Frustrations

woodpecker1 | Posted in New To Woodworking on July 2, 2008 10:02am

Responding to your question regarding the most frustrating aspect of woodworking, I do not look forward to any glue ups that involve or create angles or corners, even those with plenty of advanced planing. These glue ups cause a lot of tension and perspiration for me. Panel glue ups are fairly easy. I let the beads of squeeze out dry and then scrap off. But, I can’t do that when working with work pieces that intersect and create corners because there is no easy way to scrap away dried beads of glue. So, if I wipe away these glue lines, I wind up with an unsightly joint line after applying stain.

Replies

nazard | Jul 02, 2008 11:00pm | #1
Woodpecker,

My answer on the online poll was frustration in finding good materials at affordable prices.

frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates

1.

a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: A persistent wind frustrated my attempt to rake the lawn.

b. To cause feelings of discouragement or bafflement in.

2. To make ineffectual or invalid; nullify.

As far as glue-ups are concerned, I will have to wait for a poll inquiring about what I HATE about woodworking.

Just my 00.02... I'm not a glue-up person either.

-nazard
Dan | Jul 03, 2008 06:38am | #2
There are two possible solutions to your glue up problem. One is to apply blue masking tape to the areas that you don't want to glue to stick to. You can do this when you do your test assembly. Remove the tape after the glue sets but before it gets completely dry.

The other solution is to use a glue resist such as "Waxilit", again applied at the test assembly. This does present some problem on open grain woods but only takes a little more effort to remove it. This product is also an excellent lubricant for sliding surfaces such as sawtops, jointer beds, etc.. Better than paste wax. You can Google it for a source.

"Mistakes are but an opportunity for fresh design"
oldusty | Jul 03, 2008 05:33pm | #3
    wp,

        Usually if you let the glue set up and use a sharp chisel you can cleanly severe the glue off , maybe a scrape or two to get any left then sand a bit .Try placing the glue more away from the edge.

      I usually use splines to join angled faces and such , it helps index the pieces and aids in assembly .

              regards       dusty

                  here is a pic of the clamp block I use for splined joints

SFrankland | Jul 03, 2008 09:54pm | #4
I guess I am just strange but I love the glue up stage. I tend to just start glueing and never give it a second thought. I have always found that creating a little relief for the excess glue to flow into and using just enough glue has resulted in may trouble free glue ups with little or no clean up required.

thumbnailed | Jul 03, 2008 11:33pm | #5
If it's any consolation, after 30 years in the biz, glueup is still one of the things that make me nervous. But for me the best way to deal with the cleanup is to scrape after the glue tacks up, before it gets fully hard. Its kind of like leather or soft plastic then and won't smear into the grain. Also wherever possible, I prefinish parts before gluing, and the glue just wipes off. Tecnique improves over time as well, you learn to use just a small amount of glue more than necessary so you get a tiny squeeze-out and not a glue-starved joint. Good luck, hope most of your experiences are good !
justlee | Aug 19, 2008 03:27pm | #6
I like using the blue tape. I don't have much squeeze out, but what there is is a lot easier to remove if you can peel it away. My five year old loves to do the peeling too.

I have had better luck cleaning up polyurethane glues and getting a good finish over the cleaned up area than I have with yellow glues.

I do recommend practicing gluing scraps to find the right amount of glue and the right amount of clamp pressure. One of the big surprises to me was that more pressure is not always better. If you can get a feel for what is just enough glue, you will save yourself a lot of clean up. it is also easier to gauge the clamp pressure and align the joint if you don't have excess glue.
WillGeorge | Aug 20, 2008 03:33am | #7
Panel glue ups are fairly easy..

Just me.. I find them the hardest! Long length, no blue tape under a joint!

AND.. I have recreantly experienced some tearout on some VERY expensive Jatoba Plywood with figure..... I think I'll go back to the blue tape on the parts I'll cut away and shellac on the edge that may show a glue line.. Wash away that with Alcohol!

Edited 8/19/2008 8:34 pm by WillGeorge