traces of glue

i like to tape my joints with blue tape before a glue up to avoid clean up later, but if it is already there, I tend to sand the residue out.

-- making sawdust....

Thanks Motthunter. I used a chisel to cut away the bulk of the squeeze out and sanded. On hind sight, I should have paid more attention to the sanding.

Dalec

I picked up some dental picks at the last wood show. When I was there I told the guy about Lee using them to make mini lathe tools from. He said that he uses them in refinishing to get the finish out of the small cracks and crevices. I bet they would be good for glue. The scrapers that the dentist use are scraping your teeth so i guess they would scrape wood & glue.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Thanks Karson. I have seen a few references to the use of dental tools. I can see that a dental scraper could be an ideal tool for detailed clean up of glue residue. I suppose I could get dental tools over the internet. Got any idea where I might purchase dental implements?

Dalec

I use a wet rag, time permitting but leaves its own problems…........water marks.

Sometimes I wait for the glue to “Gel up” and remove with a sharp chisel

Sometimes a sharpened paint scraper, sometimes a cabinet scraper

-- http://www.furnituremann.ca/

I did a quick google check for dental scrapers and found a number of them. Even Woodcraft has a set.

Dalec

The Wood Whisperer says that the “sweet time” is 1/2 hour I think… any less or any more and you have residue problems. With the timing right, it comes off cleanly.
Don’t take my word for it… it’s my memory that thinks that is the timing… and I can’t always trust my memory.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

I have another suggestion in addition to the good ones given here.

Wipe a little of the finish you are going to use for the project on the areas adjacent to the glue line. The glue will set up on top of it and you will be able to remove it very easily, without penetration problems. This won’t work if you intend to dye or color the wood, but there are instances where it can work very well.

Be careful with your chisels – some glue sets up so hard that it can damage the irons. A cabinet scraper is typically my choice of tool for this.

As far as wiping down with damp rags, I was silently cursing my Dad yesterday as he isn’t as concerned about the final product as am I. We were building something for a friend out of mahogany and needed to use colored epoxy for the joints, which he proceeded to wipe all over the entire surface in an attempt to “make it easier”. So now, instead of just having to focus on the glue line glue squeeze out, I had to redo the entire surface.

-- Just another woodworker

Whenever possible I pre-finish before glue up and then wax. You just have to be sure and leave the joint free of finish and wax. Lee Valley has some stuff called Waxlit which you brush on adjacent to the joint, then remove with a tooth brush soaked in solvent. Where there is going to be scraping and sanding involved in any regard, I usually wait for the hardening to the “sweet time” as Deb described. Then you cn jut pop off the glue with a card scraper, etc.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Roman, Ms DebbieP, Schwingding and Douglas, Thanks for the suggestions. I now have some things to try to see what works best for me on the glue line problem.

Dalec

I agree with MsDebbie about waiting until the glue starts to set up, but the timing might vary depending
on age of glue, temp….

When the time is right you can remove it like pulling a zipper.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

It would be great to get to the point where I can tell it’s time to unzip the glue. Certainly better than spreading it all over or having to chip it out. Maybe with some practice, I can get to that point.

Thanks Gary

Dalec

well, as I began typing I realized my response would be somewhat dissociated. However it might get you thinking in ways that I have begun thinking relative to woodworking. re: buying rough lumber and such.

We get lumber from the sawmills. It’s always cheaper than “store” bought. We usually purchase 4/4. Then “skip” plane the cants (Skip planing is our term for running the cants through to get a nominally flat surface….not all saw marks are removed, usually ending up at 15/16”.) rip/joint, etc. edges as needed, then do all our glue-ups. Scrape, wipe, whatever, the glue joints, THEN plane to thickness….(we also plane thick then sand to final 3/4” or whatever it may be). This avoids glue problems. It also avoids any alignment problems.

This, of course, limits you to the width of your planer. This would include table tops and such. But, there are alot of applications that this technique can be used on with a 12” planer. Even at that width you can avoid the problems until you get to the widest glue-up. And not everybody has a 36” wide belt sander. But I think the process may have some relavance here as something to maybe think about.

Then again, what if you taped the edge before you jointed it? glued, etc. Maybe I should try that. hhhmmm. one can never have to many tricks in the bag.

-- arborial reconfiguration specialist

i do alot with dovetails and i always tape off the pins and tails and then use a razor blade to cut out the openings. After I clamp the piece up and the glue begins to squeeze out, I take an old tooth brush, dip in water and try and scrub it up. I then wipe the surface as best i can. After I take the clamps off and remove the tape I will take a scraper and remove any that may have remained.
When edge glueing I do basically the same thing. I’ll joint the edges and then put on tape, but I let the tape overlap a little so I can trim it back flush with th edge with a razor. Then I do the same process as above.

-- Joey, Magee, Ms http://woodnwaresms.com

Catspaw,

I can see if I get more into this, additonal equipment in an already full two car garage that serves duty as a garage for cars, extra storage and finally workshop space. Between these considerations and a limited budget, I will have to make due in the meanwhile. But gets me thinking about workflow workarounds.

jcash3,

You are the second to mention using tape to contain glue squeeze out. I need to find ways to employ your methods.

Thanks all

Dalec

I have so much to learn…..., but I am, thanks to all of you….. Great idea, overlapping the tape, jcash3 . “Because of you, I glue the line”

-- North Texas

I agree with the “1/2 hour rule.” It’s painless.

-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com

I tried the “1/2 hour rule” when I did my glue up, but was not watching the time very carefully. I may need to be more attentive to the time, when I glue up next time.

Dalec

Some time ago, when I was with a tour with Sam Maloof, I noticed that he uses the Blue Tape to protect bare wood from Pre-Finished surfaces… It also appeared that he used it to collect squeeze-out also.

It is an easy way to go…

However, there can be drawbacks… I recently added a small thin shelf to a kitchen rack… I had installed small glue-block cleats to glue the shelf to… I carefully taped both the shelf & blocks with Blue tape before priming the parts… after the primer dried, I removed the tape from the blocks and glued the shelf to them… after letting the glue dry, I proceeded to paint it with the final coat of white paint… all of a sudden, I saw the shelf started to fall apart! I forgot to remove the tape from the Shelf Side! I coulda kicked myself!! I quickle removed the tape, spread some glue, and spring clamped it… painted around it… waited for the glue to dry, removed the clamps, and painted where the clamps were… came out OK…

BUT, if use the tape, remember to remove ALL OF IT when ready! lol

-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=1389"

Joe, I had a problem with my reply, so I had to respond twice. Disregard this one.

Hi Joe, Interesting stuff with what happened to my reply to your response.

Anyway, thanks for the suggestion and your experience forgetting to pull off all the tape before gluing.

Dalec

The prefinish solutions above make sense. Haven’t tried that. The absorbtion is a bigger issue for me than the blobs on top. Will give it a shot for sure.

-- Jeff, South Carolina

Dalec
It’s just blue painter’s tape, it’s cheap. It does take a little time to do it right, but i think it’s faster than waiting an hour and half for set up and hoping that it’s the right time. And then having to adjust that for temperature changes and how that affects drying time. I think it’s worth it on the final results to use the tape, it leaves no marks and just pulls right up. The reason I do it, is I built an Armoir for our bedroom for storage and our TV, right on the front is a glue spot that I let dry and tried to sand. I sanded it smooth and then stained it, it wouldn’t take the stain. No one has ever noticed it, but I see it every night and it’s a reminder to do things the right way.

-- Joey, Magee, Ms http://woodnwaresms.com

I recently switched the type of glue I use from the yellow carpenter glue to “Tite Bond III”. Water proof, longer open times, water soluble and it doesnt gum up when you sand it, scrape it and its a light beige/brown leaving less noticable glue lines. The difference in price is small when you compare the amount of glue you actually use on a project.

-- http://www.furnituremann.ca/

You’ve gotten some great responses here but I haven’t noticed the suggestion of using a brush. When I apply a bead of glue, I then use an acid brush to spread it out and remove the excess. It’s the excess glue that results in the worst squeezeouts. Try just running your finger over the glue bead before clamping. You’ll definately see a major difference.

And then I use whatever it takes to remove the rest…after it’s dryed for a short while. Tite Bond II and III work really well.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

Joey, All of us have done projects where we have not been able to “fix” a flaw. The flaw, although rarely noticeable by others, or maybe as a matter of political correctness not mentioned by others. These flaws stand out with red lights flashing to each of us.

I will give the blue tape a try with my next glue up project. I am going with Dadoo’s suggestion about spreading the glue with an acid brush to minimize the excess glue.

Roman, I just got a new bottle of Titebond II and may give Titebond III a try once I use up what I have or if I need to go to a water proof glue.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

Dalec

Dalec