What happens when you put toothpicks (stuck together with wood glue) in an oven?

Question

I made a toothpick bridge for a school project and I was trying to think of creative ways to strengthen it. Any experience / advice with this?

Answer 1

Wood glue should be fine in the oven at a low temp for a short time, say 250 for 10 minutes or so. I believe the heat should strengthen the glue, but not sure.

Another thing you might want to do is to coat the whole thing or just the joins with a clear acrylic sealer... that should strengthen those areas. You can buy that type of sealer in a hardware store for sealing bare wood, and you can buy it in a matte or satin version if you don't want it to create any glossiness just on the joins. Or you can cover the whole thing.

You could also start by spraying lightly with a clear acrylic spray to make things go faster... do several coats, but always let acrylics dry thoroughly between each coat. And you could use the liquid acrylic after that if you wanted (or use a colored acrylic paint). You could use a non-acrylic paint too if you don't want to put the thing in the oven at low temp later (which will "harden" and strengthen the acrylic sealer a bit).

Good luck,

Diane B.

Answer 2

Thought the idea here was to get the wood stuck together without using glue. It will cost you more to accumulate the ingredients and mix them up and try it out till you get it right, than it would to just go buy a small bottle of glue.

Answer 3

The proper application of heat will harden the wood, however it may weaken the bond of the glue. I would recommend either hardening the wood prior to assembly, or engineer some additional mechanical supports to strengthen your bridge.

Also as far as hardening the wood, it needs to be done with a flame, an oven won't do it.