The Glue Book

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent book
Review: As the title suggests the book is focussed on glue usage. What it doesn't tell you is that it is focussed solely on woodwork and woodworking glues. The author is obviously a master at his woodwork yet manages to set out the usage of the glue types in different types of woodwork in a plain, friendly manner that often feels like advice from a friend. Very well done. I am a chemist who works with wood as a hobby and I found the glue treatments sound, simple and practical. A must read and an excellent buy at the price.

Rating:
Summary: A Full and Interesting Study of Glue
Review: Much more than a reference guide about glues, this book is a full educational experience on the subject of woodworking glues and gluing techniques. You learn so much that, after reading "The Glue Book," you will mark your woodworking knowledge as "the era before Tandy" and "the era after Tandy." No other book on woodworking glue comes close to the level of detail and knowledge Tandy achieves here on this subject, a subject that is so vital to all successful woodworking.

On the surface, this may appear to be a technical book. When I first began reading it, I thought I would just gather some information about different glues. Certainly, there is a lot of technical information in this book, but within a few pages I realized that it was providing me with much more than that. After reading this book, you will no longer be confused by glue. Glue is the heart of all fine woodworking -- it is literally what makes your projects last. You will understand this subject fully, and you know why there are so many different glues on the market.

Even though it is a short book (only about 130 pages of actual text) the author covers a vast amount of material. Within this space, Mr. Tandy provides a thorough description and examination of every type of available glue, from its chemistry to its bonding characteristics to its proper uses. Mr. Tandy makes his subject very interesting, constantly offering his insight (and even his opinion in key places) in order to provide you with an honest exploration of the many kinds of woodworking glues and what each one's strengths and weaknesses are. He even touches on the history of each glue, covering how and why it was first developed. Beyond learning about each type of glue, you also learn about how to prepare wood surfaces for gluing, and why wood and glue react to each other the way they do. Mr. Tandy covers the use of glue in specific types of projects, such as curved work, decorative pieces, veneering, and projects involving mixed materials like wood and metal or wood and fabric. Tandy is an excellent teacher. After reading this book, you'll be surprised at how easily you can talk about all the different glues and how confident you are about which glue you need for every type of project.

Now, each time I have a complicated glue-up, I imagine Mr. Tandy there in the shop with me, advising me on what to do.

Rating:
Summary: Sort of expanded manufacturers literature to this reader.
Review: This book tells about many glues and when they are normally used. It is not a definitive source. Lacking are complete technical descriptions of chemistry and why the glues work. After reading the book I didn't feel that I knew any more than I would have from reading the "always positive" manufacturers literature. If the author had the confidence to make some solid committal statements about what glues would be strongest when, it would have helped.