Gluing Exterior Spanish Cedar

Spanish Cedar is one of the easiest woods to glue. October 19, 2006

Question
Does anyone have good or bad experiences face gluing Spanish cedar for exterior applications? I have to make some 3" x 10" beams for a Pergola with shaped ends. Wide 14/4 does not seem readily available, so I was going to glue up 6 or 8/4. The beams will be painted.

Forum Responses
(Architectural Woodworking Forum)
From contributor A:
16/4 is available. I think I would use it and not have to worry about glue failure.

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From contributor B:
We have laminated hundreds of board feet of Spanish cedar for exterior doors up to 3.5 inches thick with no glue failures ever. We always use TBIII. The laminated beams might be more stable.

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From Dr. Gene Wengert, technical advisor Sawing and Drying Forum:
Spanish cedar is one pf the easiest species to glue. For a strong joint, you must have freshly prepared surfaces that are flat, adequate adhesive (but not excessive), quick assembly and pressure application, adequate (but not excessive) pressure (tendency to have too much if the gluer is used to denser species), fairly low MC, and so on. Naturally, you will use an exterior rated adhesive.

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From contributor C:
I've also had good luck laminating Spanish cedar. We use Franklin Polyurethane glue for this application.