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My coworkers and I just finished putting together a wooden table with a plywood surface. I plan on puttying up the rougher spots, then following the basic instructions I found via google of PVA -> PVA + sand -> PVA coat. One question I have is, what's a good bulk glue to use? I found a gallon jug of Elmer's I could get for cheap, would that work all right? Any idea how much I'll actually need?

For a full size table, doing 2-3 coats (one with sand, another one+ to cover that layer) you'll probably use a half a gallon of glue. I tend to use whatever cheap wood glue I can find as it's often found cheaper than white elmers glue. If you can get the gallon of elmers white for cheap, go for it. Even if you don't use it all on the table, you'll end up using it when you make more scatter terrain to go on top!

Iv heard Liquid nails is supposed to be an incredibly durable coat and IIRC is water soluble. I think it was a Youtube video somewhere.
Edit: for the actual question though elmers glue seems to be alright.

 Desubot wrote:
Iv heard Liquid nails is supposed to be an incredibly durable coat and IIRC is water soluble. I think it was a Youtube video somewhere.
Edit: for the actual question though elmers glue seems to be alright.

Liquid nails is probably the BEST solution for making foam durable, though I don't think this poster was asking about covering foam.

At the same time, it's super expensive compared to the glue and sand options. heh.

Rorschach9 wrote:
For a full size table, doing 2-3 coats (one with sand, another one+ to cover that layer) you'll probably use a half a gallon of glue. I tend to use whatever cheap wood glue I can find as it's often found cheaper than white elmers glue. If you can get the gallon of elmers white for cheap, go for it. Even if you don't use it all on the table, you'll end up using it when you make more scatter terrain to go on top!

What he said.

Any PVA adhesive will be fine, unless you decide to soak the finished boards in water. I've had cheap Chinese made PVA from the 100 yen shop and it worked just as well as Evostik Wood Glue for general terrain purposes.

Oh hey, hadn't considered wood glue. I've used it for some Nurgle effects, for some reason I figured that would get screwy. I might check on prices for that.

Thanks for the responses!

 Evertras wrote:
Oh hey, hadn't considered wood glue. I've used it for some Nurgle effects, for some reason I figured that would get screwy. I might check on prices for that.

Thanks for the responses!

Wood glue and white pva glue are essentially the same thing, especially if you're watering them down a bit for this purpose.
The main differences : White glue dries clear over time, wood glue does not. White glue is usually non-toxic, wood glue may or may not be.
That's about it. heh.

Wood glue is typically not used to bond wood (not permanently anyway) outside of crafts. Though white glue is usually cheaper I often find great deals on jugs of wood glue! If you don't need it to dry clear, it's perfect!

Wood glue gets brittle too.

White PVA stays mostly elastic IIRC meaning for a bit more of a forgiving surface.

Ah, ok. I'll just go with good ol' Elmer's then, I'd prefer not to deal with cracks on something that needs to be durable.

 Desubot wrote:
Wood glue gets brittle too.

White PVA stays mostly elastic IIRC meaning for a bit more of a forgiving surface.

I have not noticed this myself. I'll have to take a look at my stuff and compare the wood glue vs white glue pieces now!

Well back in the days in wood shop (do they still have those?) the wood glue would get fairly brittle after it had dried (enough chisels off without much trouble)

Also a Local store had used it on a large piece of MDF. I think some one dropped something heavy on it and it shattered the top layer off a bit. (sand layer)

Check out:

http://www.youtube.com/user/eq2templar

He does some great tutorials on how to make a gaming board.

Cheaper than woodglue might be the stuff a plasterer uses to seal his walls before painting them.
It will be in the DIY / decorating store in 5 Litre jugs. Called PVA sealant or something like that. They water it down 5 to 1, but its just thick PVA glue tbh. Do what you want with it

... If you want elastic properties, Acrylic medium should do the trick. Something like Windsor and Newton Galeria Texture Gel (or Liquitex) Would also save you some trouble on sand.. all tho this is an expensive option, its one that has that squishy bouncy elastacy kind of property that was mentioned above.

There are PVA glues that are cheaper than Elmer's by a truckload: you need to go to hardware stores and buy at least one gallon of PVA/white glue. i don't know the brands on your side of the Earth (mine is labelled Shellwood White Glue) but white glue is white glue is white glue. All the brands I've used so far has the same quality, so don't be picky about brands. Pick the cheapest one (usually comes in big bottles) and have a go.