Adhesive type
PVA wood glue
The default for wood to wood: cheap, safe, easy to clean up, and stronger than the timber itself on a well-fitted joint.
Also sold as wood glue, carpenter's glue, aliphatic resin glue, white glue, yellow glue.
PVA wood glue is a water-based polymer emulsion made for close-fitting, porous joints. The water must leave the glue line through the wood or the exposed edge. That is why it works well on bare timber and badly between two sealed or non-porous faces. A thin, even film in a well-fitted joint dries into a strong, slightly flexible plastic layer. Thick blobs dry slowly and do not turn a loose joint into a sound one. Clamp pressure matters because it brings the timber into contact while the wet glue is mobile. Use enough pressure to close the joint, not enough to squeeze it dry. Ordinary interior PVA, cross-linking water-resistant grades and Type I waterproof grades sit in the same shopping category but do not have the same water performance. Check the label before using it outdoors. Even a waterproof grade is not automatically suitable below the waterline or for continuous immersion. PVA is the normal answer for furniture, cabinets, edge joints, dowels and laminations in dry wood. It sands and cleans up easily before cure. It is not a structural building adhesive, does not bond oily tropical timber reliably without testing, and cannot compensate for poor joinery.
At a glance
- Strength
- High
- Flexibility
- Semi rigid
- Gap filling
- Low
- Water resistance
- Unknown
- UV resistance
- Poor
- How it cures
- Solvent evaporation
- Typical working time
- 4 to 15 minutes
- Typical full cure
- 24 hours
- Typical service temperature
- -10C to 60C
- Needs clamping
- Yes
- Two part
- No
These figures describe the family in general. Always use the numbers on the datasheet for the product you actually buy.
What it is for
Close-fitting joints in bare softwood and hardwood; furniture and cabinet assembly; dowels, mortise-and-tenon joints and edge gluing; veneering and laminating where both faces can lose moisture; repairs to indoor wooden items.
Where it falls down
Ordinary grades fail in persistent damp or exterior exposure. It is bad on painted, varnished, oily or non-porous surfaces. Large gaps leave weak glue bridges. Cold conditions can stop proper film formation. High wood moisture slows drying and may prevent cure. Do not use it as a substitute for sound joinery in load-bearing construction.
Getting a good bond
Expose clean bare wood. Plane or sand joints so they close without force. Remove dust and old glue. Bring cold timber and glue into the maker's application range. Spread a continuous thin film and assemble before the open time expires. Clamp evenly until the joint has set. Wipe squeeze-out while wet or let it gel and pare it away before finishing.
Safety
Many consumer PVA wood glues are not classified as hazardous in their SDS, but uncured glue can still irritate eyes and skin. The useful controls are preventing splashes, washing off wet glue and keeping it out of reach of children. Sanding cured glue and timber creates dust, so control the dust rather than treating the liquid glue as a solvent product. Check the actual SDS because preservatives and additives differ.
Materials it suits
| Material | Suitability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Oak | Excellent | PVA wood glue is rated excellent for this material as an application-level assessment, not as a blanket manufacturer claim. The prepared surface must be sound and consistently keyed where the finish permits. Suitability still depends on the other substrate, joint design and service environment. Abrade first |
| Pine | Excellent | PVA wood glue is rated excellent for this material as an application-level assessment, not as a blanket manufacturer claim. Suitability still depends on the other substrate, joint design and service environment. |
| Plywood | Excellent | PVA wood glue is rated excellent for this material as an application-level assessment, not as a blanket manufacturer claim. The prepared surface must be sound and consistently keyed where the finish permits. Suitability still depends on the other substrate, joint design and service environment. Abrade first |
| Chipboard | Good | Wood-glue systems suit sound, porous chipboard joints that can be held while drying. EGGER directly specifies its D3 adhesive for tongue-and-groove joints in structural chipboard flooring, but that product statement does not verify every PVA product or wet-service use. |
| MDF | Good | PVA wood glue is rated good for this material as an application-level assessment, not as a blanket manufacturer claim. The prepared surface must be sound and consistently keyed where the finish permits. Suitability still depends on the other substrate, joint design and service environment. Abrade first |
| Cork | Conditional | Unfinished porous cork can accept a water-based dispersion, but soak-in may starve the joint and water cannot escape readily if both faces are sealed. Use only where the product explicitly covers cork and the assembly can dry. |
| Teak | Conditional | PVA wood glue is rated conditional for this material as an application-level assessment, not as a blanket manufacturer claim. The prepared surface must be sound and consistently keyed where the finish permits. Use only after a product-specific test on the actual grade and joint. Abrade first |
| Melamine faced board | Poor | Ordinary PVA wood glue cannot penetrate an intact melamine face. A speciality melamine adhesive can work where one side is porous, but Wilsonart 3330 is an acrylic emulsion system and must not be treated as proof for general PVA wood glue. Abrade first |
| Varnished wood | Poor | An intact finish blocks the penetration that ordinary wood glue relies on. Sand the entire bond area to sound bare timber before using this family; partial scuffing of varnish does not turn it into a wood-to-wood joint. Abrade first |
Last reviewed 8 October 2026.