts of the
same board.
To obtain such uniformity, a conditioning period after kiln or air drying is
usually desirable. Conditioning is best accomplished in a storage room in which the
temperature and humidity are controlled
to maintain the desired moisture content.
The time required for conditioning depends upon the species, dryness, method of
piling, and circulation of air, as well as
upon the temperature and relative humidity of the storage room. A conditioning
period of 1 week in open piling is beneficial. Dense species generally require longer
conditioning than lighter ones and the
moisture content equalizes more rapidly
with increased temperatures.
Veneer
Veneer is generally dried in mechanical
dryers of various types, but may occasionally be kiln or air dried. The internal
stresses that develop in drying veneer are
generally not as great a problem as with
heavier stock. Occasionally, however,
internal stresses do cause wrinkling, checking, or honeycombing of the veneer. These
defects are easily recognizable and usually
can be avoided by improving the drying
conditions.
In plywood plants where veneer is cut,
it is customary to glue it soon after drying.
For general purposes, veneer is in condition
for gluing if it is reasonably flat, tightly
and smoothly cut, free from defects not

DRYING AND
CONDITIONING
Wood free from casehardening and
other internal stresses will be best for gluing. Internal stresses, which generally
result from drying, may prevent a good
fit of the mating surfaces and mean warping and checking after the wood is glued.
Dried wood should be tested for the presence of such stresses before it is removed
from the kiln. If wood is casehardened or
otherwise stressed, it should be treated to
relieve the stresses.
58

permitted by the grade, and at a moisture

content suitable for the glue and gluing
process. For most cold-press gluing, the
moisture content of veneers should be 5
percent or less. For hot pressing (with
liquid glues), thin veneers should be 5
percent or less in moisture content; moisture content of thicker veneer may be
slightly higher, depending upon the
species, the amount of glue spread, and the
temperature of the press platens. If the
moisture content is too high, steam blisters
will form when the pressure is released.
Veneer may take on moisture in lengthy
shipment or storage, and it is good practice to redry it just before gluing. Fine
hardwoods are often redried in hot plate
dryers in which the veneer remains between the plates until it is sufficiently dry
and flat. In the best practice, the veneer
is then piled so that it will stay flat and
will cool before gluing, but so it will not
reabsorb much moisture from the air.
Fancy veneer, such as burl, crotch, or
other short-grained pieces, is more likely
to wrinkle and check than straight-grained
veneer. Film glue is well suited for fancy
veneers and they may be hot pressed with
the veneers at a moisture content of 8 to 10
percent. Fragile figured veneers are sometimes toughened by dipping them in a
liquid sizing solution and then redrying.
Several different sizing solutions have
been used, but one satisfactory solution is:
Ingredient

Parts by weight

Water
Animal glue
Alcohol
Glycerine

63
16
16
5

veneer is about 8 percent, so that chance

of subsequent drying and checking is
reduced or eliminated.
Wet veneer is likewise glued to paper
facings to form a paper-veneer combination for containers.
STORAGE BEFORE GLUING
It is not sufficient only to dry and condition wood to the proper moisture content for gluing. Because a storage period
is generally required between drying and
final machining and gluing, provisions
must be made to prevent appreciable moisture changes during this time.

Lumber
The ideal condition is to provide storage
space for dried lumber with humidity and
temperature control to maintain the moisture content in the stock at a level suitable
for gluing-such as 7 percent for most indoor use and about 12 percent for outdoor
service. If the temperature is controlled at
about 75 F. and the relative humidity at
35 percent (wet-bulb depression about 16
to 17 F.), the moisture content of the
wood will be suitable for interior woodwork.
If controlled temperature and humidity
storage is not possible, maintaining the
temperature in the storage room about
20 F. above the outdoor temperature will
provide a moisture content. in the lumber
of 6 to 8 percent in most parts of the United
States. Similarly, if the lumber is stored
under roof in an unheated area, the moisture content will be fairly close to 12 percent when the lumber is stored for a sufficient time to come to equilibrium. It is
very important, however, that during cold
weather the lumber be brought into a
warm room at least 24 hours before machining and gluing; cold lumber will slow
down the rate of cure and generally result
in inferior glue bonds. This is important
when using resin adhesives, but even a

It is often desirable to reinforce highly

figured veneer to reduce dimensional
changes and facilitate handling. This is
sometimes done by bonding the figured
face veneers to a thin but strong veneer
backing (as 1/40-in. birch or maple) using
a film glue. Film glue adds no moisture to
the veneer and permits forming the bond
when the moisture content of the face
59

protein-base glue such as casein has given

more dependable results on lumber
warmed to room temperature before gluing.
Warming lumber of the denser species
before gluing is especially important.
Veneer
Veneer is usually glued shortly after drying to minimize the chance for appreciable
moisture changes. Gluing hot veneer,
however, must be avoided to prevent the
glue from becoming too dry before pressure is applied.
When 2 to 3 days lapse between drying
and gluing, provision must be made to
prevent moisture changes. Even though
the veneer is solid stacked, the ends and the
top of the loads may gain moisture rapidly.
If it is impossible to store veneer at the
proper equilibrium moisture condition
(less than 5 pct. when hot pressing with
liquid phenolics), covering the loads completely with moistureproof film (polyethylene) provides considerable protection.
SURFAClNG WOOD FOR
GLUING
Careful machining is essential in preparing wood for gluing. For strongest joints,
wood surfaces should be machined smooth
and true with sharp tools, and be essentially free from machine marks, chipped or
loosened grain, and other surface irregularities. To provide uniform distribution of
gluing pressure, each lamination or ply
should be of uniform thickness. A small
variation in thickness among laminations
or plies may cause considerable variation
in the thickness of the assembly. In the
production of glued-laminated members,
for example, the differences in thickness
throughout a lamination consisting of a
single board should not exceed 0.016 inch.
When the lamination consists of two or
more boards, laid side by side or end to
end, differences in thickness at the edge
and end joints between any two boards

in the layer should not exceed 0.010 inch.

Experience has indicated that cup in inches
in boards after final surfacing preferably
should not exceed one ninety-sixth of the
ratio ofwidth to thickness. Thus, for laminations 6 inches wide, a maximum cup is
suggested as one-sixteenth inch in a board
1 inch thick, one-eighth inch in a 1/2inch board, and one-fourth inch in a 1/4inch board.
Preferably, machining should be done
just before gluing so that the surfaces are
kept clean and are not distorted by moisture changes. Where the four sides of a
piece are to be glued, it is best to glue in
two operations and machine just before
each operation.
Surfaces made by saws are usually
rougher than those made by planers, jointers, and other machines equipped with
cutter heads. Modern saws freshly sharpened, well alined, and skillfully operated
are capable of producing surfaces adequate
for gluing many products and provide a
saving in time and labor. Except where the
saws are usually well maintained, however, glue joints between sawed surfaces
are weaker and more conspicuous than
those between well-planed or jointed surfaces. Consequently, if inconspicuous
glue joints of maximum strength are required, planed or jointed surfaces are generally more reliable.
Machine marks, caused by feeding the
stock through a planer too fast for the
speed of the knife, prevent complete contact of the joint faces when glued. Machine
marks in cores of thinly veneered panels
are likely to show through the finished
surface. Unequal thickness or width,
which cause unequal distribution of gluing
pressure and usually result in weak joints,
may be due to the grinding, setting or
wearing of machine knives. Knives that are
dull or improperly set or ground may
produce a burnished surface that interferes
with gluing or formation of the strongest
glue bonds.
Wood surfaces are sometimes intentionally roughened by tooth planing,
60

scratching, or sanding with coarse sandpaper in the belief that rough surfaces are
better for gluing. However, comparative
strength tests at the Forest Products Laboratory failed to show better results with
roughened than with smooth surfaces.
Also, studies of the penetration of glue into
wood have shown the theoretical benefit of
the roughened surface to be improbable.
Light sanding has proved an advantage in
preparing for gluing such surfaces as resinimpregnated wood, laminated paper
plastic, plywood that has been pressed at
high temperatures and pressures, or wood
that has been glazed from dull tools or by
being pressed excessively against smooth,
hard surfaces.
Within recent years, significant developments in sanding equipment have been
reported. Advantages of so-called abrasive
planing in preparing wood for gluing are
reported to be deeper cuts in a single pass,
close tolerances, and improved surface
quality for gluing.

grained surfaces can be made substantially

as strong as the wood itself in shear parallel
to the grain, tension across the grain, and
cleavage. The tongue-and-groove and
other shaped joints have the theoretical
advantage of larger gluing surfaces than
the plain joint, but the extra surface is not
needed because adequate plain joints can
be produced easily by normal commercial
gluing procedures. Furthermore, the

MACHINING SPECIAL TYPES

OF JOINTS
Plain side-grain-to-side-grain joints are
generally prepared with planers and jointers equipped with rotary cutter heads and
knives. With such equipment, clean-cut
smooth surfaces for gluing are relatively
easy to obtain when the machines are well
maintained. With special or irregularly
shaped joints, ideal surfaces for gluing are
often more difficult to obtain.
Side-Grain Surfaces
Plain, tongue-and-groove, circular
tongue-and-groove, and dovetail are four
of the more common types of edge joints
used in gluing boards into wider pieces
(fig. 36). As knowledge of adhesives and
gluing techniques has increased, the plain
edge joint has become far more common
than any of the others. With most species
ofwood, straight plain joints between side-

M 138 531

Figure 36. Various types of edge joints.

The plain (top) is the most commonly
used.

61

theoretical advantage is often lost, wholly

or in part, because the shaped joints are
more difficult to machine to a perfect fit
than are plain joints.
Experience has shown that the lack of a
perfect fit in tongue-and-groove or dovetail construction often results in joints that
are weaker than plain joints. The principal
advantage of the tongue-and-groove joint
is that the pieces of wood to be glued are
more easily aligned and held in place
during assembling. This makes possible
faster clamping and less slipping of the
parts under pressure, which are advantages
so important that some form of tongue and
groove is often used in edge gluing where
pressure is applied by clamps. A shallow
tongue and groove (one-eighth inch or less)
is as useful in this respect as a deeper cut
and is less wasteful of lumber.

well-machined and well-glued, is less than

the average strength of solid wood in
tension. Presumably strength is lower
because of the difficulty inaccurately aligning the structural wood elements of one
piece with those of the joining piece and
because of stress risers at the tip of the
scarfs.
End-to-Side Surfaces
End-to-side-grain joints are difficult to
machine properly and to glue adequately
for ordinary requirements. Such joints are
subjected in service to unusually severe
stresses as a result of unequal dimensional
changes in the two members of the joint
as the moisture content changes. It is
therefore necessary to use dowels, tenons,
or other devices to reinforce the joint by
bringing side grain into contact with side
grain (fig. 25, E and F). In dowel, mortiseand-tenon, dado, tongue-and-groove,
rabbet, slip, and dovetail construction, an
imperfect fit of the parts often results in
only partial adhesion in the joints. In most
of these joints, complete contact over
poorly fitted portions cannot be obtained
by ordinary gluing. Furthermore, pressure
is often applied but momentarily in gluing
and the glue does not set during the pressure period. Careful machining of irregularly shaped joints is therefore highly
important to obtain maximum strength
and durability in service.

End-Grain Surfaces
It has proved practically impossible to
make end-grain butt joints sufficiently
strong or permanent for ordinary service.
With certain synthetic resins (epoxies and
urethanes) it has been possible to approach
the tensile strength of weaker species, but
such end gluing is of little practical value
because of low bending strength and cumbersome gluing procedures. To approach
the tensile strength of various species by
end jointing, use a plain scarf, finger joint,
or other form of joint that exposes a certain
amount of side-grain surface (fig. 29). A
serrated scarf appears advantageous in
providing greater gluing area than a plain
scarf, but has never been extensively used
because of greater difficulties in machining it. Even the plain scarf has essentially
been replaced by finger joints, except in
cases where maximum strength is needed.
Careful machining to insure an accurate
fit of the surfaces is essential to develop
the maximum potential strength of the
joint. With available glues the plain scarf
with a low slope generally will produce
the highest strength. Even with very low
slopes the average strength of scarf joints,

CUTTING AND PREPARING

VENEER
Veneer is commonly rotary cut, sliced,
or sawn. The total quantity of rotary-cut
veneer, however is much larger than the
combined amount of sawed and sliced
veneer produced. Most rotary-cut veneer
is produced in large sheets by revolving the
log against a knife. The flat-grained veneer
produced in this manner is peeled off in a
continuous sheet very much like unrolling
paper. The half-round and back-cutting
processes produce highly figured veneer
62

from stumps, burls, and other irregular stock, thin cores (five-sixteenth inch and
parts of logs. These processes consist of less), for cross-banding, and for curved
placing a part of a log or bolt off center laminated members. Most veneer that is
in a lathe, usually with an auxiliary device glued ranges in thickness from one-fourth
called a staylog, and rotary cutting the bolt to one thirty-second inch. Veneer thinner
into small sheets of veneer. As the veneer than about one thirty-second inch is difis bent away from the log during cutting, ficult to bond with liquid glues because the
the open (knife) side often develops checks. sheets are fragile and curl readily when the
This open side is likely to show defects glue is spread. Thin veneers can be glued
in finishing and should be the glue side without prohibitive difficulty, however,
with film glues.
whenever possible.
Veneer surfaces, particularly the loose
Rotary-cut veneer is produced in thicknesses ranging from about five-sixteenths sides, are often somewhat rough and irregular, but by heating the logs and careto one one-hundredth of an inch.
Sliced veneer is cut to obtain a definite ful cutting, veneer can be produced that
figure and is produced in long, narrow is comparatively smooth and firm on both
sheets by moving a flitch or block against sides. Since veneer is seldom resurfaced
a heavy knife. The veneer is forced abruptly before it is glued, the care with which
away from the flitch by the knife, thus it is cut is important to good gluing. If
causing fine checks or breaks on the knife it is equally well cut, veneer produced by
side. The checked or open side should be any of the three processes can be glued
equally well.
the glue side whenever possible.
In gluing operations where mull-sized
In book-matching face stock where the
open side of every other sheet must be the sheets of veneer are available, the sheets
finish side, the veneer must be well cut. may be glued immediately after drying.
Mahogany, walnut, and other prized hard- Cutting to size is preferably done before
woods are commonly sliced for the furni- the final drying. Cutting after drying
ture trade, and slicing softwood for vertical allows more opportunity for the veneer to
grain stock is becoming common practice. reabsorb moisture from the air. Further,
Most sliced veneer is cut in thicknesses very dry veneer is easily damaged and
ranging from about one-sixteenth to one should be handled as little as possible.
one-hundred twenty-fifth or an inch, but
Whenever a face for a high-grade
for special orders veneer one-eighth inch or veneered panel is made of two or more
thicker can be cut.
sheets of veneer, careful edge jointing is
Veneer is also sawed from flitches, usu- necessary to make the joints inconspicuous.
ally to get a desirable figure or grain. It This type of joint is made by placing the
is produced in long, narrow strips which dried veneer in piles of several sheets and
are essentially of the same quality and then running the piles over a special veneer
appearance on both sides. Being equally jointer which makes the individual veneer
firm and strong on both sides, alternate edges smooth and true. These sheets are
pieces may be turned over to match them then laid in the desired position and either
for figure to serve as the faces of veneered glued together in a special machine called
panels. Sawed veneer usually ranges in a tapeless veneer splicer or taped tightly
thickness from one-fourth to one-thirtieth together by taping machines. In recent
of an inch. Because sawing wastes material, years, the taping process has been inmany mills have discontinued production creasingly replaced by a machine that glues
a thread (usually glass fiber) in a zig-zag
of sawed veneer.
Sliced and sawed veneers are used princi- fashion across the veneer joint (fig. 37).
pally for faces in plywood and veneered The glue is a hot melt, permitting very
panels. Rotary-cut veneer is used for face rapid edge bonding of veneers.
63

M 138 265-11

Figure 37. Machine for edge-bonding veneers by gluing hot-melt saturated

threads across the faces of adjacent strips. A zig-zag thread pattern is used when
tighter edge bonding is required.

SELECTED REFERENCES

For cores, crossbands, and sometimes

even for faces, perfectly tight joints between the edges of the veneer are not necessary. Such items may be jointed satisfactorily on a veneer clipper. For general
utility plywood, where thick veneers are
used, the veneer sheets are merely laid in
position without fastening of any kind.
The spaces between the sheets or even
lapped edges, which often result, are of
minor importance in this grade of panels.
If a very high-quality finish or a very
high degree of resistance to severe service
is desired, edge gluing of all veneer joints
is justified. If the tapeless splicer is used
for this purpose, the amount of glue spread
must be carefully controlled lest excess
glue squeeze out on the surface of veneer
and interfere with subsequent gluing. Excessively high pressures or temperatures
of the shoe of the tapeless splicer may
burnish the edges of the veneer sheets
enough to cause a weakly bonded streak in
the plywood. If weather resistance is important, the adhesive used to splice the
sheets should be as durable as the adhesive
used in bonding the plywood.

Davis, E. M.
1962. Machining and related characteristics
of United States hardwoods. U.S. Dep.
Agric., Tech. Bull. No. 1267. 68 p.
McMillen, J. M.
1963. Stresses in wood during drying. U.S.
For. Prod. Lab. Rep. 1652. 33 p. U.S.
Dep. Agric. For. Serv. For. Prod. Lab.,
Madison, Wis.
Peck, E.C.
1932. Moisture content of wood in dwellings. U.S. Dep. Agric. Circ. 239. 24 p.
Rasmussen, E. F.
1961. Dry kiln operators manual. U.S. Dep.
Agric., Agric. Handb. No. 188. 197 p.
Mar.
Rietz, R. C., and Page, R. H.
1971. Air drying of lumber: A guide to
industry practices. U.S. Dep. Agric.,
Agric. Handb. 402. 110 p.
Simpson, W. T., and Soper, V. C.
1970. Tensile stress-strain behavior of flexibilized epoxy adhesive films. USDA For.
Serv. Res. Pap. FPL 126. 13 p. U.S. Dep.
Agric. For. Serv. For. Prod. Lab., Madison, Wis.
Sisterhenm, G. H.
1961. Evaluation of an oil-fired veneer
dryer-its effect on glue bond quality.
For. Prod. J. 11(5):207-210.

64

ADHESIVES AND BONDING PROCESSES

FOR VARIOUS PRODUCTS
As indicated earlier, adhesives that are
excellent for bonding certain wood species
may not be equally well suited for others.
In a similar manner, and particularly because production procedures vary, an adhesive well suited for one product may be
entirely impractical for another. As an example, alkaline phenolics have for years
been the mainstay in production of exterior-type softwood plywood, but their
high-temperature-curing requirements
keep them from being practical for laminated timbers. Such timbers would explode from steam formation in the interior
if heated to the temperatures required to
cure phenolic-type adhesives used for
plywood.
No detailed discussion will be attempted
on the manufacture and composition of
different types of adhesives. The user is
more concerned with how well the adhesive
adapts to his process and the dependability
of his products. Hence, good communication between supplier and user is more
important than knowledge of the type of
hardener, filler, extender, solvent, and
fortifier that may or may not be employed
in formulating the adhesive.
A brief discussion of adhesives and production procedures for major segments of
the wood gluing industry follows.
PLY WOOD
Softwood plywood is generally produced
in two types, interior and exterior. Exterior
plywood is bonded with completely waterproof adhesive that must be able to withstand temperatures that chat the wood
without separating joints. Interior plywood is produced with three levels of gluebond quality: (1) Interior or moisture
resistant, (2) intermediate moisture resist-

ant (lower than exterior but greater than

interior), and (3) exterior adhesive, with
veneers that may be of lower grade than
required for exterior plywood.
Minimum requirements for each type,
developed through correlation with results
of long-term exposures, are detailed in
Product Standard PS1.
High-temperature-setting (alkaline)
phenol resin adhesives are used almost exclusively for exterior softwood plywood.
Formulations vary and what is suitable for
one species may not necessarily be the ideal
adhesive for other species. Adhesives that
had been used successfully for years in
production of Douglas-fir plywood did not
give the same troublefree performance on
southern pine, and reformulation of phenolic adhesives for southern pine became
necessary. Higher glue spreads were
generally required for southern pine plywood than for Douglas-fir plywood.
For moisture-resistant glue bonds in
interior plywood, soybean glues, generally
fortified with some blood, or highly extended phenol resin glues are usually employed. For intermediate moistureresistant interior plywood, extended phenol resin adhesives or blood glues fortified
with phenol resin are commonly used.
Both exterior and interior plywood glue
bonds are cured in multiopening hot
presses; steam is employed to raise the press
platens to the required temperature.
Interior plywood is sometimes also made
by cold pressing. The glue is then usually
mixtures of soy flour and spray-dried
blood, often of low solubility, or even
straight blood. There is still some straight
soy flour glue used, but the quantity is
quite small. Figures 38 to 43 illustrate
the major steps customarily employed in
softwood plywood production. Within
recent years more automated layup systems
65

M 138 190

Figure 41. Spreading glue on veneer

with a conventional double-roll glue
spreader and assembling the veneers
for plywood.
M 138 193

Figure 38. Rotary cutting of Douglasfir veneer.

M 138 352

Figure 42. Equipment for applying adhesive to veneer by curtain coating.

A, Veneer sheet entering coater; B,
veneer sheet coated with adhesive
going to layup table.

M 138 192

Figure 39. Clipping softwood veneer

to width and cutting out objectionable
defects.

M 138 191
M 138 197

Figure 40. Drying softwood veneer in

roller-conveyor dryer.

Figure 43. Glued and assembled veneers being transferred to automatic

press loader. Arrow points to 20opening steam-heated hot press.

66

have been explored where the core pieces

are joined edge to edge with hot-meltcoated threads (fig. 37) and then cut to
panel size. Glue is applied by rubbercovered roll spreader (fig. 41), spray
systems, or by curtain coating (fig. 42).
Curtain coating is reported to result in
more uniform spread as well as less waste
of adhesive.
While softwood plywood finds its major
uses in structural applications such as housing, most hardwood plywood is produced
for furniture, wall paneling, door skins,
and similar uses. Hardwood plywood is
also classified according to glue-bond
quality: Type I and technical, fully waterproof; type II, water resistant and type III,
moisture resistant.
Adhesives used for type I and technical
are generally phenol resin, melamine, or
melamine-urea combinations. This does
not imply that these two adhesive types
are considered equally resistant or durable
in long-term exterior service. Type II is
bonded with urea resin (sometimes moderately extended), as well as other bonding
agents of moderate moisture resistance.
Type III is generally bonded with highly
extended urea, but occasionally with casein
glue.
Hardwood plywood is produced either
by hot pressing or cold pressing, depending on the equipment available. Type I
and technical, because of the adhesives employed, are hot pressed. Types II and III
may be either hot or cold pressed depending on the adhesive used (ureas are formulated both for hot and cold pressing; casein
is generally cold pressed).
Much hardwood plywood, particularly
that going into furniture, is made with a
thick core of lumber or particleboard, and
occasionally other material. A common
construction is made up of a nominal linch core, crossbands of veneer frequently
one-twentieth inch thick, and veneer faces
one twenty-fourth or one twenty-eighth
inch thick. Lumber core is often made up
of narrow strips edge glued to the required
width and with the annual rings perpendi-

cular to the face (fig. 19); this will reduce

or eliminate cupping tendencies that are
more apt to occur with wide, flat-grained
core boards.
With particleboard cores (fig. 17), the
crossbands are sometimes eliminated,
depending upon various factors such as
shape of particles, size of the panel, and
shrinking and swelling characteristics both
of the core and the veneer. For large panels
such as tabletops, crossbands are usually
employed; for smaller panels, and particularly if both the particleboard and the
face veneers are from woods of low or
moderate shrinkage, crossbands are often
eliminated. Fine particles on the core faces
are important when only face veneer is employed. Large particles are more likely to
cause showthrough. On the other hand,
boards made of thin flakes generally shrink
and swell less in width and length than
boards made of particles such as slivers,
shavings, or sawdust.
Materials for lumber-core panels are
generally selected to obtain stable, smooth
material that will not contribute to the
warping of the panel nor contain defects
that might show through the faces. Woods
with a relatively low density, low shrinkage characteristics, uniform texture, and a
reputation for staying flat in service are
preferred.
Correct and uniform moisture content
in the core at the time of gluing is also
important. About 7 percent is suitable for
most of the United States.
A simple method of determining
changes in moisture content that might
have occurred in the core after the panel
was glued is illustrated in figure 44. A
strip is cut from the panel in the direction
of the grain of the crossbands, and with
a thin bandsaw the crossbands are released
from the core for a distance of about 10
inches. In figure 44, A, the core was in
tension across the grain before releasing the
crossbands, and had been at higher moisture content when the panel was glued. In
figure 44, B, the core had been in compression before being released from the cross67

M 137 693

Figure 44. If the panel had 7 to 8 percent moisture content when veneers (crossbands and faces) were separated from the core, it is safe to assume that: A,
moisture content of core was too high at time of gluing; B, moisture content in
core was too low when panel was glued.

band and had picked up moisture since the

panel was glued. By using the average
shrinkage value for the species, the approximate moisture content of the core at
the time the panel was glued can be calculated.

Careful inspection ofpanel surfaces, particularly for furniture panels, is also important in various stages of production.
The sooner surface defects can be detected,
the less labor is expended if the panel must
be rejected. Incident lighting fixtures such

M 138 350

Figure 45. Incident lighting fixture for detecting defects such as showthrough, checking, or other surface blemishes in panels.

68

M 138 747

Figure 46. Lighting arrangement used in some plywood plants to facilitate inspection of panel surfaces as panel emerges from sander.

as illustrated in figure 45 are very useful

for such inspections. Figure 46 is a schematic sketch of a lighting device used at
inspection stations in some plywood
plants.

exceed 16 pct. for an appreciable length

of time) and phenol-resorcinol is used
where the moisture content in use generally exceeds 16 percent.
For end jointing of laminations, melamine-urea (in a 60:40 ratio) is used for
most interior laminates, and resorcinol or
phenol-resorcinol is the preferred glue
when the product is intended for exterior
use. Co-sprayed melamine-urea has shown
better durability than the two resins
mechanically mixed.
Some of the major operations in the
production of laminated timbers are illustrated in figures 47 to 54.

LAMINATED TIMBERS
Adhesives that set at room temperatures
or at moderately elevated temperatures are
most practical for laminated timbers of
appreciable cross section. Casein and
phenol-resorcinol are used for normally
dry interior service (where moisture
content of the wood is not expected to

M 138 313
M 136 847-2

Figure 47. Laying out template for an

arch on mold-loft floor.

Figure 48. Setting jig to fit template.

69

M 137 811

Figure 51. Phenol-resorcinol adhesive

applied by ribbon spreader. In the
laminating industry, the laminations
are often placed on edge (wide face
vertical) during layup and pressure
application; hence, the adhesive must
be thixotropic to avoid running to bottom edge.

M 136 847-2

Figure 49. Ribbon glue spreader. A,

Plank receiving adhesive; B, ribbons
of glue extruded from equally spaced
holes on spreader pipe.

M 138 390

Figure 50. Ribbon spreading of glue.

FURNITURE
M 138 312

Figure 52. Tightening clamps on glued

assemblies with nut runner operated
by compressed air.

greater variety of species and joint

designs are used in making furniture than
in any other segment of the wood-using
industries. Some of the denser species are
hickory, oak, pecan, sugar maple, beech,
birch, ash, walnut, elm, hackberry, and
cherry. In the medium and lower density
ranges are gum, poplar, ponderosa pine,
alder, basswood, and mahogany.
The external load a furniture joint must
withstand is usually difficult to determine.
The internal stresses, induced by moisture
changes, generally increase with wood

density and amount ofshrinkage and swelling the joint is exposed to. In the authors
opinion, more furniture joints fail because
of internal stresses than because of external
load, or they weaken to a degree where
external load brings on failure. It is important, therefore, that the furniture
designer be intimately acquainted with the
properties of the different woods, and
70

M 136 844-6

Figure 53. Surfacing sides of slightly

cambered laminated beams.

M 138 751

Figure 55. Various types of furniture

joints used in a study on effect of
joint design and exposure on the performance of different types of glues:
A, Dowel; B, mortise and tenon; C,
blocked; D, slip (or lock); E, end grain
to side grain; F, side grain to side
grain.

least affected by cyclical high-low humidity exposures, and the block corner joint
showed the greatest deterioration (fig. 56).
Of the adhesives evaluated, resorcinol and
phenol-resorcinol generally performed
best. Animal glue and casein glue were in
the upper range on side-grain-to-sidegrain joints but were generally the least
durable in other types of joints. Acidcatalyzed phenol and urea resin glues were
generally intermediate in most joints,
although there was considerable variation
in the performance of the three ureas included in the study. Polyvinyl emulsion
adhesive performed well in dowel and slip
or lock joints but poorly in side-grain-toside-grain joints.

M 138 311

Figure 54. Marking curved laminated

member for trimming to outline of
template.

know enough about adhesives to make the

proper combination of wood, joint design,
and bonding agent. Finish also plays an
important part in the performance ofglued
wood products.
In a study on performance of certain
types of furniture joints (fig. 55) bonded
with different adhesives, the side-grain-toside-grain joint, as would be expected, was
71

M 138 928

Figure 56. Comparison of percentages of control strength values retained by different types of assembly joints after 36 months of exposure to a repeating cycle
consisting of 4 weeks in air at 90 percent relative humidity followed by 4 weeks
in air at 30 percent relative humidity, both at 80 F. (Two different commercial
animal glues were tested, and urea adhesives from three different manufacturers
were tested.)

Figures 57 and 58 illustrate the performance of two types of joints in two

levels of exposure. Under the humidity
exposure of 65-30 percent-approximately that for normal interior furniture
use--side-grain-to-side-grain joints held
up well with all glues. Where the grain
was crossed, however (mortise and tenon,
fig. 58), the casein glue (and others) deteriorated appreciably in the milder exposure
and seriously in the more drastic humidity
changes. The evaluations were made on

sugar maple without any finish or surface

coating and no load was applied during
cycling.
Urea resin is probably the adhesive most
widely used for furniture. If good-quality
urea adhesive is employed, satisfactory performance can be expected in reasonably
well-maintained furniture.
For moist and tropical conditions, boilproof adhesives such as resorcinol and phenol-resorcinol would provide the best
long-term performance.
72

M 138 929

Figure 57. Performance of various glues in side-grain-to-side-grain joints exposed

to repeating cycles between 65-30 and 90-30 percent relative humidity, all at
80 F.

ordinary PVA emulsions. However, they

are reported to be subject to creep and
probably would not be desirable for joints
under appreciable continued external load.
Animal glues are still used to some
extent for assembling furniture; if the
proper care is taken both in gluing and
finish upkeep, good performance can be
expected in normally dry interior use.
Although their moisture resistance is low
and they deteriorate under high humidity
exposure, in side-grain-to-side grain joints

Polyvinyl resin emulsions, because of

their flexibility, have performed well in
certain types of joints (dowel, slip or lock
joints). But where joints are continually
stressed, polyvinyl resin emulsions should
be avoided because of tendencies to creep.
Also, their moisture resistance is low,
which makes them unsuitable where high
humidity prevails.
Thermosetting polyvinyls, particularly
when cured at elevated temperature, are
fat superior in moisture resistance to the
73

M 138 930

Figure 58. Performance of various glues in mortise-and-tenon joints exposed to

repeating cycles between 65-30 and 90-30 percent relative humidity, all at 80 F.

animal glues hold up reasonably well for

short periods even at the higher humidities.
Use of hot melts is rapidly increasing
because of the automated and increased
production feasible with them. Many types
and formulations are available, leaving
little basis for any general statement on
long-term durability at this time.

In operations where high-frequency

heating or other means for elevated temperature curing are available, melamines
and melamine-ureas would certainly
deserve consideration in furniture manufacture. Of the two, melamine-urea cures
faster and is lower in cost.
One of the older methods of gluing
furniture panels, but still a commonly used
74

M 136 800-2

Figure 59. Edge gluing oak for backs

of church pews. Systems of this type
(glue wheel) have been in use for
decades.

M 136 801-2

Figure 61. Edge-glued middle and end

supports for church pews.

M 136 800-9

Figure 60. Stack of laminated curved

backs for church pews made of two
-inch layers of particleboard and
faced with oak veneer. Jig used for
gluing is in background.

M 138 264-6

Figure 62. Lay-up table for singleopening batch-process, edge-gluing

press. Adhesive is heat cured.

one, is illustrated in figure 59. It is applicable to room-temperature-setting glues,

but moderate heat can also be applied while
the glue wheel completes a cycle.
Figure 60 shows slightly curved backs
for church pews made by laminating two
layers of particleboard faced with thin
veneers, and figure 61 shows middle and
end supports (up-rights) for church pews
produced by edge gluing.

Figures 62 and 63 illustrate edge-gluing

operations for furniture panels produced by
hot pressing. The panels are bonded with
urea resin adhesive. Figure 64 shows a
battery of cold presses for mass production
of furniture panels and figure 65 shows a
continuous-feed, steam-heated edge75

M 138 704

Figure
65. Continuous-feed,
steamheated press for edge gluing. Edges
of lumber spread with glue travel by
conveyor to operators position.

M 138 264-8

Figure 63. Single-opening hot press

for edge-gluing panels. The cured
panels are. ejected as the new batch
goes in.

M 138 265-5

Figure 66. Machine for applying edge

banding to furniture panels with hotmelt glue.

gluing press. Figure 66 shows a machine

for continuous edge banding of panels,
employing hot-melt adhesive.
SHIP AND BOAT
CONSTRUCTION
M 139 072

Figure 64. Cold-pressing panels for

cabinet doors glued with modified
PVA.

Gluing operations for ship and boat

building fall essentially in three categories:
(1) Laminating structural members (keels,
frames, and deck beams-figs. 47 to 54
76

M 99446 F

Figure 68. Construction of V-bottom

boat with frames joined at keel, chine,
and deck with glued and bolted plywood gussets.

M 95398 F

Figure 67. Jig for gluing U-shaped

ship frame. The smaller members
shown inside the frame were glued
and clamped elsewhere and brought
to the curing area by overhead crane.
The enclosed heating unit and fan for
circulating air are shown in background. A metal cover is placed on
top of jig forming a complete enclosure during curing.

gluing pressure in assembly gluing of

boats. Predrilled holes slightly reamed out
on the contacting surfaces permit drawing
the glued surfaces into closer contact.
For laminated ship and boat members,
white oak is often used because of its high
impact resistance and durability (fig. 69).
and fig. 67), (2) assembly gluing (plywood White oak is one of the higher density
gussets for joining frames at chines and for native species and requires high-quality
joining deck beams to frames fig. 68), adhesive, generally of the phenol-resorcinol
and (3) production of marine plywood for type. Sufficient assembly period should be
bulkheads, decks, outer skin or planking, used to allow the viscosity of the glue to
and superstructure (figs. 38 to 43).
build up to the proper level. Elevated
For marine plywood, hot-press phenolic curing temperatures, about 150 F. for
adhesives similar to those used for exterior 6 hours, are generally requited with
plywood are employed. The only substan- current adhesives, but lower curing
tial difference between the two types of temperatures may be used with extended
plywood is that certain defects permitted curing periods (fig. 11).
in veneers for exterior plywood are not
allowed in the marine grade.
DOORS
In ship and boat component production,
such as laminating and assembly gluing,
Wood doors vary in size from small
phenol-resorcinol adhesives are used almost exclusively. Since elevated tempera- cabinet doors to large garage or warehouse
tures for curing often are not feasible in units, and in construction from flush
assembly gluing, it is advisable to check panels with hollow or solid cores (figs. 70
with the glue manufacturer to determine to 72) to panels with frames, usually called
if the adhesive is room temperature setting stiles and rails. Details will not be dison the species involved. Rustproof screws cussed here, but a few precautions will be
or bolts are generally used for applying pointed out to aid in avoiding pitfalls that
77

M 94561 F

Figure 69. Laminated white oak frames used in construction of Navy minesweeper.

M 138 750

Figure 70. Three types of flush doors. A, Five-ply, solid-core; B, seven-ply, solidcore. The three-ply faces (door skins) are usually preglued; C, seven-ply, hollowcore door. Core material in this case is wood shavings produced by special process.

78

M 138 749

Figure 71. Flush doors with three-ply plywood faces. A, Expanded cell-type core;
B, mineral composition core: C, particleboard core.

have resulted in unsatisfactory door performance.

Flush doors are often made with door
skins for faces. These door skins are generally three-ply plywood about 1/8 inch
thick. The inner ply or core of this plywood is generally of a lower grade than the
faces. When such plywood is used for door
skins, the core becomes very important in
controlling warping characteristics of the
door; in the seven-ply construction that
constitutes the door, the two center plies
in the door skins are the crossbands for the
entire panel. The importance of straight
and parallel grain in avoiding warping is
discussed earlier in the section titled
Crossbanded Construction.
Solid cores for flush doors are often made
ofshort blocks glued edge to edge, but not
end glued. If the outline of these blocks
can be observed on the face of the door
(showthrough), the cause is usually unequal shrinking or swelling of adjacent

blocks. This can result from placing

vertical-grain blocks adjacent to flatgrain blocks in the core or from using
blocks of unequal moisture content at the
time the door is glued. Low-shrinkage
species such as ponderosa pine are less
likely to cause showthrough of core blocks
than higher shrinkage species such as
Douglas-fir. Thick crossbands are also
more beneficial in preventing showthrough
than thinner ones.
In panel doors, straight-grained framing
material of moderate shrinkage is less
likely to cause warp than higher density
material, particularly if the latter contains
cross grain. If the panels are glued to the
frame, they are also apt to warp with
changes in moisture content.
Recently panel doors have been produced
where the edges of the panels are set in soft
plastic foam. This permits dimensional
changes in the wood without air leaking
through open joints and also eliminates
79

M 96381

Figure 72. Typical core types used in hollow-core doors. A, lattice; B, ladder; C,
tube; D, honeycomb.

warping caused by shrinkage and swelling

of the panels.
Adhesives in doors for interior use are
generally of the water-resistant types (urea,

casein). Exterior doors, unless completely

protected by wide overhangs, should have
waterproof glue bonds of the quality used
for exterior plywood (phenolics).
80

SPORTING GOODS
Glued products used for sports include
bowling pins, tennis rackets, snow skis,
water skis, hockey sticks, and various types
of gym equipment. Laminated baseball
bats (fig. 73) have also been produced.
These items generally are subject to
rough usage and must be made of tough,
strong woods. Such woods usually exert
high stresses on the glue joints under loss
or increase in moisture content. For longlasting, safe products, adhesives of good
quality are needed.
For items such as water skis, a waterproof bond is definitely required to obtain
reasonable service life for the product.
Bowling pins are subject to severe impacts and a tough adhesive would be expected to give the best performance. But
because bowling pins never get wet, and
generally have a heavy plastic coating, the
ultimate in water resistance is not needed.
One manufacturer of laminated bowling
pins successfully used a separate application of urea resin (catalyst applied to one
face and the resin to the other) for many
years.

M 84744 F

Figure 73. Laminated baseball bats

with center lamination of hickory for
improved impact strength and the remaining sections of ash with edge
grain exposed on the surface of the
bat. Edge-grained surfaces make the
bat more resistant to shelling.

The risk involved in using a moisturesensitive adhesive would be if such laminated equipment, intended for normally
dry use, would be stored in a damp warehouse for an extended period.
Where facilities for curing at elevated
temperatures are available, a melamine- or
resorcinol-fortified urea would provide a
greater margin of safety than straight urea
resin as far as durability of glue bonds is
concerned.
Where steel or fiberglass are combined
with wood, as in some snow skis, an epoxy
formulated for this purpose may be the best
choice.
PARTICLEBOARD
Urea resin is used almost exclusively as
binder for interior particleboard. Since the
wood is broken down into small particles,
the stresses on the minute bonds are probably lower with changes in moisture
content than in a solid wood-to-wood
joint. On the other hand, it is well known
that urea-bonded particleboard deteriorates
in a few years when exposed directly to the
weather. This indicates that urea resin is
not a suitable binder for particleboard
where damp or humid use conditions are
involved.
For exterior boards, phenolic binder is
employed but no substantial use has been
made of particleboard for exterior service
in this country.
Particleboard has also been made with
melamine resin binder, and at least on an
experimental basis, with extracts from
bark. Binder generally is applied by air
spraying or airless spraying with agitation
of the particles.
When veneering particleboard or bonding particleboard to itself or to wood, an
adhesive fully as durable as the binder used
in the boards should be used. For normally
dry interior applications, urea resin should
be adequate; for uses such as light cabinet
doors, high-quality polyvinyl glue has
been reported to give good service. A good
moisture-excluding finish reduces stresses
81

on the glue bonds and is a good safety

factor, particularly when panels are used
in kitchens and bathrooms where intermittent high humidity often occurs.
HOUSING AND HOUSING
COMPONENTS
Glues for floor and wall panel applications (figs. 74 and 75) are generally of the
elastomeric or mastic type and are based on
rubber, polyurethanes, and other materials. They are usually furnished ready for
use in small cartridges (cylinders) that fit
calking guns; they may be applied as a bead
to studs and joists, or to smooth walls
when wood paneling is applied to existing
walls (fig. 76). Pneumatic glue guns are
also available for more efficient application.
The glues are smoothed by the nail
pressure (or by hand rollers where no nails
are used); but because of their gap-filling
properties, a thin, uniform glue film as
obtained with well-fitted joints formed
under pressure is not necessarily required.
On an experimental basis, paneling has

M 138 196

Figure 74. Application of mastic adhesive for bonding plywood to joists.

The plywood is also nailed, which
furnishes gluing pressure.

M 138 198

Figure 75. Application of mastic adhesive to studs for bonding wall

panels.

also been applied merely by pressing the

panel (by roller) against the wall to smooth
out the glue without the benefit of nails.
Wall panels are sometimes nailed only
at top and bottom (where nail holes will
be covered by molding or baseboard) and
the remainder of the panel is brought
into close contact with the studs with hand
rollers to establish the glue bond.
Advantages of using glue in applying
wall panels include providing racking
resistance to the walls and, where decorative panels are involved, avoiding unsightly marring of beautiful panels by
nailing and nail popping.
Nail-glued plywood floors reportedly
permit wider joist spacing or smaller joists
than floors only nailed. Another important
advantage claimed for this system is elimination or reduction of floor squeaks.
82

M 138 597

Figure 76. Application of press-dried lumber paneling to plastered wall with

mastic-type adhesive. left: Fitting panel to the adjacent one. Right: Applying
adhesive to wall with calking gun.

Housing components such as trusses and

wall and floor sections have been factorymade for many years. Because of adverse
exposure that can often occur during shipment and erection, a waterproof adhesive
(resorcinol or phenol-resorcinol) is recommended for gluing such components.
Since combinations of lumber and plywood
are often involved, appreciable stresses on
the joints with seasonal moisture changes
are almost unavoidable. This is another
reason for advocating highly durable adhesives for housing component manufacture.
Various means for pressing and curing
the glue joints in components have been
devised. Low-voltage heating is one of the
common methods. It is also possible to

produce adequate glue bonds in certain

members by nail-gluing and allowing the
resin adhesive to set at room temperatures.
The nail-glued truss shown in figure 77
is a typical building unit produced by this
method.
Two major advantages of preglued components are reduced labor cost at the site
and higher quality building units (improved strength by gluing). In the factory,
jigs can be employed to provide both uniformity of dimensions and rapid assembly
of parts. The conditions for obtaining
high-quality glue joints are also much
more favorable in the plant where temperature of both materials and surroundings can be controlled.
83

ZM 96227 F

Figure 77. Light truss with plywood gusset plates glued to framing members. The
gussets were -inch, five-ply, exterior-grade Douglas-fir plywood; framing members were 1 5/8 by 3 5/8 inches in cross section; and ninepenny nails (indicated by
+ on sketch) were used to apply gluing pressure.

NEW PRODUCTS
With use of adhesives steadily on the
increase, new bonded wood products or
combinations of wood and other materials-are continuously coming on the
market.
Wood jewelry in many varieties is
generally made by bonding the shaped
wood parts to metal clips or similar
fasteners with epoxy adhesive. When a
clear epoxy is used, a complete coating of
the wood part can also provide a durable
finish.
Laminated flooring of various constructions has been made for many years, but
new adhesive bonding techniques are
developed from time to time. A method
of obtaining two three-ply flooring boards
by gluing and pressing one five-ply plank
is illustrated in figure 78. This type of
flooring, made of softwoods with oak top
face, is produced in Scandinavia.
Details of construction of a four-ply,
laminated flooring produced for many
years in Europe are shown in figure 79.
Oak-faced flooring for use in permanent
construction should be bonded with an
adhesive at least as durable as fortified urea.
Where appreciable fluctuations in moisture content or where high humidity and
temperature conditions prevail, a phenolresorcinol would provide greater assurance
of long-term satisfactory performance.

Experimentally, bonding various types

of overlays to wood has improved appearance, paintability, and other properties,
and heavier decorative overlays for kitchen
tables and cabinet tops have been produced
for several decades. Quite a range of adhesives from ureas to resorcinols, depending
on the moisture resistance required, bond
these overlays to panel products. Contact

M 138 530

Figure 78. Single gluing operation and

resawing yield two three-ply flooring
boards (top and bottom of sketch)
from one five-ply unit (center). Oak
lamination is sawn at dashed line and
the surface of each half becomes the
top flooring surface.

84

M 138 745

Figure 79. Sketch of glued flooring made with softwood lumber core faced with
wood veneer and a top layer made up of narrow strips of oak laid in various
parquet designs. The finished boards are furnished in about 6- by 120-inch strips,
tongued-and-grooved, and varnished on the top surface.

As with products of established performance, species, finish, use conditions,

and expected service life must be considered when choosing an adhesive for a
new product.

adhesives applied to both the overlay and

the panel products also are widely used for
this purpose; they are particularly convenient for do-it-yourself and on-the-job
applications where equipment for applying
pressure over large areas is usually not
available.
Use of vinyl overlays for such items as
moldings and furniture parts has been increasing the past few years. These overlays
(vinyl films) are produced with wood grain
patterns; thus woods not usually suitable
for molding can be given the appearance
of walnut or other high-quality wood.
These films are furnished with or without
adhesive applied to the film and the adhesive composition is usually not disclosed.
Figure 80 illustrates one type of equipment for applying flexible vinyl overlay.
With adjustable soft rolls, the film can be
applied to molding and other items of a
variety of profiles.

M 138 351

Figure 80. Machine for applying flexible overlay (vinyl film) to molding and
similar stock. Arrow points to overlaid stock coming through the machine.

85

SELECTED REFERENCES
Adhesives Age
1964. Fibrous overlay bonded to wood at
high speeds. Adhes. Age 7(5):25.
Adhesives Age
1965. Glued walls for a new building.
Adhes. Age 8(2):36-37.
Adhesives Age
1965. Sprayable adhesive reduces drywall
lamination costs. Adhes. Age 8(6):27.
Anderson, A. B., Breuer, R. J., and Nicholls,
G. A.
1961. Bonding particleboards with bark
extracts. For. Prod. J. 11(5):226-228.
Bergin, E. G.
1969. The strength and durability of thick
gluelines. Can. For. Serv. Publ. No.
1260, 24 p.
Carroll, Murray
1963. Efficiency of urea and phenol formaldehyde in particleboard. For. Prod. J.
13(3): 113-120.
Cass, Stephen, B., Jr.
1961. A comparison of hot press interior plywood adhesives. For. Prod. J. 11(7):285287.
Clausen, Victor H., and Zweig, Arnold
1969. Automatic plywood layup development at Simpson Timber Company. For.
Prod. J. 19(9):62-73.
Ettling, B. S., and Adams, M. F.
1966. Quantitative determination of phenolic resin in particleboard. For. Prod. J.
16(6):25-28.
Freas, A. D., and Selbo, M. L.
1954. Fabrication and design of glued laminated wood structural members. U.S.
Dep. Agric., Tech. Bull. 1069. 220 p.
Gatchell, C. J., and Heebink, B. G.
1964. Effect of particle geometry on properties of molded wood-resin blends. For.
Prod. J. 14(11):501-507.
Heebink, B. G., Kuenzi, E. W., and Maki,
A. C.
1964. Linear movement of plywood and
flakeboards as related to the longitudinal
movement of wood. U.S. For. Serv. Res.
Note FPL-073. 34 p. U.S. Dep. Agric.
For. Serv. For. Prod. Lab., Madison, Wis.
Jarvi, R. A.
1967. Exterior glues for plywood, For. Prod.
J. 17(1):37-42.
Klein, W. A.
1970. How to laminate particleboard with
adhesive-coated vinyl film. Adhes. Age
13(12):26-27.

Lehmann, W. F.
1965. Improved particleboard through
better resin efficiency. For. Prod. J.
15(4):155-161.
Lehmann, W. F.
1968. Resin distribution in flakeboards
shown by ultraviolet light photography.
For. Prod. J. 18(10):32-34.
Lehmann, W. F.
1970. Resin efficiency in particleboard as
influenced by density, atomization, and
resin content. For. Prod. J. 20(11):48-54.
Miller, D. G.
1953. Curved plywood, its production and
application in the furniture industry. For.
Prod. J. 3(2):22-26.
Neusser, H.
1967. Practical testing of urea resin glues
for particleboard with a view to shortening
pressing time. Holzforsch. u. Holzverwert. 19(3):37-40. Wien.
Page, W. D.
1968. Controlled manufacture of plywood
structural components. For. Prod. J.
18(11):19-21.
Pinion, L. C.
1967. Estimation of urea formaldehyde and
melamine resins in particleboard. For.
Prod. J. 17(11):27-29.
Rice, J. G., Snyder, J. L., and Hart, C. A.
1967. Influence of selected resins and bonding factors on flakeboard properties. For.
Prod. J. 17(8):49-56.
Selbo, M. L.
1967. Long-term effect of preservatives on
glue lines and laminated beams. For.
Prod. J. 17(5):23-32.
Selbo, M. L.
1954. Jig for alining scarf joints. Proc. For.
Prod. Res. Soc. J. 4(4):43A-45A.
Selbo, M. L.
1961. Adhesives for structural laminated
lumber. Adhes. Age 4(2):22-25.
Shen, K. C.
1970. Correlation between internal bond and
the shear strength measured by twisting
thin plates of particleboard. For. Prod.
J. 20(11):16-20.
Snider, Robert F.
1960. What to look for in glues for furniture production. Adhes. Age 3(1):38-40.
Webb, D. A.
1970. Wood laminating adhesive system for
ribbon spreading. For. Prod. J. 20(4):
19-23.

86

GLUING OPERATION
The gluing operation generally consists
of these steps: (1) Mixing the ingredients
that make up the glue, when ready for use;
(2) spreading the glue on one or both joint
surfaces to be bonded; (3) assembling the
individual parts in the order planned for
the bonded product; (4) allowing the
spread glue to thicken and penetrate the
wood surfaces for a certain period (usually
referred to as the open and closed assembly
periods and as a rule specified by the
supplier); (5) applying pressure to bring
the spread surfaces into close contact; (6)
retaining pressure until the bond gains
sufficient strength to permit safe handling
of the glued product; and (7) conditioning the glued stock to complete adhesive
cure and allow any solvent to diffuse
throughout the glued assembly.
Each step will be discussed in more
detail, but inasmuch as the gluing procedures vary considerably for different products, the discussion must necessarily be
somewhat general. It is suggested therefore that the adhesive user follow the
manufacturers instruction very closely,
and that the manufacturers technical
serviceman familiarize himself with the
customers process and product so he will
be able to give sound advice to the customer.

MIXING ADHESIVE
Some adhesives, such as the film types
and the straight polyvinyls, are furnished
ready for use and hence require no mixing.
Others, as the ready-to-use caseins and
some powdered ureas, need only to be
mixed with water, as prescribed by the
glue supplier.
In this operation, usually part of the
water is first run into the mixer, after

which the powder is added gradually with

the mixer running to prevent formation of
lumps. After a smooth, homogeneous mixture is obtained, the remaining water is
added slowly with the mixer running. If
all the remaining water is added at once,
the doughlike mix might break into large
lumps; such lumps, particularly with lowviscosity adhesives, may be extremely
difficult to break up even with vigorous
mixing.
This procedure is also sometimes necessary when a powdered hardener (often is a
mixture of the actual hardener and an inert
powder such as walnut shell flour or wood
flour) is mixed with a liquid resin. It is
often easier to obtain a homogeneous mix
if the hardener is first mixed with part of
the resin until a smooth mixture is obtained, and then the remainder of the resin
is added gradually with stirring.
The glue supplier generally furnishes
instructions for mixing and weighing the
ingredients to be mixed. Mechanical
mixers of various types (figs. 81 and 82)
are invariably used in industrial operations;
in the home workshop, small amounts can
be mixed satisfactorily by hand, using a
clean metal or glass container and a paddle
for stirring. Since many adhesives are
either mildly acid or alkaline, containers
not affected by acid or alkali should be
used. Strict cleanliness of gluing equipment is important for extraneous materials
can easily lower the bonding quality of the
adhesive. A mixer suitable both for laboratory and small shop use is shown in figure
83.
Some resins must be kept cool during
storage and also at the time of mixing.
Instructions to this effect are generally
furnished by the supplier.
87

M 138 389

Figure 82. Blender-type mixer for resin

adhesives. The-mixer is available with
or without water jacket for cooling or
warming the mix.

M 138 385

Figure
81. Counter-rotating
paddletype mixer for protein and resin adhesives. Mixers are available in various sizes.

Sometimes, particularly during cool

M 48436 F

weather, resin adhesives should be allowed

to mature for a short period between mixing and use. During hot weather the reaction period usually can be omitted. To
avoid exceeding the working life of the
mixed glue, mix smaller batches during
hot weather than in the cooler seasons.
This will prevent shutdowns for cleaning
spreaders and other equipment because
glue has exceeded its working life. Jacketed
mixers permit the temperature of the mix
to be controlled by running water of the
required temperature through the jacket
(fig. 82).
Automatic mixers are also available for
certain applications, as shown in figure 84.

Figure 83. Three-speed mixer with two

sizes of paddles and mixing bowls,
suitable for laboratory and shop use.

SPREADING ADHESIVE
Various methods are used to apply adhesive to joint surfaces when bonding wood,
depending largely on the type and amount
of glued product and also to some extent
on the adhesive.
In the small workshop, application by
brush is often practical. When larger
88

and 50) is said to save adhesive and result

in more uniform spread and greater rate of
production. Ribbon spreading permits the
laminations to travel under the extruder
at a greater rate of speed than through
a roll spreader. Since the spread surfaces
are often placed in a vertical position
during the assembly period, ribbon spreading requires a thixotropic adhesive that
will not sag or run to the bottom edge of
the laminations before gluing pressure is
applied (fig. 51). The adhesive also must
remain sufficiently fluid to smooth out in
a uniform film when gluing pressure is
Figure 84. Glue mixing and spreading
applied.
equipment. A, Unit that automatically
The amount of spread (usually expressed
mixes liquid urea and powdered catain pounds of wet glue per 1,000 square
lyst in the right proportions; B, glue
feet of glue-joint area) varies considerably
spreader.
with the type of adhesive used, product
surfaces are involved, a mohair paint roller being bonded, species, moisture content of
works well with many adhesives and is the wood, and the temperature and humidmore efficient than a brush.
ity of the gluing area. In general, appreMastic adhesives used for bonding ciably higher spread is required with
panels to studs and joists are applied in casein glue than with most synthetics.
beads by hand-operated calking guns (figs. Small items that can be assembled rapidly
74, 75, 76) or by compressed air-operated can often be bonded satisfactorily with
less spread than large members requiring
guns for more efficient operation.
In furniture manufacture where poly- a long assembly period. Often adjustments
vinyl glues are sometimes used extensively, in the adhesive (such as setting rate) must
the liquid glue is distributed by pumps or be made for different size products. Dense
gravity feed through pipes, often applied woods generally require heavier spreads
from nozzles conveniently located within than lighter ones (assembly time and other
factors may also need adjustment). Wood
the workmens reach.
In larger gluing operations, such as in at low moisture content absorbs the solvent
plywood and laminated timber produc- from the adhesive faster than wood at
tion, application by double-roll spreaders higher moisture content; this makes in(fig. 41) equipped with doctor rolls for creased spread necessary, unless assembly
close control of the spread has been time is short.
High temperature and low humidity in
common for decades.
In recent years, curtain coating, a the gluing area also suggest increases in
method similar to the process used for pre- the glue spread. This again depends on
finishing plywood, has come into use in whether the assembly period can be
plywood manufacture (fig. 42). Curtain shortened to compensate for the faster drycoating is claimed to result in more uni- ing and skinning over of the glue film.
As a rule, only one of the mating surform spread and less waste of adhesive.
Reportedly, adhesives are also applied by faces of a joint is spread with adhesive.
extruders in some softwood plywood With certain products, however, such as
large laminated members that require conplants.
In the laminating industry, ribbon siderable time to assemble, spreading both
spreading or extrusion spreading (figs. 49 surfaces of each lamination can be advanta89

M 139 027-1

Figure 85. Spreading resin glue on

both faces of board with a rubbercovered double-roll spreader. Spreader has adjustable speed to accommodate different types of resins.

M 136 846-8

Figure 86. Glue spreading mechanism

for finger joints. Glue is dispensed at
arrow.

geous. This is called double spreading

(fig. 85).
Special joints, such as finger joints, require spreading mechanisms of the same
profile as the joint for uniform application
of adhesive. Such a spreader is shown in
figure 86.

nuously through both machines to the layup station.

ASSEMBLY TIME
The interval between spreading the
adhesive and the application of full gluing
pressure is called assembly time. If wood
surfaces coated with glue are exposed freely
to the air, solvent evaporation and changes
in adhesive consistency occur much more
rapidly than if the joint surfaces are in
contact. Free exposure of the coated surfaces is called open assembly; surfaces
in contact, closed assembly.
Proper adjustment of the assembly time
is very important and often has significant
effect on the quality of the glue joints.
A too-short assembly period often results
in starved glue joints, particularly with
low-viscosity adhesives and dense species
that absorb moisture from the glue slowly.
Too long an assembly period (particularly
open assembly) can easily result in skinning over or drying out of the glue film.
The result is inadequate transfer ofadhesive
from the spread to the unspread surfaces.

ASSEMBLING PARTS
Because of the large variety of glued
wood products, only a few will be briefly
mentioned to give a general idea of the
assembly operations involved.
The key to success in most industries
today is automation, and significant breakthroughs have been made in recent years
in fields such as plywood manufacture
where layup efficiency has improved immensely. In a similar manner, layup of
large assemblies in the more progressive
lumber-laminating plants is being done
with hardly a piece of lumber being
touched by hand.
In some plants the planer and glue
spreader are arranged in tandem with
synchronized rates of speed. The laminations, end-jointed to length, run conti-

90

PRESSING OR CLAMPING
Glue-joint surfaces must be brought
into close contact to enable the adhesive
to form a bond between them. Hence the
application of adequate and uniformly distributed pressure to the joint at the proper
time is essential in production of consistently high-quality bonded joints. Pressure
must smooth the adhesive to a continuous,
fairly thin layer between the wood surfaces,
and hold the parts in close contact while
the adhesive is setting or curing.
The optimum thickness of glue films in
joints varies with the type of adhesive and
wood species. Cured films as thin as 0.002
inch have resulted in good bonds with urea
adhesives, and those as thick as 0.010 inch
resulted in good quality joints with resorcinol adhesives used with dense species.
For best results, pressure should be applied
evenly over the entire joint area. Fluid
pressure, such as used in bag molding with
thin veneers, comes closest to being completely uniform.
In hot-pressing plywood, multiopening hydraulic hot presses (fig. 43)
apply pressure of about 175 pounds per
square inch to the veneers while the glue
is curing. In laminating, retaining clamps
of various types (figs. 52, 87, and 88)
are commonly used. Caul boards are laid

M 87206 F

Figure 88. C-type rockerhead clamp

with adjustable span used for laminating and other gluing pressure applications.

between the clamp and the glued assembly

to distribute pressure to the areas between
clamps. These cauls must be thick enough
to distribute the pressure uniformly, as
well as being flat and smooth. The clamps
must be sufficiently close together to
produce adequate pressure between as well
as under the points of contact. Gluing
pressure in the range of 100 to 200 pounds
per square inch is usually adequate for most
operations, with viscous adhesives and
dense species generally requiring the top
of the range.
When clamps are used to apply gluing
pressure, torque wrenches and similar
devices may be used to determine the
amount of pressure applied. Figure 89
shows a panel press where pressure is applied by compressed air hoses.
Satisfactory gluing for certain constructions can also be accomplished with nail
pressure, provided the nails are spaced and
driven properly and the proper precautions
are taken with regard to assembly time.
The pressure obtained with nails is relatively low; hence the adhesive must be
fairly fluid when the nails are driven.
No general rules have been developed
for relating nail size and spacing to insure
adequate pressure. The nailing pattern and
spacing shown for the light plywoodlumber truss in figure 77, however, has
given adequate glue-bond quality. The
adhesive was a phenol-resorcinol.

M 57292

Figure
87. Double-bolt
rockerhead
clamps used to apply gluing pressure
to laminated assemblies. The rockerhead equalizes the pressure across the
assembly.

91

shaped articles such as wood carvings has

come into use. Both vacuum molding and
fluid pressure molding (fig. 90) are suitable for application of plastic films to upgrade wood surfaces.
CURING ADHESIVE
Curing requirements of adhesives commonly used for wood range from normal
room temperatures to about 300 F. Some
adhesives, such as the ureas, are formulated
both for room-temperature and elevatedtemperature curing. The hot-setting ureas
generally cure in the range of 240 to
260 F. The melamines cure in about the
same range but will also cure at lower
M 138 266-7
temperatures with extended curing
Figure 89. Compressed air hose lamperiods.
inating press for cold pressing panels.
For assembly operations, adhesives such
as polyvinyls, ureas, resorcinols, and
Bag-molded plywood for aircraft and animal glues are generally used at normal
light boats was produced during World room temperatures. The thermosetting
War II and later. Recently, application of polyvinyls can be cured both at normal
wood-grained vinyl film to irregularly room temperatures and at elevated tem-

M 142395

Figure 90. Three methods of forming bag-molded plywood.

92

M 96845 F

M 96844 F

Figure 91. Curing glue in scarf joints

with low-voltage electric heating. The
heating elements are embedded in
silicone rubber pads and aluminum
foil separates the pads from the
boards to prevent contamination of
the pads by glue squeezeout.

F i g u r e 9 2 . Curing phenol-resorcinol in
scarf joints with continuous rubber
pad heated with low-voltage electric
current. Thin sheets of aluminum separate pad from boards to prevent
contamination of pad by squeezedout glue.

peratures, but provide more durable bonds

when heat cured. Resorcinols provide
durable bonds on many species when cured
at room temperatures, but denser species
such as oak require elevated temperatures
to provide bonds as durable as the wood
within a reasonable time period (fig. 11).
The rate of cure of resin adhesives
depends both on the type of catalyst used
and the curing temperature. The higher
this temperature for a given glue, the more
rapid is the curing reaction and the shorter
the time required to complete the cure.
Alkaline phenolic resins, the type used
almost exclusively for exterior plywood,
cure in the range of about 265 to 310 F.
Acid-catalyzed phenols are formulated to
set at temperatures as low as room temperature.
Curing equipment ranges from large,
steam-heated hot presses for plywood
(fig. 43) to small, low-voltage heating
pads where resistance wire is embedded in
silicone rubber (figs. 91 and 92) to generate
heat. Thin wires or other conductive material in the glueline also have been used as
heating elements with low-voltage electric
current. Curing of a slightly curved lami-

nated member by low-voltage heating is

illustrated in figure 93. This method requires a transformer and somewhat heavy
leads.
Preheating wood before spreading and
then using the stored heat to cure the adhe-

M 138 264-2

Figure 93. Curing glue in slightly curved

laminated member with low-voltage
electric current.

93

M 89990 F

Figure 94. Various electrode arrangements for applying high-frequency electrical

energy to glued assemblies. A, Assembly between electrodes, with electric field
perpendicular to plane of glue joints; B, sandwich method, with high-voltage
electrode between the two assemblies being glued; C, electrodes arranged for
parallel or selective heating of glue joints; D, stray-field heating arrangements of
electrodes.

sive is a technique sometimes used for

special applications such as finger-jointing
lumber and for laminating timber decking
in a continuous process.
For large, laminated members, enclosures formed with canvas or other materials over the clamped assemblies (fig. 67)
are supplied with heat from steam pipes
or by other means for curing the glue.

Because wood is a good heat insulator,

this process is somewhat time consuming.
High-frequency (H-F) heating (fig. 94)
is probably the method most widely used
for elevated-temperature curing the glue in
members that do not lend themselves to
hot pressing, particularly for smaller items
such as furniture parts. H-F heating has
been used extensively for such operations

94

M 136 846-6

Figure 95. Finger-jointed lumber, A,

spread with glue traveling on a conveyor toward an H-F unit, B, for
curing.

M 136 846-6

Figure 96. Finger joints stopped by

electronic memory system, A, between
electrodes of. high-frequency generator. B, indicates location of electrodes
and the curing area.

as edge gluing of lumber and curing glue

in finger joints (figs. 95 and 96). It is also
being used in Europe for laminating beams
by continuous operation (fig. 97). Curing
the glue in steps (each step equals the
length of press) in laminated beams by H-F
heating has been practiced by at least two
laminators in the United States for a number of years.

In high-frequency curing, the resin

adhesives for wood are generally rated from
easiest to use to most difficult in this order:
Ureas, melamine-ureas, thermosetting
polyvinyls, melamines, resorcinols,
phenol-resorcinols, and phenols.

The H-F curing cycle depends on such

factors as generator capacity, type of glue
and glue joint area, and the arrangement
of the electrodes in reiation to the glue
joints. Parallel heating (fig. 94, C) is generally the most efficient method since the
larger part of the energy is converted to
heat in the gluelines. The level of moisture
content in the wood is an important factor.
The higher the moisture content the more
conductive the wood becomes; thus, the
more energy is dissipated throughout the
wood instead of being concentrated at the
glue joints.
Close control of the variables involved
in the gluing operation is required for successful H-F curing. Accurate machining,
uniform moisture content in the wood, and
uniform glue spread are some of the more
important factors. Technical knowledge in
the generation and use of high-frequency
currents is also of vital importance with
this type of curing.

Figure 97. High-frequency curing of

adhesive in laminated beams by continuous process. Gluing pressure is applied in the electrode area by blocks
fastened to belt moving along endless
track. Parallel heating is employed
and the upper electrode can be seen
on top of the beam.

95

CONDITIONING GLUED
PRODUCTS
It is usually not economical to maintain
gluing pressure or continue curing under
pressure until the adhesive joints have
reached their ultimate strength. A conditioning period after gluing pressure has
been released is beneficial in many ways.
It allows moisture, if introduced by the
glue, to diffuse away from the glue joints
and equalize throughout the member. It
permits the glue to continue to set and
approach its ultimate bond strength.
Stresses set up in the glued article during
the gluing and curing operation will tend
to be relieved and die out.
Because hot pressing generally lowers
the moisture content of a panel and cold
pressing increases the moisture content,
conditioning panels and other products
under controlled humidity and temperature is generally desirable and also most
efficient.
A typical example of inadequate conditioning is represented by the sunken
joints sometimes found in edge-glued
lumber panels. They are often caused by
surfacing the stock too soon after gluing.
The wood adjacent to the joint absorbs
water from the glue and swells. If the panel
is surfaced before this excess moisture is
distributed, more wood is removed along
the joints than at intermediate points.
Then during equalization of the moisture,
greater shrinkage occurs at the joints than
elsewhere, and permanent depressions are
formed. This condition is illustrated in
figure 98 where panels were surfaced immediately after gluing pressure was released. When improperly conditioned
panels are veneered, showthrough of
sunken joints and similar defects mars
surface appearance.
Based on research at the Forest Products
Laboratory, the following conditions
maintained in a room with good circulation should provide reasonable assurance

that sunken joints will be minimized or

eliminated in edge-glued panels:
7 days at 80 F. and 30 percent relative humidity
4 days at 120 F. and 35 percent relative humidity
24 hours at 160 F. and 44 percent
relative humidity
16 hours at 200 F. and 55 percent
relative humidity
These recommendations are based on
the appearance of edge-glued panels with
a high-gloss finish. With panels given a
matte finish or panels covered with veneer,
shorter conditioning periods generally
would be sufficient. If there is an appreciable layover period between the surfacing
and the sanding and finishing operations,
the conditioning period can probably be
somewhat shortened, since some surface
irregularities are removed by the sanding.
For edge-glued furniture panels that are
subsequently covered both with crossbands
(usually one-sixteenth or one-twentieth
inch) and face veneers (usually one twentyeighth inch), it is expected that the conditioning times shown above could be appreciably shortened at the different temperatures, perhaps to as much as one-half the
time indicated.

ADJUSTMENTS IN ADHESIVES
A ND GLUING PROCEDURES
The strength and quality of a glue joint
depend not only on the type of wood or
the quality of the glue used but also on
the gluing procedure in making the joint.
Often the same glue is entirely adequate
for a wide range of species provided the
gluing conditions are adjusted to the requirements of the particular species involved.
A specific example from production
illustrates the type of adjustments that
are required at times. White oak ship
96

M 86081 F

Figure 98. Yellow-poplar panels edge-glued with urea resin cured by highfrequency dielectric heating and with animal glue set at room temperature. Upper
panels (left, urea; right, animal glue) were surfaced immediately after gluing
pressure was released. lower panels (left, urea; right, animal glue) were conditioned 7 days at room temperature before they were surfaced. Note sunken joints
on panels surfaced without conditioning.

where the same adhesive was used to laminate similar frames, the temperature
ranged from 60 to 70F. To obtain acceptable glue bonds under these conditions,
the mixed glue had to be aged at least
half an hour before spreading and full
gluing pressure was not applied for at least

frames were laminated in a plant where the

temperature generally exceeded 90 F.
during summer days. The glue was freshly
mixed shortly before spreading. The laminations were assembled and clamping pressure applied in rapid succession. The glue
bonds were excellent. In another plant,
97

2 hours after spreading. The longer closed

assembly time was required (at the lower
temperature) to allow the glue to penetrate
the dense wood surface and reach the proper
viscosity before applying full gluing
pressure.
When bonding a dense wood, it appears
that the glue must be viscous at the time
pressure is applied on the joint. With a
light, porous species much more latitude
in glue viscosity is permissible. A light
wood is generally more absorbent; hence,
a starved joint condition (glue too thin
at time of pressure application) is less apt
to occur. Also, a lower gluing pressure
usually can be employed than with dense
species.
A good correlation has been noted between the viscosity of urea resin and bond
durability in plywood made from sliced
hard maple, with the higher viscosities
giving the higher durability. The woodworker of years past touched the spread
animal glue film with his fingertips; when
the glue was sufficiently tacky to stick to
the fingers and pull off the strings, he
knew it was the proper time to bring the
mating pieces together and apply gluing
pressure.

SELECTED REFERENCES
Adhesives Age
1964. Edge glue spreader with vertical axis
application roll. Adhes. Age 7(9):29.
Bellosillo, S. B.
1970. Nail-gluing of lumber-plywood
assemblies-a literature review. Inf. Rep.
OP-X-29. 70 p. Can. For. Serv., Dep.
of Fisheries and Forest., Ottawa, Canada.
Chow, S. Z., and Hancock, W. V.
1969. Method for determining degree of
cure ofphenolic resin. For. Prod. J. 19(4):
21-29.
Currier, Raymond A.
1963. Compressibility and bond quality of
western softwood veneers. For. Prod. J.
13(2):73-79.
Freeman, Harlan G.
1970. Influence of production variables on
quality of southern pine plywood. For.
Prod. J. 20(12):28-31.
Rayner, C. A. A.
1965. Cascade gluing in plywood manufacturing. Adhes. Age 8(2):33-35.
Rice, J. T.
1965. Effect of urea-formaldehyde resin viscosity on plywood wood bond durability.
For. Prod. J. 15(3):107-112.
Selbo, M. L.
1952. Effectiveness of different conditioning
schedules in reducing sunken joints in
edge glued lumber panels. For. Prod.
J. 2(1):110-112.
Webb, David A.
1970. Wood laminating adhesive system for
ribbon spreading. For. Prod. J. 20(4):
19-23.

GLUING TREATED WOOD

Production of laminated glued wood
products suitable for unprotected exterior
use dates back to the development of resorcinol and phenol-resorcinol adhesivesabout 1943. Glues available before that
time either lacked necessary water resistance or required very high curing temperatures such as those used for exterior-type
plywood.
The ability of resorcinol or phenolresorcinol adhesives to provide a highly

durable bond at moderate temperatures

made possible the production of large
laminated timbers suitable for exterior use
from the standpoint of the bonded joint.
To impart durability to the wood under
exterior service, however, preservative
treatment is sometimes required. In some
instances, the laminations are treated
before gluing, and this necessitated development of procedures for bonding preservative-treated wood.
98

M 128 112

Figure 99. Bridge on logging railroad near Longview, Wash., built with laminated
stringers pressure treated with creosote-oil mixture before erection.

more, when only the outer layer of a member is treated, checks that sometimes
develop later in service may allow decay
to start. On the other hand, bridge timbers
produced by this method (pressure-treated
with creosote or creosote and oil mixtures
after gluing) have been found to be in excellent condition after more than 25 years
of service.
Wood pressure-treated with preservatives can be used to produce members of
practically any size and shape that are
thoroughly impregnated. By proper selection of materials, thin laminations can be
given complete penetration with preservative chemicals; this as a rule is not possible
with larger timbers. Laminated members produced from such treated stock can

Preservative-treated structures can also

be produced by treating the glued members, and numerous structures of this type
have been built (fig. 99). Treatment of
glued members permits application of
preservative after all cutting, boring, and
other framing has been done, to assure a
protective coating on all exposed surfaces.
Material handling at the treating plant is
often simplified when the finished members, rather than the lumber, are treated.
Probably the most serious disadvantage of
this method is the limited size of treating
cylinders, which precludes treatment of
larger timbers and particularly of large
curved ones. Preservative penetration is
blocked by gluelines to some extent and
this, of course, is a disadvantage. Further-

99

be safely shaped and bored without exposing untreated material.

When a plant stocks treated lumber at
the proper moisture content, it can usually
fill an order for glued treated wood much
more promptly than when the members
must be laminated and then shipped to
a treating plant.
Of the two methods, treatment after
gluing has been most used. However,
when laminated members do not lend
themselves to treatment because of their
size and shape, gluing treated material is
the only known method to produce adequately treated members.
Studies on gluing of wood treated with
wood preservatives and fire-retardant
chemicals were undertaken during the
latter part of World War II and years that

followed. This type of material was glued

commercially as early as 1945 (fig. 100).
Data show that certain combinations of
glue and preservative treatments are compatible under prescribed conditions of
gluing, whereas others require further
study-both on laboratory and commercial scale-before definite production
procedures can be formulated. The advice
of the glue manufacturer should be sought
before gluing wood treated with a particular preservative.
All combinations of preservatives and
glues do not perform equally well and the
conditions that lead to good, durable
bonds on untreated wood do not always
apply to treated wood.
Certain basic principles that apply to
gluing untreated wood do hold true to a

M 124 523

Figure 100. Laminated southern pine stringers in 60-foot, open-deck trestle on

Atlantic Coastline Railroad south of Palmetto, Fla. Lumber used in stringers was
treated with fluor-chrome-arsenate-phenol (Wolman salt) before gluing. The
stringers on the opposite side of the trestle were glued from creosote-treated
southern pine.

100

is required for satisfactory bonding. The

type of solvent also affects gluability.
Volatile solvents such as naphtha and
mineral spirits cause less interference with
bonding than heavier solvents such as fuel
oil. Wood treated with pentachlorophenol in liquefied fuel gas is reported to
cause practically no gluing problem.

certain extent for gluing treated wood. For

example, in gluing untreated wood there
is usually considerable difference in the
gluing properties of the different speciesthe denser woods in general requiring
stronger adhesion to the wood and greater
cohesive strength in the glue than the
lighter ones. This also applies to treated
wood, although bonding treated wood
further depends on the concentration of
preservative on the surface at the time of
gluing and the chemical effect of the preservative on the glue.
In general, somewhat more curing
(higher temperature or longer time) is required when gluing treated than untreated
wood.
A reasonably clean joint surface is required in the bonding of untreated wood,
and this appears to apply also to treated
wood. There also seems to be fairly good
evidence that, where gluing of treated
lumber is involved, surfacing after treating
(preferably shortly before gluing) is required. Where the glued members are
intended to withstand exterior exposure,
the joints should pass the tests prescribed
in Voluntary Product Standard PS 56-73
for structural glued-laminated timber.
Where the treatment is intended mainly
for resistance to termites and similar
hazards, and the glued members are
protected from the weather, the tests prescribed for interior service of glue joints
in laminated timbers might be sufficient.

WOOD TREATED WITH

WATERBORNE PRESERVATIVES
When wood is treated with waterborne
chemicals, the moisture content of the
wood is appreciably increased and redrying
is necessary. Upon being redried, the
lumber generally is somewhat distorted,
covered with deposits of chemicals to some
extent, and too variable in thickness to be
suitable for good gluing. Resurfacing becomes necessary. When the stock is resurfaced immediately before gluing, there
appears to be, generally, less problem in
gluing wood treated with waterborne preservatives than in gluing wood treated
with oil-borne preservatives. Laminated
bridge timbers glued from lumber treated
with waterborne preservatives have given
satisfactory service for about a quartet
century.
Treating large laminated timbers with
waterborne preservatives after gluing is
generally not recommended because of
checking and dimensional changes that
occur during drying.

WOOD TREATED WITH

OIL-SOLUBLE PRESERVATIVES
Because wood treated with oil-soluble
preservatives usually goes into exterior or
similar types of service, only adhesives suitable for severe exposure conditions, such as
resorcinol and phenol-resorcinols, should
be used. As a general rule, woods that take
treatment well, such as southern pine, can
also be glued satisfactorily. Those difficult
to treat are more problematic, and a clean
treatment (by steaming or other means)

101

WOOD TREATED WITH

FIRE-RETARDANT CHEMICALS
Because fire-retardant-treated wood is
often used in relatively dry exposure for
such purposes as veneered doors, wall
panels, and partitions, adhesives only
moderately resistant to moisture might
occasionally be suitable. For maximum fire
resistance (as far as the glue is concerned),
it probably is necessary to use phenol,

resorcinol, and melamine resins that do

not permit the wood to delaminate or
separate when it is charred. Many fireretardant salts are hygroscopic, and wood
treated with them has higher equilibrium
moisture content than untreated wood.
This is another reason for using adhesives
with high water resistance.
Fire-retardant formulas usually employ
various chemicals in mixture so a desired
combination of properties is obtained. It
is therefore extremely difficult to provide
general recommendations for gluing wood
treated with such chemical mixtures.
Wood treated with some widely used fire
retardants has been glued successfully,
however, using a high-formaldehyde-content resorcinol adhesive developed especially for the purpose. Before gluing fireretardant-treated material, it is advisable
to consult the treating company and the
glue supplier or both for specific recommendations on the particular brand of
adhesive to use.

SELECTED REFERENCES
Bergin, E. G.
1963. Gluability of fire-retardant-treated
wood. For. Prod. J. 13(12):549-556.
Blew, J. O., and Olson, W. Z.
1950. The durability of birch plywood
treated with wood preservatives and fireretarding chemicals. Proc. Am. Wood
Preserv. Assoc. 46:323-338.
Selbo, M. L.
1959. Summary of information on gluing of
treated wood. U.S. For. Prod. Lab. Rep.
1789. 21 p. U.S. Dep. Agric. For. Serv.
For. Prod. Lab., Madison, Wis.
Selbo, M. L.
1960. The gluing of treated wood. Proc.
Am. Wood Preserv. Assoc. 56:70-73.
Selbo, M. L.
1961. Effect of solvent on gluing of preservative-treated red oak, Douglas-fir, and
southern yellow pine. Proc. Am. Wood
Preserv. Assoc. 57:152, 163.
Selbo, M. L., and Gronvold, O.
1958. Laminating of preservative-treated
Scotch pine. For. Prod. J. 8(9):25A-26A.

QUALITY CONTROL
The authors first experience with evaluation of glue-joint quality was gained by
splitting apart the edge and end trims of
plywood panels as the panels came through
trim saws. If the failures were mostly in
the wood, it was a good indication that the
samples would pass the more stringent and
sophisticated laboratory tests, but if the
failures were in the glue joints, there was
a good chance they would not pass.
The purpose of mentioning such crude
tests as ripping apart edge trims of plywood and prying apart laminations from
the end trim of beams and arches with a
chisel is to stress these points: (1) The
sooner defective joints are detected, the
sooner corrections can be made, and the
less loss will be involved; (2) even a crude
quality-control test is better than no test
at all.

Up to recent years, shear block tests

(ASTM D 905, Standard Method of Test
for Strength Properties of Adhesive Bonds
in Shear by Compression Loading) on hard
maple were a common requirement in glue
specifications. This test has merit in evaluating glues for furniture of maple and
similar species, particularly if specimens
are also subjected to high-low humidity
cycling; however, its dependability is far
from adequate to estimate the serviceability of glues on species such as oak in
exterior service.
It is good practice to evaluate a glue on
the species and under the bonding conditions that will be employed in production;
it is also desirable to use test specimens
somewhat similar in construction to the
product. But inasmuch as the range in
density and gluability is often appreciable
102

certain extent for gluing treated wood. For

example, in gluing untreated wood there
is usually considerable difference in the
gluing properties of the different speciesthe denser woods in general requiring
stronger adhesion to the wood and greater
cohesive strength in the glue than the
lighter ones. This also applies to treated
wood, although bonding treated wood
further depends on the concentration of
preservative on the surface at the time of
gluing and the chemical effect of the preservative on the glue.
In general, somewhat more curing
(higher temperature or longer time) is required when gluing treated than untreated
wood.
A reasonably clean joint surface is required in the bonding of untreated wood,
and this appears to apply also to treated
wood. There also seems to be fairly good
evidence that, where gluing of treated
lumber is involved, surfacing after treating
(preferably shortly before gluing) is required. Where the glued members are
intended to withstand exterior exposure,
the joints should pass the tests prescribed
in Voluntary Product Standard PS 56-73
for structural glued-laminated timber.
Where the treatment is intended mainly
for resistance to termites and similar
hazards, and the glued members are
protected from the weather, the tests prescribed for interior service of glue joints
in laminated timbers might be sufficient.

WOOD TREATED WITH

OIL-SOLUBLE PRESERVATIVES

is required for satisfactory bonding. The

type of solvent also affects gluability.
Volatile solvents such as naphtha and
mineral spirits cause less interference with
bonding than heavier solvents such as fuel
oil. Wood treated with pentachlorophenol in liquefied fuel gas is reported to
cause practically no gluing problem.

WOOD TREATED WITH

WATERBORNE PRESERVATIVES
When wood is treated with waterborne
chemicals, the moisture content of the
wood is appreciably increased and redrying
is necessary. Upon being redried, the
lumber generally is somewhat distorted,
covered with deposits of chemicals to some
extent, and too variable in thickness to be
suitable for good gluing. Resurfacing becomes necessary. When the stock is resurfaced immediately before gluing, there
appears to be, generally, less problem in
gluing wood treated with waterborne preservatives than in gluing wood treated
with oil-borne preservatives. Laminated
bridge timbers glued from lumber treated
with waterborne preservatives have given
satisfactory service for about a quarter
century.
Treating large laminated timbers with
waterborne preservatives after gluing is
generally not recommended because of
checking and dimensional changes that
occur during drying.

Because wood treated with oil-soluble

preservatives usually goes into exterior or
similar types ofservice, only adhesives suitable for severe exposure conditions, such as
resorcinol and phenol-resorcinols, should
be used. As a general rule, woods that take
treatment well, such as southern pine, can
also be glued satisfactorily. Those difficult
to treat are more problematic, and a clean
treatment (by steaming or other means)
101

WOOD TREATED WITH

FIRE-RETARDANT CHEMICALS
Because fire-retardant-treated wood is
often used in relatively dry exposure for
such purposes as veneered doors, wall
panels, and partitions, adhesives only
moderately resistant to moisture might
occasionally be suitable. For maximum fire
resistance (as far as the glue is concerned),
it probably is necessary to use phenol,

within a species, as an added safety feature,

the glue might also be evaluated on a
denser species than the one to be used in
production.
The well-worn phrase that dense wood is
more difficult to glue does not necessarily mean that the same adhesive develops high wood failure in a light wood and
low wood failure in a dense wood. The glue
may not have been used under the optimum conditions required for the denser
wood; or it may not be strong enough to
cause failure in the denser material.
As in any manufacturing operation,
control ofquality of glue joints is extremely
important, particularly since the raw
materials-wood and glue are characteristically somewhat variable.

The person in charge of quality control

must be very knowledgeable, both in wood
technology and in the physical and chemical characteristics of adhesives. There are
product standards, industry standards,
commercial standards, ASTM standards,
Federal specifications, and military specifications that generally specify minimum
performance requirements under different
tests, and the procedures for carrying out
the tests are fairly routine. But the interpretation of the test results, including the
visual examination of the test specimens,
often requires a great deal of knowledge
and experience to determine their meaning
and consider improvements or changes.
Needless to say, quality control does not
involve only tests and evaluations of the

ZM 73979 F

Figure 101. Effect of three types of accelerated laboratory tests on glue bonds in
plywood-to-lumber gusset joints made with three types of adhesives. The
vacuum-pressure, soak-dry cycles resulted in the largest amount of joint separation with each type of glue. The data indicate that two of the glues are unsuitable
for severe exposures.

103

ZM 69813 F

Figure 102. Standard block, A, and stair-step type, B, shear specimens for evaluating glue-joint strength and quality. The stair-step is convenient for testing successive joints in a laminated timber.

104

type assembly joints are illustrated in

figure 101.
Tests such as the compression block
shear (figs. 102 and 103) and the plywood
tension shear (figs. 104 and 105) have been
employed to evaluate glue joints for
decades. They give a good indication of
initial quality and workmanship in producing the joints when tested dry. For
determination of long-term durability,
harsher treatments are required, and two
4-hour boil cycles interspersed with 20
hours of drying of the specimens (generally
referred to as the boil test) has been the
most widely used test for exterior plywood.
Detailed procedures for this and other tests
are given in many standards and specifications for plywood and adhesives.
Vacuum-pressure, soak-dry tests similar
to ASTM 2559 have been used for about
3 decades to evaluate glue bonds in laminated construction (fig. 106) and have

final products, but must begin with each

ingredient that goes into the glued product.
This is particularly important where a
number of wood species are used and a
variety of products are made. The adhesive
used for one species may not necessarily
be adequate for another, or at least might
require modification in the gluing procedure. Also, modifications might be required when changing from one product
to another.
The standards and specifications for the
different products generally specify one,
and more often several, test requirements
that a product must meet.
Although test methods must be used
that will result in accelerated degradation
of glue joints that would eventually fail
under normal service conditions, the tests
must be reasonable for the type of bond
involved. Even the very best casein-glued
joint, for instance, will fail after a few
cycles of vacuum-pressure, soaking, and
drying. Casein glue is not capable of forming exterior-type bonds; hence, test
methods designed for such bonds are not
applicable to casein-glued joints. Effects
of three different accelerated test methods
on three types of glue bonds in gusset-

M 76703

Figure 103. Block-shear testing of glue

joints in universal testing machine.

Figure 104. Tension-shear specimen

from three-ply plywood.

105

within recent years also been adopted for

plywood and particleboard. They are more
indicative of weatherability and soak-dry
resistance of glue joints and are also less
time consuming than soaking and drying
at atmospheric pressure.
Tension tests are generally considered
the most reliable for glued end joints. A
rectangular specimen shown in figure 107
is easily prepared and rapidly tested, important features in quality control.

M 138 763-12

Figure
105. Hydraulically
operated,
quick acting, tension-shear test machine for plywood.

Figure 108 illustrates an electronic

universal testing machine capable of
plotting stress-strain curves and suitable
for use in compression and tension testing
of a wide range of specimen types.

M 59284 F

Figure 106. Laminated oak beam section after completion of vacuum-pressure,

soak-dry cycles (ASTM D 2559). Glue joints are still intact although wood is badly
checked from severe drying stresses inflicted by the test.

106

SELECTED REFERENCES

American Institute of Timber Construction

Standard specifications for structural glued
laminated timber of Douglas-fir, western
larch, and California redwood. AIRC 203
(see current edition). Englewood, Cola.
American Society for Testing and Materials
Standard specification for adhesives for structural laminated wood products for use
under exterior (wet use) exposure conditions. ASTM D 2559 (see current edition).
Philadelphia.
American Society for Testing and Materials
Standard method of rest for strength properties of adhesive bonds in shear by compression loading. ASTM D 905 (see
current edition). Philadelphia.
Callahan, Richard C.
1953. Quality control in furniture manufacture. For. Prod. J. 3(5):19-24.
Kreibich, R. E., and Freeman, H. G.
1968. Development and design of an accelerated boil machine. For. Prod. J. 18(12):
24-26.
National Woodwork Manufacturers Association
1969. Industry Standard I.S. 1-69. Wood
flush doors; hardwood veneered including
hardboard and plastic faced flush doors.
July.
Ripley, Robert M.
1953. Effective quality control on end product. For. Prod. J. 3(5):25-28. Dec.
Selbo, M. L.
1962. A new method for testing glue joints
of laminated timbers in service. For. Prod.
J. 12(2):65-67.
Selbo, M. L.
1964. Rapid evaluation of glue joints in
laminated timber. For. Prod. J. 14(8):
361-365.
Selbo, M. L.
1964. Tests for quality of glue bonds in
end-jointed lumber. ASTM Special Tech.
Publ. No. 353: 1962 Symposium on
Timber, pp. 78-86. Am. Sot. Test.
Mater. Philadelphia.
U.S. Department of Commerce
Proposed Product Standard for hardwood and
decorative plywood. PS 51 (see most
recent issue).
U.S. Department of Commerce
Softwood plywood construction and industrial. U.S. Prod. Stand. PS 1 (see latest
edition).

M 101 231

Figure 107. Finger-jointed strip-tension

specimen in test grips for testing.

U.S. Department of Commerce

Structural glued laminated timber. Commer.
Stand. CS 253 (see latest edition).
U.S. Department of Commerce
Wood double-hung window units. Commer.
Stand. CS 190 (see latest edition).

107

M 138 766-11

Figure 108. Electronic universal testing machine capable of plotting stress-strain

curves.

U.S. Department of Defense

Adhesive; phenol and resorcinol resin base
(for marine use only). Mil. Specif. MILA-22397. Def. Supply Agency (see latest
edition).
U.S. Department of Defense
Adhesive; modified epoxy resin with polyamine curing agent. Mil. Specif. MIL-A81253(1). Def. Supply Agency (see latest
edition).
U.S. Department of Defense
Adhesive; epoxy resin with polyamide curing
agent. Mil. Specif. MIL-A-81235(2).
Def. Supply Agency (see latest edition).
U.S. General Services Administration
Adhesive; urea resin type (liquid and
powder). Fed. Specif. MMM-A-188b.
Fed. Supply Serv. (see latest edition).
U.S. General Services Administration
Adhesive; contact. Fed. Specif. MMM-A130a. Fed. Supply Serv. (see latest edition).
U.S. General Services Administration
Adhesive; animal glue. Fed. Specif. MMMA-100c. Fed. Supply Serv. (see latest edition).

U.S. General Services Administration

Adhesive; vinyl acetate resin emulsion. Fed.
Specif. MMM-A-193c. Fed. Supply Serv.
(see latest edition).
U.S. General Services Administration
Adhesive; natural or synthetic-natural
rubber. Fed. Specif. MMM-A-139. Fed.
Supply Serv. (see latest edition).
U.S. General Services Administration
Adhesive; synthetic, epoxy resin base, paste
form, general purpose. Fed. Specif.
MMM-A-187a. Fed. Supply Serv. (see
latest edition).
West Coast Adhesive Manufacturers Associations Technical Committee
1966. A proposed new test for accelerated
aging of phenolic resin bonded particleboard. For. Prod. J. 16(6): 19-23.
West Coast Adhesive Manufacturers Association
1970. Accelerated aging of phenolic resin
bonded particleboard. For. Prod. J.
20(10):26-27.

GLOSSARY
Absorptiveness. The ability of a solid to
absorb a liquid or vapor, or the rate at
which the liquid or vapor is absorbed.
Aged (Matured). T h e c o n d i t i o n a t
which the reaction between the active
ingredients of an adhesive has reached
the proper stage for spreading.
Air seasoning (Air drying). The process
of drying green lumber or other wood
products by exposure to prevailing
atmospheric conditions outdoors or in
an unheated shed.
Annual ring. The growth layer put on
a tree in a single growth year, including
earlywood and latewood.
Architecturalplywood. Plywood having
esthetic appeal, attractive grain pattern.
Assembly joints. Joints for bonding
variously shaped parts such as in wood
furniture (as opposed to joints in plywood and laminates that are all quite
similar).
Assembly time. Interval between
spreading the adhesive on the surfaces
to be joined and the application of pressure to the joint or joints.
Note For assemblies involving
multiple layers or parts, the assembly
time begins with the spreading of the
adhesive on the first adherend.
(1) Open assembly time is the time
interval between the spreading of the
adhesive on the adherend and the completion of assembly of the parts for
bonding.
(2) Closed assembly time is the time
interval between completion of assembly of the parts for bonding and the
application of pressure to the assembly.
Bacteria. One-celled micro-organisms
which have no chlorophyll and multiply
by simple division.
Bag molding. A method of molding or
bonding involving the application of
fluid or pressure, usually by means of

air, steam, water, or vacuum, to a flexible cover which, sometimes in conjunction with a rigid die, completely encloses the material to be bonded.
Baseboard. A board placed against the
wall around a room next to the floor
to finish properly between floor and
plaster or gypsum board.
Blade-coating Application of a film of a
liquid material (liquid resin) on a panel
surface by scraping the straight edge of
a steel blade, or other material, over the
panel.
Blistering. Formation of vapor pocket
in a plywood panel because of too wet
veneer, too much solvent in adhesive,
too high adhesive spread, or too high
cure temperature for the adhesive used.
Blood albumin. Complex protinaceous
material obtained from blood.
Boilproof adhesive Adhesive that will
not fail after many hours of boiling.
Bond failure. Rupture of adhesive
bond.
Book matching. Matching veneer by
turning over alternate sheets.
Boom. A spar extending from a mast to
hold bottom of sail outstretched; also
used for loading and unloading purposes.
Bowing. Distortion whereby the faces of
a wood product become concave or
convex along the grain.
Burnished. A glazed surface with which
it may be difficult to obtain a satisfactory bond.
Burl. Burls come from a warty growth
generally caused by some injury to the
growing layer just under the bark. This
injury, perhaps due to insects or
bacteria, causes the growing cells to
divide abnormally, creating excess
wood, that finds room for itself in many
little humps. Succeeding growth follows these contours. Cutting across

109

these humps by the half-round method

brings them out as little swirl knots
or eyes.
Butt joint. An end joint formed by
gluing together the squared ends of two
pieces. Because of the inadequacy and
variability in strength of butt joints
when glued, such joints are generally
not depended on for strength.
Calking gun. Device for dispensing a
bead of calking material, mastic glue,
etc.
Capillary structure. An inclusive term
for wood fibers, vessels, and other elements of diverse structure making up
the material wood.
Casehardening. A stressed condition in
a board or timber characterized by compression in the outer layers accompanied
by tension in the center or core, the
result of too severe drying conditions.
Catalyst. A substance that markedly
speeds up a chemical reaction such as
the cure of an adhesive when added in
minor quantity as compared to the
amounts of the primary reactants.
Cell wall. Enclosing membrane for the
minute units of wood structure.
Cereal flour. Flour from grain used as
food.
Char. To scorch or reduce to charcoal
by burning.
Checking. A lengthwise separation of
the wood that usually extends across
the rings of annual growth and commonly results from stresses set up in
wood during seasoning.
Chemical synthesis. The formation of a
complex chemical compound by combining two or more simpler compounds,
radicals, or elements.
Condensation reaction. A chemical
reaction in which two or more molecules combine with the separation of
water or some other simple substance.
If a polymer is formed, the process is
called polycondensation.
Continuous feed press. Press in which
panels are moving ahead (under pressure) while glue is setting.
110

Convex. Curved like a section of the outside of a sphere.

Copolymer. Substance obtained when
two or more monomers polymerize.
Clamping pressure. Pressure developed
by clamps of various designs to bring
joint surfaces into close contact for glue
bond formation.
Cleavage. Splitting or dividing along
the grain.
Closed side. Side of veneer not touching
knife as it is peeled from log (also called
tight side of veneer).
Coagulation. The process by which a
liquid becomes a soft, semisolid mass.
Cohesion. The state in which the particles of a single substance are held
together by primary or secondary valence forces. As used in the adhesive
field, the state in which the particles
of the adhesive (or the adherend) are
held together.
Cold flow. Tendency to yield or flow
under stress at normal room temperature (see also Creep).
Cold pressing. Pressing panels or laminates without application of heat for
curing the glue.
Compressometer. Device used for measuring pressure. Consists essentially of
a cylinder, piston, and a pressure gage.
Oil in the cylinder transmits the pressure applied to the piston to the gage.
Compression wood. Abnormal wood
formed on the lower side of branches
and inclined trunks of softwood trees.
Compression wood is identified by its
relatively wide annual rings, usually
eccentric, relatively large amount of
earlywood, sometimes more than 50
percent of the width of the annual rings
in which it occurs, and its lack of demarcation between earlywood and latewood in the same annual rings. Compression wood shrinks excessively
lengthwise, as compared with normal
wood.
Concave. Curved like a section of the
inside of a sphere.

Cospray dried. Dried by spraying two

resins simultaneously into the same
drying chamber from atomizing nozzles.
(See also Spray dried. )
Creep. The dimensional change with
time of a material under load, following the initial instantaneous elastic or
rapid deformation. Creep at room temperature is sometimes called cold flow.
Creosote. Oily liquid used, among other
things, as preservative for wood.
Critical exposure. Exposure to harsh
conditions (see also Severe exposure.).
Cross grain. A general term for any
grain deviating considerably from the
longitudinal axis of a piece of timber
and emerging at an angle from a face
or edge.
Cross-link. An atom or group connecting parallel chains in a complex molecule.
Crotch veneer. Veneer cut from fork of
tree to provide pleasing grain, figure,
and contrast.
Cup. Distortion whereby a board becomes concave or convex across the
grain.
Curing (Cure). To change the physical
properties of an adhesive by chemical
reaction, which may be condensation,
polymerization, or vulcanization; usually accomplished by the action of heat
and catalyst, alone or in a combination,
with or without pressure.
Curtain coating. Applying adhesive to
wood by passing the wood under a thin
falling curtain of liquid.
Dado. A rectangular groove across the
width of a board or plank.
Delamination. The separation of layers
in laminated wood or plywood because
of failure of the adhesive, either in the
adhesive itself or at the interface
between the adhesive and the adherend.
Density. Weight per unit volume,
generally expressed in pounds per cubic
foot. For wood, since changes in moisture content affect its weight and
volume, it is necessary to specify the
moisture condition of the wood at the

time weight and volume are determined.

Design criteria. Standard rules for
design.
Diagonal-grain wood. A form of cross
grain where the longitudinal elements
run obliquely but parallel to the surface;
i.e., the growth layers are not parallel
to the edge of the piece as viewed on a
quartersawed surface.
Doctor roll. Smooth roll whose position
in relation to spreader roll is adjustable
for regulating amount of glue spread.
Door skins. Thin plywood, usually
three-ply, used for faces of flush doors.
Double spreading. Applying adhesive
to both mating surfaces of a joint.
Dovetail. Joint shaped like a doves tail.
Dowel. Wood peg fitted into corresponding holes in two pieces to fasten
them together.
Earlywood. The portion of the annual
growth ring formed during the early
growth period. Earlywood is less dense
and mechanically weaker than latewood.
Edge gluing. Bonding veneers or boards
edge to edge with glue.
Elasticity. The capacity of bodies to
return to their original shape, dimensions, or positions on the removal of a
deforming force.
Elastomer. A material that at room temperature can be stretched repeatedly to
at least twice its original length and,
upon immediate release of the stress,
will return with force to its approximate
original length.
Electrodes. In radiofrequency heating,
metal plates or other devices for applying the electric field to the material
being heated.
Elevated temperature setting. An adhesive that requires a temperature at or
above 31 C. (87 F.) to set (see also
Room temperature setting ).
Emulsion. A mixture in which very
small droplets of one liquid are suspended in another liquid.

111

End grain. The grain of a cross section of a tree, or the surface of such a
section.
End joint. A joint made by gluing two
pieces of wood end to end, commonly
by a scarf or finger joint.
Equilibrium moisture content. The
moisture content at which wood neither
gains nor loses moisture when surrounded by air at a given relative
humidity and temperature.
Expeller. Device that removes oil from
bean by crushing (See also Roller mill).
Extender. A substance, generally having
some adhesive action, added to an adhesive to reduce the amount of the primary
binder required per unit area.
Exterior service. Service or use in the
open (exposed to weather).
External load. Load applied externally.
External stresses. Stresses imposed by
external load.
Extractives. Any substance in wood,
not an integral part of the cellular structure, that can be removed by solution
in hot or cold water, ether, benzene,
or other solvents that do not react chemically with wood components.
Extrusion spreading. Adhesive forced
through small openings in spreader head
(see also Ribbon spreading ).
Exudation products. Tars and similar
products that migrate to the wood surface.
Fiber saturation point. The stage in the
drying or wetting of wood at which the
cell walls are saturated with water and
the cell cavities are free of water. Also
described as the moisture level above
which no dimensional changes take
place in wood. It is usually taken as
about 30 percent moisture content,
based on the weight when ovendry.
Figured veneer. General term for decorative veneer such as from crotches,
burls, and stumps.
Filler. A relatively nonadhesive substance added to an adhesive to improve
its working properties, permanence,
strength, or other qualities.

Film adhesive. Describes a class of adhesives furnished in dry film form with or
without reinforcing tissuelike paper or
fabric.
Finger joint. An end joint made up of
several meshing fingers of wood bonded
together with an adhesive.
Fire retardant. A chemical or preparation of chemicals used to reduce flammability or to retard spread of fire.
Flat-grained lumber. Lumber that has
been sawed in a plane approximately
perpendicular to a radius of the log.
Lumber is considered flat grained when
the annual growth rings make an angle
of less than 45 with the surface of the
piece.
Flow. In gluing, the state of a substance
sufficiently liquid to penetrate pores and
minute crevasses when pressure is
applied.
Fluid pressure. Pressure applied by an
inflated bag or similar means.
Flush panels. Flat panels as on a flush
door (no contorted or shaped parts).
Fortifier. Material improving certain
qualities in adhesives, such as water
resistance and durability.
Fungi. Simple forms of nongreen plants
consisting mostly of microscopic
threads (hyphae) some of which may
attack wood, dissolving and absorbing
substrate materials (cell walls, cell
contents, resins, glues, etc.) which the
fungi use as food.
Gap-filling adhesive. Adhesive suitable for use where the surfaces to be
joined may not be in close or continuous
contact owing either to the impossibility of applying adequate pressure or
to slight inaccuracies in matching
mating surfaces.
Glazed. Worn shiny by rubbing.
Glossy finish. Shiny finish, reflects
light.
Gluability. Term indicating ease or
difficulty in bonding a material with
adhesive.

112

Glue laminating. Production of structural or nonstructural wood members by

bonding two or more layers of wood
together with adhesive.
Glueline. The layer of adhesive affecting union (bond) between any two adjoining wood pieces or layers in an
assembly.
Glue wheel. Continuous, caterpillartype device or machine used for edge
gluing panels or laminating small items
such as table legs.
Gluing pressure. Pressure to bring the
surfaces spread with glue into close
contact for bonding.
Grain direction. Fiber direction (essentially parallel to pith of tree).
Gravity feed. Moves ahead by virtue of
its own weight.
Gusset. A flat piece of wood, plywood,
or similar type member used to provide
a connection at the intersection of wood
members. Most commonly used at
joints of wood trusses. They are fastened
by nails, screws, bolts, or adhesives or
with adhesive in combination with
nails, screws, or bolts.
Hammermill. Consists of horizontal or
vertical shaft rotating at high speed on
which crushing elements, hammers,
bars, or rings, are mounted.
Hardener. A substance or mixture of
substances added to an adhesive to promote or control the curing reaction by
taking part in it. The term is also used
to designate a substance added to control
the degree of hardness of the cured film.
Hardwood. A conventional term for the
timber of broad-leaved trees, and the
trees themselves, belonging to the
botanical group Angiospermae.
Heartwood. The wood extending from
the pith to the sapwood, the cells of
which no longer participate in the life
processes of the tree. Heartwood may
be infiltrated with gums, resins, and
other materials that usually make it
darker and more decay resistant than
sapwood.

High-frequency curing. Setting or

curing adhesive with high-frequency
electric currents.
Hollow-core construction. A panel construction with facings of plywood, hardboard, or similar material bonded to a
framed core assembly of wood lattice,
paperboard rings, or the like, which
support the facing at spaced intervals.
Honeycomb core. A construction of thin
sheet material, such as resin impregnated paper or fabric, which has been
corrugated and bonded, each sheet in
opposite phase to the phases of adjacent
sheets, to form a core material whose
cross section is a series of mutually continuous cells similar to natural honeycomb.
Honeycombing. Fissures in the interior
of a piece of wood generally caused by
drying stresses resulting from casehardening.
Hot press. A press in which the platens
are heated to a prescribed temperature
by steam, electricity, or hot water.
Humidity cycling. Exposure to high
humidity followed by low humidity (or
vice versa) for various periods.
Hygroscopic. Term used to describe a
substance, such as wood, that absorbs
and loses moisture readily.
Incident lighting. Light rays falling
on a surface at a low angle or almost
parallel to the surface.
Interior service. Used in the interior (of
a building) protected from outdoor
weather.
Internal stress. Stresses set up from internal conditions, such as differential
shrinkage, aside from external loads
applied to a member.
Inverse proportion. A relation between
variables in which one increases as the
other decreases.
Jacketed mixer. Double-wall mixer permitting cooling or heating liquid to circulate between the walls.
Jig. A device for holding an assembly in
place during gluing or machining
operations.

113

Jointer. Machine equipped with rotary

cutter and flat bed permitting surfacing one side of a member at a time.
Joint geometry. Shape or design of joint
(for example, a finger joint).
Joist. One of a series of parallel beams,
usually nominally 2 inches thick, used
to support floor and ceiling loads, and
supported in turn by larger beams,
girders, or bearing walls.
Keel. The chief timber or steel member
extending along the entire length of the
bottom of a boat or ship to which the
frames are attached.
Kiln drying. The process of drying
wood products in a closed chamber in
which the temperature and relative
humidity of the circulated air can be
controlled.
Lacquer. A clear finishing material
consisting of shellac or gum resins dissolved in alcohol and other quick-drying
solvents, with or without nitrocellulose.
Laminated member. A wood member
glued up from smaller pieces of wood,
either in straight or curved form, with
the grain of all pieces essentially parallel
to the length of the member.
Laminated timber. Synonymous to
laminated member, but usually implies
structural member.
Latewood. The denser, smaller celled
part of the growth layer formed late in
the growing season.
Layup. Assembled parts placed in position they occupy in final product.
Lignin. The noncarbohydrate, structural constituent of wood and some
other plant tissues, which encrusts the
cell walls and cements the cells together;
now believed to consist of a group of
closely related polymers of certain
phenylpropane derivatives.
Low-voltage beating. Heating by passing low-voltage electric current through
resistance elements.
Marine plywood. Plywood made of
veneers of grades specified for marine
use and bonded with waterproof adhesive (usually phenolic type).

Mastic adhesive. A substance with

adhesive properties, generally used in
relatively thick layers that can be readily
formed with a trowel or spatula.
Matte finish. Dull finish.
Mature. (see Aged ).
Mechanical adhesion. Adhesion effected by the interlocking action of an
adhesive that solidifies within the
cavities of the adherend.
Mechanical fasteners. Nails, screws,
bolts, and similar items.
Mesh sieve. The size of openings in a
sieve as designated by the number of
meshes (openings) per linear inch.
Mitered joint. Joint cut at a 45 angle
with fiber direction.
Mixed grain. Mixture of flat-sawn and
quartersawn pieces.
Mold. A fungus growth on wood products at or near the surface and, therefore, not typically resulting in deep
discolorations. Mold discolorations are
usually ash green to deep green,
although black is common.
Molding. Shaping or forming to desired
pattern or form.
Monomer. A relatively simple compound which can react to form a
polymer.
Mortise. A slot cut in a board, plank,
or timber, usually edgewise, to receive
tenon ofanother board, plank, or timber
to form a joint.
Multiopening press. -Press having a
number of platens between which panels
can be pressed.
Nailed glued. A laminate for which
gluing pressure is obtained by nailing
together the pieces spread with glue.
Nail popping. Protrusion of nailheads
because of shrinking and swelling of
wood.
Natural adhesive. Adhesive produced
from naturally occurring products such
as blood and casein.
Neoprene. Synthetic rubber.
Nominal lumber. The rough-sawed
commercial size by which lumber is
114

known and sold in the market; for

example, a 2 by 4.
Nonvolatile. Portion of a solution that
is not easily vaporized.
Oil-borne preservative. Preservative
dispersed or dissolved in oil carrier or
vehicle.
Oil-soluble preservative. Preservative
chemical dissolved in oil carrier.
Open assembly. The time interval between the spreading of the adhesive on
the adherend and the completion of
assembly of the parts for bonding. (See
also Assembly time. )
Open piling. Stacking wood products
layer by layer, separated by strips of
wood inserted between layers to permit
air circulation.
Open side. Side of veneer next to knife
as it comes off the log (also called loose
side).
Organic solvents. Solvents based on
carbon compounds.
Original dry strength. Shear strength
developed by glue joints when tested
dry and before aging or exposure to
deteriorating conditions.
Overhang. Part of roof extending beyond the outer wall.
Overlay. Plastic film or one or more
sheets of paper impregnated with resin
and used as face material, mainly over
plywood but also on lumber or other
products. Overlays can be classified as
masking, decorative, or structural,
depending on their purpose.
Parallel beating. Electric or highfrequency field parallel to adhesive
joints.
Particleboard. A generic term for a
panel manufactured from lignocellulosic
materials commonly wood-in the
form of particles (as distinct from fibers)
which are bonded together with a synthetic binder (or other) under heat and
pressure by a process wherein the interparticle bonds are created wholly by the
added binder.
Pearl glue. Animal glue dried in the
form of round pearls.

Pitch. In finger joints, the distance

between midpoint of one fingertip and
the midpoint of the adjacent fingertip.
Pith side. Side nearest to pith (and usually center of tree).
Planer. Machine equipped with cutter
rolls and feed rolls for surfacing or
planing wood.
Plasticizer. A liquid or solid chemical
added to a compound to impart softness or flexibility, or both, to it.
Platens. Steel plates constituting the
pressure elements in a single- or multiopening hot press.
Plywood. A composite product made up
of crossbanded layers of veneer only or
veneer in combination with a core of
lumber or of particleboard bonded with
an adhesive. Generally the grain of
adjacent plies is roughly at right angles
and an odd number of plies is usually
used.
Pneumatic. Filled with compressed air.
Polymerization. A chemical reaction in
which the molecules of a monomer are
linked together to form large molecules
whose molecular weight is a multiple of
that of the original substance. When
two or more monomers are involved, the
process is called copolymerization or
heteropolymerization.
Polyurethane. A versatile chemical used
for adhesives, sealing compounds,
finishes, and other purposes.
Porosity. The ratio of the volume of a
materials pores to that of its solid
content.
Pot life. Usable life of adhesive after
mixing (see also Working life ).
Precipitated. Separated out (addition of
acid to milk causes curds to separate out
from whey).
Precuring. Condition of too much cure
or set of the glue before pressure is
applied, resulting in inadequate flow
and glue bond.
Prefabricated. Factory-built, standardized sections or components for shipment and quick assembly, as for a house.

115

Preservative. Any substance that, for a

reasonable length of time, is effective
in preventing the development and
action of wood-destroying fungi, borers
of various kinds, and harmful insects
that deteriorate wood when the wood
has been properly coated or impregnated
with it.
Quartersawed. Sawn so the annual
rings are essentially perpendicular to the
wide face of the board. Lumber is considered quartersawed when the annual
growth rings form an angle of 45 to
90 with the wide surface of the piece.
Rabbet. A type of joint for fitting one
wood member to another (for example,
planking to keel and stem of a boat).
Racking. Application of pressure to the
end of a wall anchored at the base but
free to move at top.
Radiofrequency energy. Electrical
energy produced by electric fields alternating at radiofrequencies.
Rail. Bottom or top horizontal member
of a door.
Reaction wood. Common term for
tension wood in hardwoods and compression wood in softwoods.
Reactive. Adhesives that cure or set
rather fast (opposite to sluggish or slow
curing).
Reconditioned. Brought back to a
previous condition (for example, previous moisture level).
Relative humidity. Ratio of the amount
of water vapor present in the air to that
which the air would hold at saturation
at the same temperature. It is usually
considered on the basis of the weight
of the vapor but, for accuracy, should
be considered on the basis of vapor
pressures.
Rennet A preparation or extract used to
curdle milk (as in cheesemaking).
Resiliency. The quality of being resilient or elastic.
Resin. A solid, semisolid, or pseudosolid organic material that has an indefinite and often high molecular
weight, exhibits a tendency to flow

when subjected to stress, usually has

a softening or melting range, and usually fractures conchoidally.
Resurfacing. Planing again to obtain a
freshly clean surface for gluing.
Ribbon spreading. Spreading a glue in
parallel ribbons instead of a uniform
film.
Roll coating. Application of a film of a
liquid material (liquid resin) on a surface with rolls.
Roller mill. Device for crushing beans
by passing them between smooth rolls,
thereby separating oil.
Room-temperature-setting adhesive.
An adhesive that sets at temperatures
between 20 and 30 C. (68 to 86
F.) the limits for standard room temperature specified in ASTM D 618.
Rotary cut. Veneer cut on a lathe which
rotates a log or bolt, chucked in the
center, against a fixed knife.
Sandwich panel. A layered construction
comprising a combination of relatively
high-strength, thin, facing materials
intimately bonded to and acting integrally with a low-density core material.
Sapwood. The living wood of pale color
near the outside of the log. Under most
conditions the sapwood is more susceptible co decay than heartwood.
Sash. A frame for holding the glass pane
or panes for a window.
Scarf joints. Sloping joint between ends
of two wood members.
Setting. Hardening (see also Curing).
Severe exposure. Exposure to harsh
weather conditions or to harsh tests such
as boiling and drying at low humidities.
Shear. The relative displacement of
woody tissues following fracture as a
result of shearing stress.
Shear block test (also called glue block
shear test). A means of testing a glue
joint in shear (ASTM D 905).
Shear parallel to grain. Stresses applied
in a manner to cause shear failure along
the grain.
Shear strength. The capacity of a body
to resist shearing stress.

116

Shoe (Tapeless splicer). Device for

bonding veneers edge to edge with glue
(no tape).
Short grain. Term used for cross grain
as when end grain is exposed on face
of veneer.
Showthrough. Term used when effects
of defects within a panel can be seen on
the face.
Sizing. The process of applying diluted
animal glue or similar material to the
face or faces of a panel to reinforce fuzzy
fibers and facilitate sanding.
Skinning. Formation of a skin on the
adhesive surface due to evaporation of
solvent.
Sliced veneer. Veneer that is sliced off
a log, bolt, or flitch with a knife.
Slip joint. Type of corner joint with
interlocking fingers.
Slope of grain. Angle between grain
direction and axis of piece.
Soak-dry cycles. Type of test where
specimens are alternately soaked and
dried.
Softwood. A conventional term for both
timber and the trees belonging to the
botanical group Gymnospermae.
Solids content. The percentage by
weight of the nonvolatile matter in an
adhesive.
Solid core.-Core with no open spaces as
occur in hollow cores.
Solvent. The medium within which a
substance is dissolved, most commonly
applied to liquids. Used to bring particular solids into solution.
Spar. Round wood member used on
ships for loading and unloading, also
for keeping sails outstretched.
Spat-flange. Upper or lower member of
a spar made in the form of an I-beam.
Specific adhesion. Adhesion effected by
valence forces (of the same type as those
that effect cohesion) acting between the
adhesive and the adherend.
Specific gravity. In wood technology,
the ratio of the ovendry weight of a
piece of wood to the weight of an equal
volume of water at 4 C. (39 F.). Speci-

fic gravity of wood is usually based on

the green volume.
Spline. Thin piece of wood or plywood
often used to reinforce a joint between
two pieces of wood.
Spray dried. Dried under vacuum of
atomized particles of a liquid resin.
Squeezeout. Bead of glue squeezed out
of a joint when gluing pressure is
applied.
Starved joint. A joint that is poorly
bonded because insufficient adhesive has
remained in it as a result of excessive
pressure on the joint or too low viscosity, or both; the adhesive is forced
out from between the surfaces to be
joined.
Stem. Continuation of the keel to form
the prow of a boat or ship.
Stiles. Vertical pieces in a panel or
frame, as of a door or window.
Storage life. The period of time during
which a packaged adhesive can be stored
under specified temperature conditions
and remain suitable for use. Sometimes
called shelf life.
Straight-grained wood. Wood in which
the fibers run parallel to the axis of the
piece.
Stress. The force (per unit area) developed in resistance to loading or, under
certain conditions, self-generated in the
piece by internal variations of moisture
content, temperature, or both.
Stress risers. Points of concentrated
stress.
Structural plywood. Plywood for structural use, such as flooring, siding, and
roof sheathing.
Stud. One of a series of slender, vertical
structural members placed as supporting elements in walls and partitions.
Sunken joint. Depression in wood
surface at glue joint caused by surfacing
edge-glued material too soon after
gluing. (Inadequate time allowed for
moisture added with glue to diffuse
away from the joint.)
Synthetic adhesives. Adhesives produced by chemical synthesis.

117

Tuck. The property of an adhesive that

enables it to form a bond of measurable
strength immediately after adhesive and
adherend are brought into contact under
low pressure.
Tapeless splicer. Machine for joining
veneers edge to edge with glue only and
no tape.
Tenon. A projecting part cut on the end
of a piece of wood for insertion into a
corresponding hole in another piece to
make a joint.
Tensile strength. The capacity of a body
to sustain tensile loading (resistance to
lengthwise stress). In wood, tensile
strength is high along the grain and low
across the grain.
Tension parallel to grain. Stress on a
material (wood) in the long direction of
its fibers.
Tension wood. An abnormal form of
wood found in leaning trees of some
hardwood species and characterized by
the presence of gelatinous fibers and
excessive longitudinal shrinkage.
Tension wood fibers hold together
tenaciously, so that sawed surfaces usually have projecting fibers and planed
surfaces often are torn or have raised
grain. Tension wood may cause warping.
Texture. The arrangement of the particles or constituent parts of material,
such as wood, metal, etc. (Uniformly
textured wood not a great difference
between earlywood and latewood.)
Thermal softening. Softens with heat.
Thermoplastic. Softens or becomes
plastic with sufficient heat.
Thixotropy. A property of adhesive
systems to thin upon isothermal agitation and to thicken upon subsequent
rest.
Tongue-and-groove. A kind of joint
in which a tongue or rib on one board
fits into a groove on another.
Tooth planing. Planing resulting in a
ridged or toothed surface which was
thought to give a better anchorage for
glue than a smooth surface.

Torque wrench. Wrench equipped with

indicating device for measuring torque.
Transverse section. Wood cut in a direction perpendicular to the grain, producing an end-grain surface.
Treating cylinder. Cylindrical-shaped
vessel equipped with vacuum and
pressure pumps used in preservative
pressure treatment of wood.
Truss. A frame or jointed structure
designed to act as a beam of long span,
while each member is usually subjected
to longitudinal stress only, either
tension or compression.
Twist. A distortion caused by the turning or winding of the edges of a board
so that the four corners of any face are
no longer in the same plane.
Uncatalyzed. No catalyst employed or
added.
Underlayment. A material placed under
finish coverings, such as flooring or
shingles, to provide a smooth, even
surface for applying the finish.
Vacuum molding. Process of molding
a thin plywood or laminate to desired
shape by use of rubber bag, etc., from
which air can be evacuated.
Vacuum pressure. Term describing
process of applying vacuum and pressure
alternately.
Varnish. A thickened preparation of
drying oil or drying oil and resin suitable for spreading on surfaces to form
continuous, transparent coatings or for
mixing with pigments to make enamels.
Veneer. Thin sheets of wood made by
rotary cutting or slicing of a log.
Veneer clipper. Machine for cutting
veneers into desired sizes.
Viscosity. That property of a fluid
material by virtue of which, when flow
occurs inside it, forces arise in such a
direction as to oppose flow.
Waterborne chemical. In wood preserving, a chemical dissolved in water to
facilitate penetration into wood.
Water soluble. Substance that can be
dissolved in water.

118

(curds) after coagulation, as in cheeseWeathering. The mechanical or chemimaking.

cal disintegration of the surface of wood
that is caused by exposure to light, the Wood failure. The rupturing of wood
fibers in strength tests on bonded speciaction of dust and sand carried by winds,
mens, usually expressed as the percentand the alternate shrinking and swelling
age of the total area involved which
of the surface fibers with continual variashows such failure.
tion in moisture content brought by
changes in the weather. Weathering Wood flour. Very finely divided wood,
as produced by grinding in a ball mill.
does not include decay.
It is graded according to the mesh it
Wet-bulb temperature. The temperamust pass.
ture indicated by any temperaturemeasuring device, the sensitive element Working life. The period of time during
which an adhesive, after mixing with
of which is covered by a smooth, clean,
catalyst, solvent, or other compounding
soft, water-saturated cloth (wet-bulb
ingredients, remains suitable for use.
wick).
Wet joint strength. Shear stress resisted
by joints after exposure to water soaking Zinc white. Zinc oxide used as a pigor in wet condition.
ment.
Whey. The thin, watery part of milk Zone of char. Zone burned to a char
(see also Char).
which separates from the thicker parts

119

INDEX

Acid-catalyzed phenol resin adheCuring temperatures for adhesives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 93

sives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Adjustments in adhesives and
Acid phenolic glues . . . . . . . . 13
gluing procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Alkaline phenol resins. . . . . . . . . 13
Alkaline phenol resins . . . . . . . . 13, 65, 93
Blood glues . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Animal glue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Intermediate-temperatureDurability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
setting phenol resins . . . . . . 14
Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Melamine resin adhesives . . . . 21
Used at room temperature.... 92
Resorcinolresins . . . . . . . . 15
Used in furniture manufacture . 71
Thermosetting polyvinyl emulAssembly time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90, 109
sions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Closed assembly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87, 90, 109
Urea resin adhesives . . . . . . 18
For animal glues . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Cutting and preparing veneer . . . . . 62
For phenol resin adhesives. . . . . 13
Density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 111
For resorcinol resins . . . . . . . . . 15
Double spreading . . . . . . . . . 89, 111
For room-temperature-setting
Dovetail edge joint . . . . . . . . 62
urea resins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Drying lumber . . . . . . . . . . 58
Open assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87, 90, 109, 115 Drying veneer . . . . . . . . . . 58
Bag molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 109
Durabilityof
Blood glue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33, 65
Alkaline phenol resins .......... 16
Bonding dense woods . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Animal glue joints .............. 28
Bonding laminated timbers ...... 69, 97
Casein joints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31, 32
Bonding light, porous species . . . . 98
Melamine resins . . . . . . . . . . 22
Bonding plywood . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Phenol resorcinol resins . . . . . . . 16
Butt joint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49, 110
Polyvinyl resin emulsions ...... 24
Calking gun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82, 89
Resorcinol resins . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Casein glues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Urea resins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 19, 20
Durability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31, 32
Durability of synthetic adheFormulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
sives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 24
Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Edge gluing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35, 63, 111
Prepared . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Elevated temperature curing of
Use characteristics . . . . . . . . . 30
glue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Used for furniture bonding . . . . 71
End-joint gluing . . . . . . . . . . . . 35, 112
Used for laminated timbers . . . 69
Circular tongue-and-groove . . . . . 61
Wet-mixed casein glue . . . . . . . . . 30
Dado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Causes and prevention of warping . 40
Dovetail . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Causes of plywood cupping . . . 41
Mortise-and-tenon . . . . . . . . 62
Circular tongue-and-groove edge
Plain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
joint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Rabbet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Clamping glue joints . . . . . . . . . . 91
Slip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Closed assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . 87, 90, 109
Tongue-and-groove . . . . . . . . . 62
Conditioning glued products . . . . . 96
End and corner joint construcContact adhesives . . . . . . . . . . . . 26, 85
tion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49, 50
Corner joints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Epoxy resin adhesives . . . . . . . 25, 81
Crossbanded construction . . . . . . 36
Extenders used in synthetic adheCupping of plywood ............... 41
sives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 112
Curing adhesives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Extruders used in applying adheElevated temperature curing .. 92, 93
sives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93, 94
Factors affecting gluing . . . . . . 2
Hot-setting ureas . . . . . . . . . . 92
Assembly time . . . . . . . . . 2
Low voltage heating . . . . . . . 83
Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Melamines . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Temperature . . . . . . . . . . 2

120

Figured veneer ..................... 39, 112

Fillets used in synthetic adhesives .................................
10, 13, 112
Finger joints ........................ 18, 51, 94, 112
Flush doors ......................... 79
Fortifiers ............................ 18, 112
Furniture ............................ 70
Glues used ....................... 29, 72, 73
Species used ..................... 70
Gluability test ...................... 2
Glue block shear test .............. 116
Gluing doors ....................... 79
Gluing hardwood plywood ......... 67
Gluing housing and housing components .............................. 82, 83
Gluing jewelry ..................... 84
Gluing laminated flooring ........ 84
Gluing operations .................. 87
Applying gluing pressure ...... 91
Assembling parts ............... 90
Assembly time .................. 90
Conditioning glued stock ...... 96
Mixing ........................... 87
Spreading ........................ 88
Gluing particleboard .............. 81
Gluing preservative-treated wood . 99
Treated with fire-retardant
chemicals ......................... 101
Treated with oil-soluble preservatives ............................ 101
Treated with resorcinol-resin
adhesives ......................... 17
Treated with waterborne preservatives ......................... 101
Gluing pressure .................... 91
Gluing spotting goods ............ 81
Gluing treated wood .............. 98
Gluing untreated wood ........... 101
Gluing woods treated with oilsolublepreservatives ............... 101
Gluing woods treated with waterborne preservatives ................. 101
Hardener for synthetic adhesives . . 10
Hardwood plywood ................ 67
Construction ..................... 67
Moisture content when gluing . 67
High-frequency heating ........... 18, 74, 94, 113
Hot-melt adhesives ................ 21, 25, 63, 74
Hot-press urea resin adhesives . . . 18, 92
Intermediate-temperature-setting
phenol resins ....................... 14
Jig ................................... 83, 113
Laminated construction ........... 45
Bonding .......................... 69
Properties ........................ 45
Selection of species and grades . . 46
Stresses in ........................ 47
Uses .............................. 45
Laminated flooring ................ 84
Laminated ship and boat members .................................. 76

Machine marks on lumber ........

Machining special types of joints
End-grain surfaces ..............
End-to-side-grain surfaces .....
Side-grainsurfaces ..............
Marine plywood ....................
Mastic adhesives ...................
Melamine resin adhesives .........
Melamine urea resins ..............
Mixing adhesives ...................
Moisture content of wood ........
At time of gluing ...............
Gluing furniture ................
Gluing hardwood plywood .....
Gluing lumber ..................
Gluing veneer ...................
In service .........................
Using casein glue ...............
Nail gluing .........................
Natural origin adhesives ..........
Animal ...........................
Blood .............................
Casein ............................
soybean ..........................
Open assembly .....................
Overlay ............................
Overlays bonded to wood .........
Pearl glue ...........................
Phenol-formaldehyde adhesives ...
Phenol resins .......................
Phenol-resorcinolresins ...........
Plain edge joint ....................
Plywood advantages vs. solid wood
construction ........................
Plywood construction .............
Requirements ....................
Speciespreferred ................
Plywood cores ......................
Requirements ....................
Polyvinyl resin emulsions .........
Pot life ..............................
For epoxy adhesives .............
For melamine resin adhesives ...
Preparing wood for gluing .......
Pressing and curing glue joints ..
Pressing or clamping ..............
Properties important in bonding
Quality control .....................
Tension tests ....................
Vacuum-pressure, soak-dry
tests ...............................
Rate of curing or setting .........
Requirements for crossbands .....
Resorcinol-resin adhesives ........
Ribbon spreading ..................

121

60
62
62
62
61
77, 114
26, 82, 114
21, 22
22, 74, 81, 92,
95, 102
87, 88
56
56
56
67
58
58
56
30
82, 83
27
27, 73
33
29
32
87, 115
115
85
115
13
11, 65
15, 16, 72, 77,
80, 84, 92,
95, 101
61
36
36, 38
43
46
43
43
22, 23, 73, 89,
92
115
26
22
56
83
91
4
102
106
106
10, 11
43
14, 16, 72, 78,
83, 84, 93,
95, 101, 102
116

Room-temperature-setting urea
resins ................................
Rotary-cut veneer ..................
Scarf joints ..........................
Serrated scarf joint .................
Shear block test ....................
Ship and boat construction .......
Adhesives used ..................
Gluing operations ...............
Species desired ..................
Use of melamine resin glues
Use of resorcinol resins .........
Shrinking and swelling ...........
Sliced and sawed veneers ..........
Softwood plywood .................
Exterior ..........................
Interior ...........................
Uses ..............................
Solid cores for flush doors ........
Soybean glue .......................
Spreading adhesives ................
Starved glue joint ..................
Storage of lumber ..................
Storage of veneer ...................
Stress relief in laminated construction ..................................

17, 92, 116

62, 63
49, 116
62
116
76
77
77
46
21
15
7
63
65
65
65
67
79
27, 32, 65
88
90, 117
59
60

Sunken joints .......................

Surfacing wood for gluing ........
Synthetic adhesives ................
Advantages ......................
Durability ........................
Melamines .......................
Phenols ...........................
Polyvinyls ........................
Resorcinols .......................
Ureas .............................
Used in manufacturing .........
Tenon ..............................
Thermosetting polyvinyl emulsions .................................
Tongue-and-groove ................
Twisting of plywood ..............
Urea-formaldehyde resin adhesives .................................

96
60
10
10
10
21, 22
13
22, 23
14, 15, 24
17, 18, 19, 72
10
118
23, 73
61, 118
40

17, 18, 19, 20,

72, 81, 84,
92
Vacuum molding ................ 118
Vinyl overlays ...................... 85
Warping, causes and prevention 40
Wood jewelry .................... 84

49

*U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1975 O 566978

122