I know many of you on here prefer to put kits together with wood glue rather than CA. But which wood glue? I went to Menards, and they have Titebond I, Titebond II, and Titebond III. There is also elmers brand and some other brands. Which will work the best for our application?

without a doubt tite bond glue is the best wood glue for me, the difference is application interior ,exterior. the interior is fine for building models for weight purposes some builders thin slightly with water and use a acid brush for application .full strength of course is fine it does add up in weight if used to liberally all glue in your category are aliphatic resin glue all the brands you looked at are fine for building .tite bond for me though

i have built many models using elmers white school glue for balsa to balsa bonds and epoxy on the spars.
never ever have had a wing failure even when trying

I use Elmer's Carpenter's Glue for all my building that doesn't require epoxy. The only thing I ever use CA for anymore it hardening the threads cut into wood. I really like using the Elmer's and I'm really happy with the results I get out of it. I've never had a joint that was made with Elmer's fail yet.

Hope this helps

Ken

I like the original Tite Bond carpenters glue. It is a good consistency to fill bad joints, it is stronger than it needs to be for balsa, relatively light weight, sets up quicker than some others, and is relatively easy to sand. It has everything I look for in an adhesive for my models. Oh, and it is far less expensive to use than CA.

I used Titebond II myself on my first two builds and will use it again on my third build.

Don't know the difference between II and III.

Edit - info here but not sure how this reflects in it's use when building?

somegeek

looks like titebond III has a longer working time, higher viscosity, and a marginally higher bonding strength then titebond II. It also has a 4% higher solids content, so would probably add a little more weight to a bond? How much heavier do you guys think a plane built with wood glue would be than one built with CA? A couple oz.?

I use Titebond II, but would like to try some of the other Titebonds to see if they sand any better. I use Titebond for all my building except the high stress areas. Then it's Elmer's polyurethane all the way for me baby! I only use epoxy for fuel proofing and the like. CA for quick repairs, thread hardening, and the rare occasion where I have to use CA hinges.

if you dont use CA hinges what do you use? I like the looks of the robart hinge points, and I think thats what I will use.

I use nothing but the Robart Hinge Points. I love em. I'll never do a CA hinge again.

Ken

About weight -- it depends almost entirely on technique.

I use Titebond II for nearly everything and I double-glue nearly every joint... but my planes are always as light as any similar plane in our club, and lighter than most. Neatness translates very nicely into lightness, and that's a lot of the difference. Put glue where you need it, wipe it off where you don't, add fillets to critical joints, but strike them off neatly and you'll remove most of the weight you put on. Then, as the glue dries, notice that it shrinks to about a third of its original volume... its weight is shrinking at the same time -- unlike CA, which loses almost no wieght whle curing.

I'm also interested in the sandability of the different glues. I'm told that of the Titebonds, original is most sandable, II a bit less, and III leadt of them while original isn't water resistant, II is labelled water resistant, and III is recommended for outdoor use, maybe even labeled waterproof.

For comparison, on a friend's recommendation, I tried WeldBond (a very thick white-colored white glue) recently on a very light electric. WeldBond dries clear (very attractive) and sands easier and cleaner than my Titebond II. HOWEVER, WelBond also is formulated thick to stick to non-porous surfaces and to stay put where it's applied -- and it showed virtually no penetration in the little bitty glue joints of my 1/2A-size electric E-2 Taylor Cub nad was too thick to form a neat fillet. (The Cub is built up from 1/8" square sticks.) As a result, a low drop of the nearly-weightless uncovered fuselage resulted in a lot of damage, almost all of it at the site of suface tear-outs at the joints... the glue was plenty strong, but since it didn't penetrate beyond the surface, a little stress simply ripped the surface off the wood and the assembly turned itself back into a kit. I would not recommend Weldbond on any stick-built / warren truss type structure, especially for light structures with small joint surfaces.

So, that's what I know -- somebody please fill us all in on how Titebond, II, and III really compare? Thanks!

I still like Ambroid for most glueing. Titebond where extra strength is needed and epoxy for maximum strength.

Ambroid is getting hard to find these days though.

I have to agree with Al Stein. The original "Tite Bond" is the easist to sand. Having said that, any of the "Tite Bond" glues are strong enough for RC applications.

DaveB