"Michael" wrote in message
...
On Tuesday, September 17, 2013 9:39:05 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Tue, 17 Sep 2013 15:19:15 -0700 (PDT), Michael

wrote:



I made some test finger joints out of cedar and glued them last night. I
hand-planed the joint today to see how it looked and it failed! The
temps went to 45 last night. The glue is relatively new. I didn't clamp
it but you had to wriggle in the piece because the joint was fairly
tight. I've rarely worked with cedar. Is it resistant to yellow wood
glue?



Mike

Fresh unweathered cedar is "resistant" to most glues. Polyurethanes

like "gorilla glue" work inmany cases - and wiping down with acetone

before gluing can help as it removes the natural oil from the

surface/fibers. The right moisture content (less than about 15%, but

not too dry (like less than 5%) will let normal wood glues cure

properly

I think this might be a case of really dry cedar. I got several wide
boards free from someone who was cleaning out his shed and wanted to get
rid of them. They had obviously been there a while. I thought I would make
a few boxes out of them, but the gluing issue might make this a series of
cumbersome projects.

I have been gluing western red cedar for years with yellow glue and urethane
glue. Never had a problem. But keep it warm for the first 24 hours.