Thanks, Steven. Interesting. Glad to hear that this type of force gauge is considered to be reasonably accurate in the professional world. The main reason that I chose this one was because of what you mentioned; no batteries to charge or swap out. This tool probably won’t get tons of use in my shop other than an occasional tool test where it might make sense, so I’d hate to open up the case when I do need it and find it destroyed by battery acid.

Sure. I hang test weights from the hook. We have a fixture to hold the force gauge and a hanger that weighs 0.5 lbs. So I just add weights to the hanger and read the scale. Most of ours are scaled to read newtons so there is a little conversion. This type gauge is amazingly accurate for a spring type gauge. We have digital ones as well but I like these. No battery to charge.

Good eye, Steven! Yes, that is in fact a calibration sticker on my force gauge. Can you describe the process that you use to calibrate these devices?

Hi Steven, Great question! All of the products that I used in this test with the exception of the Tightbond Hide Glue fall under the general category of polyvinyl acetate (PVA) glues. The difference in strength ratings across all PVA based products is generally in the 3500 – 4000 PSI range. Tightbond Liquid Hide, while a completely different animal in nearly all respects, coincidentally is also rated in the same strength range as the PVA glues at roughly 3600 PSI terms. In practical terms, this means that in all cases these glues are stronger than the wood itself when good building practice is followed and sound, gap-free joints are formed on long grain applications. In my own simple non-scientific test, I verified this by using a hammer to fracture joints made with each glue type after allowing each joint to cure overnight. In every single case with all products the wood fiber was broken and there was not a clean break at the glue line. Although my strength test was non-scientific, overly simplistic, and not inclusive of enough data points to be statistically significant, it serves as enough validation in my mind that within this product group I will make a glue selection for a given project based upon other factors such as open time, water resistance requirements, heat resistance, repairability, FDA approval, sandability, and whatever other attributes are important for that particular project.