Well, I found out the hard way that when a manufacturer puts a shelf life date on a bottle of glue, they mean what they say.  I glued up a project using Old Brown Glue that had a shelf life expiration date of June 2020.  I figured it's not that much out of date, what could possibly go wrong?  I found out.  I went down to my shop the next day to do some more joinery, and every joint I had just glued failed.  I said "Oh darn".  I got my temper tantrum out of the way, and decided it was time to grow up and fix my project.  Reglued using Titebond, and so far, no problems.  Of course, I had to clean up the old joint surfaces, so those joints aren't as pretty as they were, but this is for the shop, so I'm not that concerned with appearances.  Just to be clear, I'm not knocking Old Brown Glue.  The fault was mine, not theirs.  I've used it before, with no problems.  Lessons learned?  

1.  Believe the shelf life dates.  They are there for a reason.

2.  Don't buy more than you can use within that date, unless you are OK with throwing away the excess once that date has arrived.

3.  Don't take out your frustrations on the project.  It's not the project's fault either.

That is one thing I have never heard of, Old brown glue!!!

 

Don't have a clue if Titebond or Elmers has dates for I have used them 20 years later and they still held the joints. I just make sure they don't freeze in between uses.

Frequently Asked Questions
What is the shelf life of Titebond Wood Glues?

Our literature states the shelf life of a majority of our wood glues as two years. Titebond Polyurethane Glue has a one-year shelf life in an unopened container, but is useable as long as the glue remains fluid. Polyurethanes, however, are designed to react when exposed to moisture. Sometimes, they begin to cure, and solidify, after the bottle has been opened. Most of our yellow and white glues, including Titebond Original and Titebond II, remain usable beyond two years. Should Titebond Original become thick and stringy, or Titebond II turn into an orange-colored gel, these changes signify that the glue is no longer usable. The minimum shelf life of Titebond III is stated as one two years. When stored appropriately at room temperature, Titebond III is expected to last beyond its stated shelf life. If thickened, shake vigorously by firmly tapping bottle on a hard surface until product is restored to original form. For a complete list of Titebond wood glues, adhesives and sealants shelf lives click here.

Old Brown Glue is well known for it's short shelf life. I think Titebond puts something in their hide glue to extend it slightly but Old Brown Glue does not. I had built a corner cabinet some years back and the assembly was so complicated I used hide glue. At the time I had a recommendation for OBG so I bought it. One other thing: it's not only short on shelf life but as glues go it fairly costly (you know that, tho'). But with PVAs I've kept them well past their "expiration" date by keeping them refrigerated (warm them up before use). If you watch for the symptoms Keith mentioned you're good to go.

I once read the manufacture of a product figures how long a customer may have their product on the shelf and test accordingly.  The shelf life may be much longer but the manufacturer has only tested to their expiration date and do not recommend use after that.  

15 minutes ago, HandyDan said:

I once read the manufacture of a product figures how long a customer may have their product on the shelf and test accordingly.  The shelf life may be much longer but the manufacturer has only tested to their expiration date and do not recommend use after that.  

Well they cannot factor or test for some of us here.  We keep stuff forever.  

58 minutes ago, kmealy said:

For a complete list of Titebond wood glues, adhesives and sealants shelf lives click here.

Keith, that would be an interesting article, but there was no link to click on.  

Kind of like the expiration date on canned foods? Often they are good for a year after, or not.

I look at shelf life of glue like this, if you have to worry about shelf life of glue, you aint woodworking enough! Doin't ask me how I know!

Now with the funny stuff aside, @PostalTom, I am glad to hear some news about Old Brown Glue, I have been interested in using it for sometime now, Old Brown Glue is excellent from what I hear, specially for joinery that may need repairs in the future, such as chairs and such. I have found OBG at Tools For Working Wood, one of my favorite websites.

Patrick Edward's Old Brown Glue - 20 oz.

TOOLSFORWORKINGWOOD.COM

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20 oz. Bottle

So I guess we should really heed that expiration date then? Thanks for the tip Tom, when I fire up another chair project, I'll purchase OBG and give it a run. Even with the short shelf life, it appears to be quality and has great reviews.

Be aware, the instructions on OBG say to heat it to 160 degrees, or maybe 140 to 160.  I have a hot plate that works good for that.  I fill a can, like an old metal coffee can, 3/4 full of water, and if I'm heating a new, full bottle of OBG, I also put a buffer on the bottom of the can, such as the lid from an empty relish jar, to keep the bottom of the glue bottle from melting due to too direct of contact between the hot plate and the bottle.  As glue get used, the bottle will start to float and the buffer is not needed.  Just my method.

 

 

 

This is from Titebond

 

Just as a side note for the turners. If you have old TiteBond glue, instead of pitching it, it is excellent for sealing the end grain of cut blanks. I haven't tried other types of glue for this but they might work, too.

Lew, good tip.  Maybe you could also post it in the Woodturner's Tips section?

1 minute ago, PostalTom said:

Lew, good tip.  Maybe you could also post it in the Woodturner's Tips section?

Thanks!  I'll add that to next week's "Wednesday's..."

1 hour ago, lew said:

Just as a side note for the turners. If you have old TiteBond glue, instead of pitching it, it is excellent for sealing the end grain of cut blanks. I haven't tried other types of glue for this but they might work, too.

Much cheaper than Anchorseal too.

FWIW, Titebond makes a liquid hide glue also.  It might be easier to find (Woodcraft, Rockler, Amazon, Walmart all carry it)   I used it for vintage chair repairs for several reasons: longer closed time, reversible for the inevitable future repair, and re-activates any hide glue that happened to be left in the joint.

 

I believe these formulations have urea in them so they work without being heated.   I've also heard that hide glue crystals (i.e., prior to being mixed up) has indefinite shelf life.   Tage Frid said that hot hide glue (that he liked) was like hot dogs.  You can heat them up a few times, them you need to throw it out.

 

Edited November 1, 20205 yr by kmealy

John the shelf life of food varies......or for the army.   We were given C rations in 1958 ,59 and 60 that was stamped 1943. Some of the old officers told us the C rations tasted the same back in 1943 as the day we were eating them!!!!!

7 minutes ago, Smallpatch said:

John the shelf life of food varies......or for the army.   We were given C rations in 1958 ,59 and 60 that was stamped 1943. Some of the old officers told us the C rations tasted the same back in 1943 as the day we were eating them!!!!!

Jess, so true, when I was in Army 87-91, we were eating T-rats from Vietnam War era during our field exercises.

15 minutes ago, Smallpatch said:

John the shelf life of food varies......or for the army.   We were given C rations in 1958 ,59 and 60 that was stamped 1943. Some of the old officers told us the C rations tasted the same back in 1943 as the day we were eating them!!!!!

Kind of like Spam, huh????

Well, since this conversation has gone from glue shelf life to "C" rations-

 

My key chain-

 

Is that for the upcoming apocalypse?