For adhesive self-sufficiency, the wood industry needs new adhesive systems in which all or part of the petroleum-derived phenolic component is replaced by a renewable material without sacrificing high durability or ease of bonding. We tested the bonding of wood veneers, using phenolic resins in which part of the phenol-formaldehyde was replaced with carbohydrates. Our experiments show that the addition of non-reducing carbohydrates and various polyols to phenol-formaldehyde resol-resins does not adversely affect the dry- or wet-shear strength of 2-ply Douglas-fir panels bonded with the modified resins. Reducing carbohydrates, however, cannot be used as the modifier. In general, addition of about 0.6–1.0 mole of modifier per mole of phenol is optimal in the formulation of carbohydrate-or polyol-modified resin. Preliminary results show that part but not all of the modifier is chemically bound into the resin, apparently through an ether linkage. The water prehydrolysate of southern red oak wood, when reduced with sodium borohydride to convert the reducing sugars to alditols, can be used to modify phenol-formaldehyde resins. This use of wood prehydrolysates can be economically beneficial to processes producing alcohol and chemicals from wood as well as to the wood industry and consumers of bonded wood products.