Glue Bottle Blues

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Rick Granick

Rick Granick

SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
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This inquiry is inspired by all the discussion under the "ATG" topic. MY biggest shop nuisance is the continual clogging of the tip in glue bottles. We use FrameWeld glue, which is great, but the bottle's small opening is constantly being blocked or restricted by semi-drying glue. Capping between uses does not seem to help. I tried installing a nail thru the cap, but it rusted, staining the glue. Why can't they make a glue bottle with a cap containing an inner spike which would automatically "ream out" the bottle's tip when closed? Or how about a Teflon-lined bottle nozzle? Anyone got any do-it-yourself solutions in the meantime? (I wonder what the dollar value would be of all the time spent over a year cleaning out those clogs!)
 
We wholesale the Maxim 5/15 glue and as well use it in our chop and join shop. We sell each bottle of glue complete with a 1/12" diameter 6" long hardwood dowel. Two elastic bands keep it attached to the bottle. When the cap gets plugged you simply take the plugged cap off and push the dowel up through the cap and pull it out through the top. Out comes the hardened glue and a "clean" opening until it gets plugged up again. We used to sell glue with a twist cap, but they did not work any better than the typical "yorker" cap that you are talking about. If you want some glue and the dowels send me an e-mail.
 
I use a glue called Weldbond. It comes in a plastic bottle with a cap which has an internal spike that pushes out the glue as it is twisted closed. I wipe the tip with a rag after I close it and it never plugs up. My glue table beside my underpinner is a very clean place. There is a cup with water and a few glue brushes in it. The glue is squeezed from the bottle onto a piece of scrap foamcore. A brush is taken from the water in the cup, dryed with a rag and used to apply the glue to the moulding. The brush is then returned to the water in the cup. The water in the cup and the glue brushes are rinsed at the end of each day. I have used the same brushes for 10 years. Anyone that leaves my glue table dirty and glue bottle tips plugged is in big trouble.
Scarfinger
 
Chatting about glue...does anyone know of the glue that furniture manufacturers use? All I know is that it is a very strong glue, applied with a "heat activated" glue gun, allowing enought time to line up the pieces to be joined before it permanently sets wood joints together. If there are any furniture manufacturers you know of, and you get more details (glue manufacture, good and bad about it, etc.) on this, please let me know. Thanks.
 
Somewhere this was already covered on another thread.

Keep a #6 1 1/4 inch dryway screw and use that to keep the hole clean. The threads work great to scrape the left over glue out.

framer
 
I buy Frameweld by the gallon and pour it into an old mayonaise jar, I apply the glue with a brush which i keep in a jar of water. The trick is to keep the mayo jar closed in between uses You can keep it open while you are doing all your joining work but close it when you are done this gives you an airtight seal and stops the glue from drying out. change the water in your brush jar frequently (daily) or mold will develop and it will really start to stink. When I dont have a mayo jar I use a soup container from a chinese restaurant I actually like that better only because it is easier to take the lid on and off but it does not last longer than two to three months.
 
I have tried a nail, a drywall screw, a craft stick cut to the shape of the spout, but what works the best for me is-------I just give the frameweld bottle a good thump after capping it. It helps gravity pull the glue out of the spout. No glue, No clog.
 
Rick, check out the new packaged glue bottles from Titebond's yellow and white wood glues. They sport a new non-clog cap that opens and closes easily with one hand. WWW.franklini.com

Bruce
 
I like to use a small plastic bottle with a push-to-close cap, which I purchase at the local drug store for about a dollar. It's made by "Pretty Neat" or something like that -- you've seen these things, I'm sure. The bottle is small, but easy to handle, and holds enough glue for more than a week's worth of frames. And when it's time to refill it, we wash off whatever glue residue has accumulated on the bottle. Neat. Clean. No brushes, dowels, nails or screws needed. No clogs.

------------------
James Miller,PPFA-CPF; PPFA Certification Board Member; FACTS/GAFP Committee Member
 
I ordered a regular Welbond bottle of glue from Amazon, for the first time, and it was delivered today. When I began to apply the product by pushing it out of the bottle for the first time, clear, watery liquid came pouring out. If I had to guess, I'd say it was water, and ended up being about a one fifth of the bottle's I'm assuming someone already ordered this from Amazon, used some, topped it off with water, then returned it for them to resell to me. I tried to use what was left of actual looking glue product, but it is all one big tough glob that won't budge, move, flex AT ALL. I just want to make sure this isn't normal. Any input appreciated.
 
All glues have a shelf life, and all are damaged by extreme temperature.
I would hazard a guess that the product you got suffered from a bit of both. You live in the PNW and it is winter, so freezing is certainly a possibility.
Return it and buy a good wood glue from a home shelter store or from a local distributor. Most of the name brand products (Titebond, Corner Weld, Maxim, etc.) are similar, but buy only what you can use in a year or so.
Water based glues do separate at times and shaking it up to remix is possible, but not if the glue has begun to set.
 
It is possible to cap the bottle tightly enough to prevent drying in the spout, but difficult - especially when most framers sometimes forget to cap the bottle at all. You know how it goes...glue the miters, put down the bottle, and turn to the vices or the v-nailer. Come closing time, the glue bottle is still sitting there, uncapped. Oops.

One fix that worked for me was to simply place the bottle upside down in an inch or two of water in a sturdy mug - never mind the cap. Keeping the opening under water prevents clogging. However, you have to use some sort of support to keep it from falling over, so I glued the bottom of my mug to a 6" square piece of ACM.
 
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I decant PVA glue into a plastic tub and apply it with a brush. When I'm finished I simply put the top on - with the brush inside.
I only put about an inch in the tub at once. As for the actual glue bottle, I squeeze it out into the tub until it's nearly empty and
then cut it across the middle and stick a brush in that. 😁
 
Alan Sturgess said:
We wholesale the Maxim 5/15 glue and as well use it in our chop and join shop. We sell each bottle of glue complete with a 1/12" diameter 6" long hardwood dowel. Two elastic bands keep it attached to the bottle. When the cap gets plugged you simply take the plugged cap off and push the dowel up through the cap and pull it out through the top. Out comes the hardened glue and a "clean" opening until it gets plugged up again. We used to sell glue with a twist cap, but they did not work any better than the typical "yorker" cap that you are talking about. If you want some glue and the dowels send me an e-mail.
Click to expand...
I love Maxim and that's the glue that I have been using for years. Is this dowel from the manufacturer or something that you offer as a supplier?
 
Nikodeumus said:
Those little caps have been in hardware stores for years. They're great.
I have found some that I had bought years ago eventually got dry and brittle.
I think it was the type of rubber used. Don't recall what brand I had got.
Or perhaps a reaction with certain type of glue?
Not sure if that is still an issue.
Click to expand...
I found some more of these little rubber bagels.
Thought I'd give them another go.
Here's the brand I got at a local hardware store.
They seem like a different type of rubber than the ones I had used in the past.
We'll see how they hold out.
20240505_162031.jpg
20240506_154638.jpg
 
Here's what I use for caulking tubes.
IMG_1887.jpg

They are common around frame shops, but here's second image that might help.
IMG_1888.jpg
 
The best solution I have found so far is this bottle from Smucker's Sugar-Free pancake syrup. Whatever kind of plastic they use for the lid, the glue does not stick to it nearly as readily as it does to the translucent glue bottle spouts that come with the glue. It also has a flip-top cover. The only problem is the spout is much shorter than the regular glue spouts, so it is harder to control the amount of glue dispensed.
:cool: Rick
IMG_1530.jpg
 
But then, you have to eat an entire bottle of Smucker's Sugar-Free Pancake Syrup to get the bottle.

I get bottles from my vet that are 1. 2. 4. and 8 Oz bottles designed to deliver liquid medicine. I have the various sizes filled with either wood glue, fabric glue, or ATG Turbo.
Clogged? Snip one end off a Q-Tip and push it, shaft first, into the inner end of the dispenser. Pull it through and go about your business.
 
wpfay said:
But then, you have to eat an entire bottle of Smucker's Sugar-Free Pancake Syrup to get the bottle.

I get bottles from my vet that are 1. 2. 4. and 8 Oz bottles designed to deliver liquid medicine. I have the various sizes filled with either wood glue, fabric glue, or ATG Turbo.
Clogged? Snip one end off a Q-Tip and push it, shaft first, into the inner end of the dispenser. Pull it through and go about your business.
Click to expand...
Do you know how many bottles of Smuckers Syrup you could get for the same cost of a single vet visit?! 😜
 
The AI Bot here says the lid/spout on the syrup bottle is likely made of polypropylene. Maybe it is "slicker" than whatever kind of plastic the current CornerWeld spouts are made of.
I wonder if it would be possible to 3-D print a nozzle with the appropriate thread in the base out of a Teflon-like material.
:popc: Rick
 
Am I the only one with (TWO) parts cabinet drawers filled with various caps and nozzles from sharpies, spray cans, glue bottles, quart and gal cans of acetone and thinner etc.

If glue is gummed up no problem. New cap and clean the old one later.....An oddly satisfying job.
Who want to spend time searching for that darn little red cap.... it will show up latter.
Clogged nozzles can be soaked, after the project at hand is done.

A real time and materials saver.
 
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