Titebond III

I thought I would document my thoughts on glue before I forget what I’ve learned. Deciding on a glue can be frustrating. There are several commonly used glues and each one has a passionate fan club. You'll find folks who despise a glue and others who love it. Reading all the glue posts on the rod making forums left me dazed and confused. I’ve settled on Titebond III.

Here are a few thoughts on Tightbond III:

-Easy to apply. Easy cleanup. Waterproof. No mixing. No bad odors. Good color match for bamboo. Cures at room temperature.
-Flexible when cured like EPON...stiffness will be similar to an EPON rod. Brief open time (10 minutes at 75* room temp). Slow cure (at least one week).
-Will fail at 175* for an extended period of time (don't leave a TB rod on the dash of your pickup truck in 100 degree weather).
-Short time on the market (unknown long term performance).

The glue up process is the same as any other glue except for one critical step. Flexing the joint before the glue cures will significantly weaken the bond. Do not flex or twist a TB blank when the glue starts to set at about 10 minutes. Pour a blob of glue about two inches in diameter on a piece of wax paper and watch it cure. The glue is cured when the color is consistent throughout the blob. That usually takes about a week depending on the temperature and relative humidity. Don't even think about straightening the blank until that blob has cured. Straightening before the glue has cured will significantly increase the risk of taking sets.

I've tested TBIII for set resistance as compared to other commonly used glues(URAC, Resourcinol, and Epon) and it is the least set resistant glue. For example, TBIII is a soft glue when cured as compared to URAC which is hard and brittle. None of the glues I've tested will prevent a set when a rod is abused. But some are more set resistant than others. TBIII is the least set resistant and URAC is the most resistant based on my tests. But they are all adequate for a rod that's properly cared for.

I use TBIII because it's non-toxic, easy to apply and easy to clean up. My rods do not take sets with normal use. The key to set resistance is avoiding weak spots in the bamboo strips. Weak strips produce set prone rods...not the glue.