Glue Joint Strength: side grain vs. end grain

[David G]

Interesting video. Eye-opening testing. Turns out that gluing end grain to end grain (or to side grain) is not the actual weak link. It's more a 'joint design' issue --

[Canoeyawl]

Yeah, you can build all your projects differently now that you know that.
Just glue your butted planks together between frames and forget about it

(There's another thread around here somewhere on that)

[Bob Cleek]

Before you believe anything you hear on the internet, ask yourself, "Who is this guy and why is he taking the time to publish this?"

"Mr. Science's" experiments may prove that a glue joint is stronger than the wood the glue is sticking to, which is generally the case with any modern adhesive, but what if you want a joint that is stronger than a glue joint, which, in most instances, people do? Well, we all know you use a mechanical fastening, be it a locking joint or a metal fastener, a screw or a bolt. Good luck fastening end grain in that instance. Hence, an end grain joint is always weaker than a mechanically fastened joint. What's the point of his video? Are we really impressed with his "amazing discovery?"

The internet is a wonderful information source, but its often very difficult to separate the fly poop from the pepper.