Replies

1. 
   douglas2cats | Mar 10, 2005 10:11pm | #1

   Dont try to clean it up before it dries. You'll just end up smearing a sticky mess around. Better to remove it afterward.  If it's still liquid or gummy at all, stop and try it again a little later. The gummy stuff is as hard to get off your chisels/scrapers as off the wood. There's a 'sweet spot' for removal when it lifts off pretty easily - when it's just hardened but not completely cured. If I recall, it seems like that's a couple of hours afterwards. If you wait overnight, it will still come up, but it's a lot more work.

   If you build it - he will come.

1. 
   tbird | Mar 10, 2005 11:12pm | #2

   Thanks, that's what I'll do.  I'm glueing onto an exterior highly visible surface that has already been sanded ready for finishing and it will be difficult if I have to repair cuts and gouges before I finish.

1. 
   douglas2cats | Mar 11, 2005 02:41am | #6

   I forgot to mention. Wearing disposable vinyl gloves isn't a bad idea. If you get any on your hands, it will leave a stain that won't go away for almost a week.

    If you build it - he will come.

1. 
   MarkRD | Mar 11, 2005 02:55am | #7

   Oh yeah, and acetone is none too nice either...Mark

   Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.

1. 
   tbird | Mar 11, 2005 04:34pm | #8

   Thanks, fellas!  Some good advice here!

2. 
   Rich14 | Mar 10, 2005 11:30pm | #3

   Pat,

   It can be removed while still wet or after it's hardened. I use both methods.

   If it's still wet (within about 15-20 minutes after application), it will come off the wood with absolutely no residue using acetone. This is a very useful way to work as it leaves the surrounding wood completely clean, exactly as it was prepared prior to assembly and glue application.

   Once it starts to cure, the acetone won't work and it's best to let it harden fully, then sand, or scrape the glue off. It does not penetrate the wood like PVA glue and can be removed completely with whatever method you like, but you will be removing a little wood surface this way.

   As with all gluing, try to use just enough to  result in just tiny beads of squeeze out all along the joint line. With PVA glue, such beads shrink as the glue sets. With polyurethane, they enlarge as the excess foams (no way to stop that).

   I guess some people can apply glue with a brush or with the tip of the glue bottle and put the right amount down. I can't. I make an applicator to meter exactly the right amount. It works just like a notched trowel when applying adhesive or mortar for tile laying. I use a thin piece of scrap hardwood, about 1" wide. I notch the end about 3/32 deep every 3/32" on the bandsaw, just eyeballing it.

   I squeeze glue onto the wood and spread it with the applicator. Spread from the center right off each edge. Excess stays on the applicator and a constant amount is left "automatically" on the entire joint surface and nowhere else. Modify the depth and spacing of the notches as experience dictates for glue type. Amazing how removing this bit of uncertainty from glue-up reduces the anxiety of the operation.

   Rich

   Don't ever learn anything new. Rather than give you satisfaction that you know more than you did, it will only confirm you know less than you thought by opening horizons to things of which you had never dreamt and which you now must explore.

1. 
   MarkRD | Mar 11, 2005 12:03am | #4

   I'm curious, does the acetone affect the joint at all? I know with traditional wood glue, you can wreck a joint if you use too much water when you clean up...Thanks
   Mark
   

   Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.

1. 
   Rich14 | Mar 11, 2005 12:30am | #5

   "does the acetone affect the joint at all?"

   I've never really seen that as a problem. Scrape the excess glue away with a wood scrap, wipe the remaining residue away with an acetone-dampened rag. Use just enough to get the job done well. The joint is fine and the surrounding wood is spotless.

   Rich