Working with Wood

[LobsterOverlord]

Hi all,

I broke a toy of my son's, and it is a wooden firetruck. I don't work with wood much, so I have a question on this.

It was held together only with glue. When putting it back together, should I use wood glue, will elmer's white work, or can super glue do? Should I sand down the glue that is there to the wood?

It's a small truck, about 10 inches long, so it's not in need of heavy duty repair, just some light work.

Thanks,

John M>

[modelnutz]

My suggestion..( backed up by more than 30 years of woodworking)

..take some rubbing alcohol and dampen the original glue...if it turns white ( or cloudy ) then it's likely a PVA glue and White glue will work fine.
Carpenter's glue ( the yellowish colored stuff ) is a bit stronger.

If the glue doesn't turn white...then it's tough to tell what typ of glue it is...I would then use an epoxy. glue the parts together, clamp well ( very few glues like to bridge gaps ) and wipe off the excess glue.

For PVA ( white ) glue, you can use a rag slightly dampened with water.
For epoxy...use rubbing alcohol instead of water.
You don't want a wet rag...only damp...too much fluid and you can compromise the joint.

Hope this helps !
Happy Holidays!

[Andrew Gorman]

I'd scrape or sand the old glue off, use wood glue, and make sure you clamp the bejesus out of the the assembly. If you don't clamp the parts in place you are wasting your time. But glue + clamps should work just fine.

[LobsterOverlord]

Thanks for the info guys. I just have to dig out the clamps from teh garage.

John M>

[TER-OR]

Usually these toys are held together with PVA or epoxy.

[LobsterOverlord]

Usually these toys are held together with PVA or epoxy.

Is elmer's white glue the same thing as PVA?

John M>

[TER-OR]

The new stuff is yeah. There's also a woodworking version of it, which is stronger.