3 Situations When Super Glue Should Not Be Used During DIY Cabinet Making

The strong bond created when you use super glue during cabinet making can lead you to think that it can work well in every situation. However, there are some situations when super glue is not the ideal adhesive to use. This article discusses three situations when it would not be wise to use super glue as you make a storage cabinet for your kitchen.

Veneer Repair

The veneer on a piece of timber that you are using may have become detached as you cut it to size during the DIY cabinet-making project. Do not use super glue to repair that delamination. Veneers are attached to the material underneath them using a thick layer of glue. That layer of old glue can prevent the super glue from forming a lasting bond between the veneer and the wood underneath the veneer. Consequently, you are better off using another method (such as using small screws) to repair the delaminated veneer.

Gluing Corners or Edges

Super glue has a weakness that you should be aware of. That weakness is the brittleness that it acquires once it has dried on the surface where it was applied. When super glue becomes brittle, it can be knocked off the surface. You should not use super glue on sections of the cabinet that will be used heavily, such as on the corners or the edges of the door of your kitchen storage cabinet. This is because an item that is being taken out of the cabinet can bump against the brittle layer of super glue. Once that happens, the super glue will come off.

During the Making of Tenon, Mortise and Dovetails

Your cabinet making tasks will involve creating joints that form right angles, such as the joints of the frames of the doors of the cabinet. Such tenon and mortise joints should not be bound together using super glue. Super glue sets so fast that you may not have a chance to make any adjustments to that joint in case you do not have the angles right the first time.

As you can see, one of the things that distinguish professional cabinet makers from amateurs is the ability to know when one should not use certain materials during a woodworking process. Keep the information above in mind as you make your kitchen cabinet. Ask a cabinetmaker for help in case you run into any challenges that you cannot overcome.