Gluing wood to aluminum: 4 common glues tested

[@matthewrtrego]

Just the right amount of nerdiness for me! Way to go!

[@Metalhead-4life]

Finally a video on youtube with some good music

[@oldpapertrader8069]

Great job on this video and the practical test! I am so impressed with JB Weld and wood bonding!

[@bmacdonald5137]

Thanks for this Alex! I was scratching my brain on how best to glue a wood T-mold (used as a transition molding between tile and wood flooring) to an aluminum U channel (which you screw to the subfloor to hold the tongue of the T-mold) and bingo! I found this video. Plus, I happen to have a some JB Weld left over from gluing some plastic trim back on my car door and so I am good to go! Thanks again!

[@Zerpersande]

JBWeld… The glue didn’t release. The wood broke. Not a single portion of that glue released. The bond is stronger than the internal forces of the wood and the wood’s weakest point was far less than that of JBW.

[@nibblesteddy9433]

Thank you. This helped me decide which glue to use for my project.

[@ironwooddesigns9532]

Nicely done. I’m doing a project where I’m veneering wood to a steel plate. Some of these ideas may help. One thing you could try in the future is liquid nails fuze-it. it’s all in a caulking tube and is a blend of industrial silicones. I’ve had really good luck with that product.

[@drfred1203]

The END is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Wood on Wood with JB WELD dark epoxy. You should make that a separate clip and post it. I haven’t seen another one out there like it. Cheers

[@marciaricksgers2018]

Thanks for the comparisons. I’m working on a project which is metal to wood, do this has been most helpful!

[@walterbulyga2588]

I'm gluing some 1.2mm Alloy sheet to 7mm ply to make a custom camera case - very useful vid. Thanks

[@graemefinlayson3248]

Great video - helped to convince me that epoxy is the best adhesive for bonding wood to aluminium. I'm working on a project where I need a strong bond between aluminium and plywood. I wholeheartedly agree with your opening comment. It's not just guitar fora, most fora seem to be filled with numbnuts spouting unsupported nonsense.

[@AJNpa80]

Been wondering what the best adhesive for laminating wood to aluminum with minimal creep. Considering the difference in movement. Titebond 2 and 3 creep as they allow more movement for that extra strength before break. I wonder about urea adhesives, ive read wood to wood they have minimal creep being hard. Whichever, acetone wipe, and wet sanding in the adhesive to the aluminum prior to clamping to beat the oxide layer problem, so the choice should be fine and slow setting. Probably an expoxy then. Very curious about these urea glues just in general from reading about them. How cool would a laminate neck with an aluminum strip be? Maybe aluminum carbon\graphite composite laminate neck through would be the easier thing, high tech.

[@AJFisherDesign]

Great video with good, practical information. I’m building scale, architectural models and this is helpful. Thank you.

[@brianbrewster6532]

Thank you thank you for helping me select the proper glue for adhering an a small (0.5 in square) aluminum heat sink to hardboard for a special LED project. I'm so glad I didn't waste time an wildly expense of using ethyl cyanoacrylate. That stuff works great but only temporarily. Long term, it does indeed break down.

[@ToadStool942]

Excellent detail. Not too much, not too little. Appreciate your doing this.

[@AWomanOfWorth]

Thank you! I’m doing a craft and have been looking for a good epoxy for wood to metal/aluminum.

[@74lefanu]

I needed this! Thank you, very useful.

[@aliposhtpazan2625]

Thanks for your very useful experiment that you sharing with us

[@mahtoe]

A piece of my rifle stock broke off. If I had wood glue I would have gone with that but I didn't. All I had was standard jb weld so I used that. I was worried it wouldn't work so as I wait for it to cure I you tubed the subject and found your video which made me feel a lot better about my choice.

[@AlexKenis]

I was really surprised how well it works. The thing I didn't think about when I shot the vid was that after sanding, the dark particles from the JB weld works into the grain, which required s bit of cleanup on lighter wood.

[@SomeDudeOnline]

"Precision adjusting device" I'm definitely using that lol ..... wait the JB Weld took a lot of force and the the wood broke but you were then able to easily lift up the piece that remained? Is that because the direction of the grain was in line with the direction you were pulling meaning the the JB Weld is perfect for stress in one direction but crap for stress in the other direction?

[@faariashaikh255]

Thanks...It really helped me make the best choice for my work

[@louisfisher604]

have you had any success with alum to wood? Im asking because im going to try an aluminum neck through guitar. Kinda like a travis bean or a kramer. thankss

[@vdarr1]

I am trying to adhere small thin ply wood strips across mobile home aluminum windows...no claping ability..ideas?

[@tvanders7155]

Thank you. Just what I was looking for. Great video!

[@jacquelinebishop8465]

I used the gorilla glue to fix aluminum to wood , worked well and after 3 months still as good. You see , I'm not likely to start trying to pull it off with pliers etc

[@livelaughlove6952]

Perfect I needed this for a diy!!

[@danharold3087]

Yeah I know old video. But I have always wondered about glue layers being too thin. I don't see where any glue past what it takes to have glue, no matter how little, between the surfaces to be bonded will make the joint stronger.

[@durdicamac9662]

JB Weld should pay you for this. Do you have any advice on glues for copper gluing it must be heat resistant...for cooking...I am looking into Permabond ET5147/ET5145?

[@lkj974]

thanks! This is exactly what I needed to know. gluing aluminum foil to wood to act as a reflecting panel. I think the tite bond will do it and I already have it.

[@katherynhorsley7466]

Hi there - Just came across your comment and it sounds like your use might have been similar to mine. I getting ready to create a silver rhinestone guitar. Since my guitar is black, I'm needing to add a reflective surface behind my rhinestones to help them capture light. Looking for options better than spray paint. Would you be willing to share a bit more about your project and how you ended up applying your foil? Thanks so much!!

[@Glen.Danielsen]

Alex, really helpful video! Great narration and production values. Thanks so much! 💛😎

[@joedebosco3047]

Great video. Thanks for the "test". I used Gorilla construction adhesive on a piece of poplar and aluminum and ---- after drying for a few days --- popped right off! Was very disappointed. After seeing your video, I will try the Gorilla polyurethane glue, looks like it would work great for my project.

[@murraymadness4674]

The problem with aluminum is it will form an oxide and like rust it will expand and break the bond. This can take weeks or months depending on how exposed the aluminum is. So immediate tests can't really be used for aluminum. In particular I must add that a guy with an aluminum sailboat patched holes in it with epoxy, and it works great, until one day the patch pops off and his boat sinks! Just thought I would add that, otherwise good video.

[@emiller9426]

I want to mount some 2 x 4's on my aluminum carport studs for a storage shelf. I'm in the Rockies and temps are plummeting....anyone know the minimum curing temperature for JB Weld and Original Gorilla Glue?

[@trobert132]

just what I need, thanks Alex :))

[@Aukush]

Exactly what I needed! Thank you!

[@12vLife]

I wonder how well a glue stick would have done? The benefit of a glue stick , like Loctite is it sets and holds very fast and sometimes that is the most important factor.

[@StickMan...77]

Thank you,your video was really helpful.👍🏻

[@Ucceah]

very helpful, thank you! i'm looking to laminate ~0,1mm stainless sheet springsteel onto a fretless bass's fingerboard. JB-weld is my prime candidate so far. i was moreconcerned about the bond to the metal, but the wood seems to be more prone to cominjg off. but then again, many hard woods are

[@AlexKenis]

I can't remember if I ever uploaded the video about gluing fret bars onto wood... I may have just completely forgotten. ANyway, I used JB weld to glue half-round rod onto maple for ukulele frets. I scuffed up the metal pretty well to make sure it was properly keyed , and it Worked well, and im going to try it for a fanned-fret guitar in the future. I didn't do a pull-out test though, which mayle I'll do some day. One pain in the butt was that the metal particles from the JB weld for into the wood grain after sanding and it was annoying to clean up from a light colored wood like maple

[@Enigma758]

I wonder how well construction adhesive would work?

[@tunapig]

I used Loctite PL Premium to glue nice plywood to moderately sanded aluminum. Enough to ooze out the edges a bit. Clamped.Cured for 3 days. Had to serious chisel to get it apart. Took the top layer off the plywood.

[@AlexKenis]

Probably pretty well. Many of them are polyurethane adhesives these days

[@12vLife]

@@tunapig On Loctite PL Premium I've wondered how it would perform over years in the Florida sun, wind and rain? would be awesome to skin a 2x4 structure with 5v panels without nails or screws.

[@stevenordstedt2535]

What would you say for me to use on my 2013 Sandberg Bass Guitar Tuner Caps. That keep pulling off the head stock from string tention?

[@richardjordan9773]

Thanks just what I was looking for

[@BrutusJones]

I have foung that contact cement for wood to aluminum is the best. Contact cement like for counter tops. Gorilla glue for wood and aluminum did not work for me at all. I have not tried JB weld but I've used JB weld on a lot of stuff and to me it's one of the best (the dark gray stuff that cures for 24 hours).

[@rameshshah7899]

Please let me which glue is good for plastic and cloth.

[@rameshshah7899]

Which glue is good betweem metal (ms metal) and wood and plastics

[@scoobydog411]

Hi I'm new to your channel. You are very well spoken. Keep up the good work. Thanks......

[@petko618]

Thank you sir !! Just the video I was looking for. JB Weld it is then. Never used this stuff before but you convinced me. Take care.

[@AlexKenis]

Glad to help. Another tip: I tested the fast set and slow set JB weld, and the slower stuff worked better in my particular case. I plan to do a steel-to-wood project in the coming months that will be taking about 120 static lbs of shear force, so I'll be sure to post some sort of video when I get to it.

[@petko618]

Interested to see how you will apply the shear force. Do you have available a hydraulic press? You could set up a jig and use a hydraulic car jack I suppose but how will you measure the magnitude of the force? I tried to do that to check the shear strength of wood glue but had to ensure that the interface failed at the glued surfaces and nowhere else. Still thinking of doing it........Thanks again Alex.

[@AlexKenis]

I was thinking down the same lines, but maybe using a turnbuckle or ratcheting jig and a pull scale, or a pulley jig and weight plates

[@outofworkbum2324]

Great video thanks for sharing

[@blameusa7082]

why not just build stuff out of JB weld?

[@emanuelly6174]

Oh my goodness you look the musical manager in the chipmunks! Do you have a ponytail? I think hes your doppelgänger

[@siletteman]

Solve my problem! Many thanks

[@darkman1301]

This is perfect! I am fastening wood to aluminium. The Gorilla glue would be good enough for my task.

[@hobbyrob313]

good video! we do not have all these glues here in the Netherlands (I think!) I really do not like your background music, although I do find the kind of music fit with the demolition party of yours! ; - ) friendly greetings from The Netherlands! Rob.

[@Biohazarus]

Hey, I am a fan of 2 part 5 minute epoxy, did you tried it out with aluminum & wood?

[@AlexKenis]

I did try clear 5-min epoxy and JB Kwik weld after I made this video, and they hold pretty well, but not as well as the slower epoxy. The bond was still stonger than the wood, so as long as the surface is prepped well and the wood is not too oily, it should be fine. I used it to glue aluminum to wood and brass to wood, but I didn't make a video for it. I do have a video project where I used fast epoxy to glue metal rods to wood, becuse the parts were not under heavy shear stress.

[@Aubreykun]

Thanks for this, it saves me some experimenting. Since you made this, have you tried to glue 2 pieces flush, and if so did you notice if a glue line is visible or not? I want to make sure the glue or epoxy doesn't form too thick of a layer so something I'm planning to work on will have clean lines.

[@AlexKenis]

The thicker stuff forms a visible line. getting a truly invisible line is a bit tough, and it really depends on how much strength you need from the joint. You have a few options, depending on how crazy you want to go. Regular wood glue mixed with sawdust from the workpiece is an okay-ish tradeoff of strength and seam visibility, but there is water in it, so you tend to get a bit of surface swelling, which will show the seam. You can apply more clamp pressure to help that, but it will 'starve' the joint and make it weak if you clamp too hard, so if you don't mind the extra work, hollow out the face of the joint a bit in the middle (not near the surface) to make it a bit concave (just fractions of a millimeter), then clamp harder, that way the surface has an invisible seam but the inner bond if a bit stronger. You can also do the sawdust thing if you wish, and lightly sand the joint afterward to get rid of any squeeze out or surface coloration. Another option is hide-glue/clear-gelatin (which you can just get in a supermarket), which is not as strong (about 2/3 as strong as PVA wood glue) but it is easier to hide the seam. If you want to use something thicker like epoxy, I would definitely either hollow out the middle of the surface, or do a biscut joint for a good bond, and then you can leave the very extreme edges of the joint faces pretty dry/completely dry and hide the seam very well.

[@Aubreykun]

Thank you for the detailed reply! I'll try the hollowing method out since it seems to be the easiest way to add enough surface area without needing to approach the edges. What I'm wanting to do would be repairing and improving a broken handplane tote by trimming the break flat and then gluing in a piece of aluminum sandwiched between the two pieces and then filing/sanding it all flush.

[@dannydanko4627]

What would be the best way to permanently(or close to it) bond plastic to wood? I got a piece of center console from my car torn apart for cleaning and fixing some broken tabs, but now i need to re-bond the wood piece to the plastic, its real wood. I think they used hot glue originally but that doesnt seem like the best solution.

[@AlexKenis]

I'm not an expert, but I used to live out where a lot of big car shows happened, and think the most common thing I have seen is "amazing goop", but I have not tested it myself... worth a try. Lots of the gearheads swear by it. Something like thicker 3m VHB tape (actually acrylic adhesive on a substrate) would probably work pretty well, but it is probably more expensive.

[@dannydanko4627]

Alex Kenis Thanks man, im gonna give the amazing goop stuff a try!

[@istillusezune82]

JB Weld is permanent, we had a lawn mower head that was fixed by it and still working... repair was made in the 90s.

[@trolling4dollars816]

I would like to see how a heavy duty construction adhesive (from a standard caulk tube) would work. Not long enough or nerdy enough for me, just saying.

[@andrewerickson6690]

1/32 shallow drill in aluminum many many holes then gorilla glue

[@lil----lil]

Thank you.

[@matthewrtrego]

Application idea: mounting door handles or knobs to doors or drawers?

[@AlexKenis]

HA, hey matt. No reason not to try it if you are going for a futuristic hidden screw look. But I was thinking more along the lines of a metal-wood laminate guitar... not that I would be planning a video about that...

[@johnsarab4500]

While J-B may work, it won't do for larger projects. Beware of videos claiming J-B miracles.

[@RobotMoker]

What is the glue for larger projects. I am trying to glue a steel kitchen napkin holder to the cabinet door. Was hoping J-B weld will do the trick.

[@jdsheleg8332]

You just answer my question, save me a lot of trouble walking to the library or using the yellow pages looking for a hardware store that sells glue. ;-)

[@emanuelly6174]

I'm making a costume and I have to put metal and bonded to work for a prop and I was kind of thinking that gorilla glue would help in this car solidified that yeah really good gorilla glue should be what I use

[@9231tomi]

The background music really put me off though

[@woosix7735]

helpfull!

[@wibble1999]

sikaflex is superb!!!!

[@mm-oh4oe]

Stick with project farm!

[@noampitlik2332]

Wall base adhesive

[@romaineathey3663]

Woodprix has very good designs and plans.

[@johnd5398]

Thumbs down for the super loud, stupid intro