Wood glue isn’t something that everybody has at home, and plenty of people are surely wondering if other glues are a viable alternative. For instance, is wood glue stronger than super glue? How do you even compare glues?

This guide breaks down frequently asked questions, compares the types and functions of major brands of wood glue, and offers insight to the best use for each of our five recommended glues. If you're new to woodwork, have a specific project in mind, or just need to make sure you've been gluing things together correctly all these years, this is the place to start.

Best Wood Glue Comparison Chart

FAQ About Wood Glue

What is the Best Glue to Glue Wood to Wood?

In general, different types of glue are designed to work well with different surfaces, but some products have formulas that allow you to use them successfully with multiple surfaces at the same time. If you’re interested in raw wood-to-wood joinery, then regular wood glue is your best bet. The majority of products that are designed to glue wood are made with polyvinyl acetate (PVA wood glue, for short). You will often come across the term “carpenter's glue”, which means that a specific product is capable of penetrating wooden fibers to make the joints stronger than the wood itself.

Is Gorilla Glue Good for Wood?

Yes, but not always. Here is the thing about Gorilla Glue on wood: while the product itself is very strong and can successfully manage to get two pieces of wood to stick together, it can also create a thick layer of foam that can eventually come apart. Gorilla Glue is a good solution if you need to quickly fix something and you have products from this brand on hand. However, there are a lot of people that seem to recommend Titebond because it is an aliphatic resin glue that promises to form a tighter bond.

Which is Better: Elmer's Wood Glue or Gorilla Wood Glue?

This question can be tricky and if you ask this to multiple people, the answers will surely be divided between both brands, as they both made high-quality wooden glue. Is there a way to decide which is better? In the end, it depends on what types of wood you’re looking to glue together, and you prioritize more in a product.

Both Gorilla and Elmer’s have a wide range of glues that are suitable for wood, but the way they take action in bonding the surfaces might vary between brands. Both these brands have a high number of loyal buyers and since they don’t really make expensive products, the best way to figure out which one works for you is to try them out both. On a very objective marketing analysis, Gorilla is indeed the brand that has proven to be more successful and more popular among customers.

Is Wood Glue Stronger than Super Glue?

This depends on the materials that you are looking to glue together. Both wood glue and super glue can be used to create really tight bonds, but you need to understand a little bit about both types in order to find the answer to this question. What we can tell you is that wood glue is typically stronger when compared to super glue, but the latter can prove to be more efficient when you’re looking at wooden parts with very small joints. One of the reasons why wood glue is typically stronger overall is because of its capability to penetrate deep into the wood to create a stronger bond.

Bonding with Wood Glue

There are many different types of glue that can be used for a project, including epoxy, cyanoacrylate, polyurethane, or PVA glue. While each of these does a good job of holding pieces of wood together, it’s also important to note that they also have advantages that other types of glue don’t. When you want to make sure that you’re opting for the best wood glue possible, consider the following:

• The glue needs to be waterproof. When you need it for outdoor wood repairs, this is mandatory. Even indoors, you have to consider the fact that water can get everywhere (especially if there are high humidity levels inside your home).
• It might be a good idea to mask the joints with tape to prevent the glue from getting all over the place.
• Using a flux brush to apply the glue is actually an excellent idea. These types of brushes are quite flexible and are not affected by the glue itself. Once you’re done applying the glue, you can submerge the brush in water and use it again whenever needed.
• A common mistake that people make not applying enough glue. This is something that you’ll get used to in time, but it doesn’t matter if at first, you apply too much glue. Some products will allow you to easily remove the excess glue with a damp cloth or sandpaper the glue once it dries out.
• Clamps are your best friend when it comes to using wooden glue. These will make sure that the pieces of wood you’re looking to stick together have enough constant pressure for a predetermined amount of time, allowing to glue to act and form a bond between them. Also, you might want to rub the pieces together before clamping them, just to allow the glue to spread out evenly on the entire surface that’s supposed to be glued.
• Gluing wood is a process that takes time and trying to rush isn’t going to do you any good. You need to be patient and only try to clamp two pieces of wood at a time. You should also make sure that you allow the glue to dry and carefully follow the instructions provided on the wood glue packaging.

Top 5 Wood Glues

Moving on, we wanted to show you some of the best solutions for sticking wooden pieces together. Even if you might notice that there are about three major competitors on the market, each of them offers a variety of products that were manufactured to cover all your wood gluing needs, so let’s dive straight into it.

Best overall wood glue

Gorilla Wood Glue

Gorilla Wood Glue is pretty much the “best of” product that made a name for itself and it is a good purchase if you’re looking to play it safe and would much rather choose a popular glue brand rather than experiment with others.

Pros: Water-resistant. Indoor and outdoor use. Dries natural color.

Cons: A bit drippy.

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As we mentioned before, Gorilla Wood Glue is a brand that made quite a name for itself, and plenty of people will think of it first if you ever asked them to give you good wood glue recommendations. With a strong formula that has proven efficient time and time again, this product offers a great price-to-quality proportion for all your wood gluing needs.

This 8-ounce bottle can be purchased as a single product, but there are also multiple bottle packs that are more convenient to buy if you’re looking to stack up on wooden glue. It is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, so if you were looking to repair that patio chair, Gorilla Wood Glue is the right product to help you out with that.

This glue is particularly known for its strength, but there are other important characteristics worth mentioning. It dries in a natural color, it is water-resistant, doesn’t require more than 30 minutes of clamp time, and it fully dries in 24 hours.

Best wood glue for small repairs

Gorilla Clear Glue

The Gorilla Clear Glue is designed for those of you looking for a universal strong glue that works not just on wood, but also on surfaces like glass, plastic, or metal. It’s a good product to have to make small repairs and works well with a good wood filler.

Pros: Multiple surfaces. No foam. Water-resistant.

Cons: Takes a longer time to dry.

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We’re back with yet another Gorilla Glue product. However, this one right here isn’t dedicated exclusively for wood-based projects but will work even on surfaces like ceramics, plastics, glass, or metal. This is the kind of product that you always want to have around the house because you never know when something might be in need of a quick repair.

This is a clear glue that works on multiple surfaces and you won’t have to worry about it being a different color than the actual piece that you’re trying to glue together. It doesn’t create any foam and comes in a small bottle that makes it easy to squeeze the product out and get the job done.

As other Gorilla Glue products, this one is also suitable for indoor and outdoor use, although if you need to glue something that requires a bigger glue quantity, you might want to look into other options that come with a higher quantity of glue. When you apply the glue, make sure the product is at room temperature for optimal results.

Best wood glue for large projects

Elmer's E7310 Carpenter's Wood Glue

If you need a generous amount of strong wooden glue for working on large projects, this 16-ounce bottle of Elmer's E7310 Carpenter's Wood Glue Max is bound to do the trick.

Pros: Easy to clean. Waterproof formula. Non-toxic formula.

Cons: Dispenser clogs easily.

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When you’re looking to glue large pieces of wood, having a small bottle of glue simply won’t do the trick. However, purchasing glue bottles that offer a larger quantity of product will get the job done, which is why it makes sense for us to talk about the 16-ounce bottle provided by Elmer’s.

This carpenter-quality glue is designed to be resistant to mildew, mold, and heat, and it’s also waterproof (despite the fact that you can clean glue residue with water in case of any stains that shouldn’t be there). It comes in a nice tan color, which is something you want to take into account depending on the color of the wooden pieces you’re looking to glue together.

Before using the glue, you need to make sure that the wooden surface is clean, dry, and doesn’t contain any oily residue. The surfaces need clamping for about an hour, and it takes about 24 hours for the glue to completely dry. You can use medium sandpaper to sand glue lines. Any excess glue can be removed with a damp cloth before it dries.

Best wood glue for furniture repair

DAP 00204 Glue

If you’re looking for a glue meant to repair indoor furniture and wooden structures, while also embedding a formula that’s resistant to a variety of different contaminants, this DAP glue will surely be of service to you.

Pros: Solvent-resistant. Water-resistant. Strong bond.

Cons: Complaints about receiving expired products.

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Have you ever become so fond of a certain piece of wooden furniture that you wouldn’t want to give it up even if it’s damaged? Have you found an old piece of vintage furniture at a flea market and just knew you had to have it, even if that meant you’d have to repair it first? If that’s the case, we’d like to show you the DAP 00204 glue, an excellent help for those looking to repair furniture.

This is 4.5-pound pail filled with plastic resin glue that works perfectly on wooden surfaces. This is, in fact, a powder that has to be mixed with water in order to activate its gluing properties and create a paste that’s extremely strong in the job it’s meant for.

Even if the product it’s water-resistant, the manufacturer recommends it for indoor use mostly, so it might be best if you limited the use to interior furniture and wooden floors. Its formula is designed to be resistant to things such as rot, fungi, or even different types of solvents.

Editor’s choice

Titebond 1415 III Ultimate Wood Glue

The Titebond 1415 III is a great product for people looking for a strong-bond type of glue that doesn’t require higher application temperature.

Pros: Waterproof. Easy to clean. Strong formula.

Cons: Complaints about product arriving dried up.

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Titebond is one of the three major players on the wooden glue market, as we’ve mentioned before starting this series of short reviews. They are recognized for making high-quality wood glue and having a formula that has proven its efficiency time and time again, hence the high number of satisfied buyers.

Titebond 1415 III glue is designed for interior and exterior applications. It promises to work even at lower temperatures compared to what other wood glues on the market have to offer. Thanks to its strong initial tack and the fact that any excess glue can be easily sanded after it has fully dried, this product became a top choice for plenty of users.

The applicator is quite a useful little fellow, as it ensures higher precision when using and avoids spills. Even if spills do occur, it’s easy to remove them using a damp cloth, so that the surface can be cleaned without having to wait for the glue to dry.

Bottom Line

It may be difficult at first to understand the differences between glue brands, as one would have to take a closer look at the formula and understand how it acts when trying to glue two pieces of wood together. Gorilla Glue, Titebond, and Elmer’s are the three major players on the market, each of them expanding its line of products with multiple types of wood glue for different kinds of projects.

When looking to buy wood glue, the experience of other customers and expert carpenters is one of your most efficient go-to resources, because these people have experimented with using certain glue brands in a variety of situations and their experience is what speaks out with more accuracy.