Adhesive for laminating?

[Jim Bennett]

Hi - I’m interested in turning a bowl made from laminated 2x4 construction lumber. Have seen some lovely results on various YouTube channels done with this very inexpensive “raw” material. I’ve got the needed equipment to plane and flatten the boards for glue-up. But my question is what is the best / safest suggested adhesive for laminating these boards? Titebond PVA? Gorilla Glue epoxy?

Thanks, Jim

 

[Zach LaPerriere]

Jim—Most construction lumber is doug fir or western hemlock, and second growth at that. These are not easy woods to turn and will almost certainly require a great deal of sanding to remove tear out. That said: Titebond II would be my recommendation for gluing them.

My recommendation would be to find some fruit wood or something from a tree service, as that'll surely give you an easier wood to work with.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Jim,

Any good quality wood glue will work on construction grade pine lumber, I have turned number of segmented forms for the pyrotechnic guild using pine lumber as it is a very stable wood and is moderately priced and easy to turn. The only thing I don't like about pine is the dust it creates while turning and sanding. You can also reduce the amount of wood grain tear-out by selectively cutting your segment pieces and assembling the piece to minimize the amount of end grain on the piece.

 

[robo hippy]

Given the general 'condition' of framing lumber, you need a lot of prep work before you glue it. It needs to sit in the shop for a couple of months to get moisture contend down, unless you come home with kiln dried that has been sitting inside the store for a good long while. You will need to run it through a planer and joint the edges so you have good true edges and planes so the glue will make a good joint. It can be done, but I wouldn't unless I just wanted to practice...

robo hippy

 

[Jim Bennett]

Guys - thanks for the replies! It sounds like good old Titebond II will do the trick. I'll be using nice dried wood, not the green construction crap full of knots and splits that HD sells. And yes, I plan on doing a lot of edge prep with my planer/jointer and thickness sander before even letting the boards see the glue bottle! I'd love to use reclaimed fruitwood, but not practical for me to go round it up. A 12 foot long 2x4 for a few bucks ought to be OK for this project; it isn't gonna be a show-quality piece (maybe?) but should show some interesting grain patterns when done.

Thanks, Jim

 

[Mike Johnson]

JIm,

The pine can definitely provide some interesting colors, tones and grain patterns in the segmented piece. When I cut pine segments I always have 3 or 4 containers that I sort the cut pieces into that I can pick from for differences in color and grain direction.

 

[Jon Minerich]

Jim,
I learned how to turn with pine and still turn pine regularly. You must have sharp tools and take light cuts. I have made bowls, Christmas ornaments, and even finials out of pine.

Attached are a few pics. The segmented bowl is pine and cherry. The blue edge bowl was made from 2x4 scraps in my shop. The bowl with the inlayed strips in the bottom was turned from ponderosa pine that my son sent to me as a gift.

Turning pine is challenging, cheap and a great skill builder. I say go for it and have fun.

 

[hockenbery]

As stated turning pine can be challenging and rewarding.
Turned items have won quite a few “make something from a 2x4” contests.
Some beginners will get more frustration than reward.

I have a bias for turning green wood. Much less dust. No gluing. Often free, organic elements to use in the design.
Some local clubs have wood available. Experienced turners often have extra wood they will give you.
Getting wood from a tree trimmer or buying a log from a firewood dealer will provide lots of turning experience without the dust and glueup.

Need sharp tools and basic skills regardless.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Larger communities usually have a truss manufacturing facility in the region to reduce the mileage needed to transport these large items. Most of these companies will give away the pine scrap pieces that are left over from the manufacturing process when making trusses. One of the local truss manufacturing companies in our town has a pile of pine scraps that they list on Craigslist that you can drive up to and load as much as you want into your vehicle, they will also deliver containers full of scrap pine for a delivery fee to your business. They give this stuff away like it grows on trees.

 

[John Rander]

Just to add a remark from a new turner. To build my skills this past summer I went through quite a lot of 2x4 construction scraps (Norway spruce here) which I hand planed and laminated with a white glue (similar to Titebond II). I took care to tightly clamp the pieces together during gluing. The results are really quite surprising. The grain is very interesting (especially when you arrange contrasts). If the tools are sharp I found it not too difficult to turn. Work for grain supported cuts. The results when sanded and polished (wax) surprised a number of friends and family.

 

[Jim Bennett]

I’m looking forward to doing some of this turning myself - have seen several finished pieces on the Internet and the grain patterns are truly eye-popping. If I could only get past those other pre-holiday chores my wife has lined up for me...!