What's the strongest part of a glue joint?

[SwampNut]

Some people know this, some people are shocked.  Nearly everything I build is glued and clamped without mechanical fasteners.  Almost nothing is mechanical only.  Fastener-free construction is my favorite.  Here I broke apart a tiny joint, that I expected should fail very easily, but no.  And I didn't even apply the glue carefully, since it's not a stressed part.  I didn't like the wood color so I was starting over and decided to break it as a test.

 

 

 

[superhawk996]

I was guessing that a good glue would break some woods before the bond broke.

[SwampNut]

I should have noted:  Titebond 2, Bubinga and hard maple.  So one extremely dense wood and one dense wood, both with great structural strength.

 

Oh, Bubinga is theoretically hard to glue due to oil, here we see it's not.  I do wipe it with mineral spirits before gluing.

 

 

[Biometrix]

As long as you clamp it and the surfaces are prepared properly and you use decent wood glue, you can't beat a glue bond. My 8th grade shop teacher taught me that. Nails are the weakest, screws second. I share your method of minimizing or even completely avoiding mechanical fasteners when woodworking.   

[SwampNut]

I've got a table to glue up that I think will need tenons, or dowels, plus probably pocket screws.  I can't come up with a way to hold an angled flat piece to another.  So, pocket screws are my go-to when needed for either complexity, or clamp time.  If I want to keep working, they allow it, instead of 20-30 minutes per glue/clamp session.

 

[Biometrix]

Also a big fan of pocket screws. Have recently switched back to dowels from biscuits for edge gluing. No specific reason, just because. Basically I'll use any method that prevents me from having to go through the face of the wood with any type of fastener. I feel like if I have to putty a nail hole or use a button to cover a screw head on a wood face that will show grain (i.e. not painted) that I've failed the project. Finish head screws are great though IMO for painted projects. Good hold but very small hole to cover.

[SwampNut]

Oh yeah, if a screw is showing either I've failed, or it's part of the look specifically.  I've got a Porter-Cable pocket screw jig that is simply awesome and super fast, and also their biscuit cutter which is not Domino quality but also really damn good.  I find myself never using it, probably should try a few more times and maybe it will fit my needs.

 

Or just blow the cost of a cheap motorcycle on a Domino.  Sigh.

 

I suck at dowels, so it's a good reason to try again with this project.  If I fuck it, I can hide the mistakes on the bottom of the table top.  Oh yeah, I'm one of those who leaves the inside of my projects looking like complete garbage.  Can't see it, don't care.

 

[superhawk996]

I like woods that don't change size/shape with humidity and can be bent, stretched, hammer shaped, welded....  Some people call those species of wood 'metal'.