# Cutting board glue jig



## Starfury (Jul 1, 2015)

I saw this http://lumberjocks.com/projects/275578 today and it made me think about making one for my upcoming cutting board building projects. It seems to be very good for assembly/clamping…but it only does one at a time and I'll be doing more than that. I was thinking of a smaller version…maybe 12" wide. big enough to assemble and clamp the board then add regular clamps to the ends of the board, remove, then add a center one while it drys. It seems like a good idea…but sometimes my ideas sound good to me but don't work well in reality. I'm trying to minimize planing/sanding when I'm done and figure that I can get one "flat" side on the boards with and thickness variance on one side.

Good idea or bad?


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## UncannyValleyWoods (Apr 18, 2013)

That thing looks like a major pain in the ass and I think all the squeeze out is going to make that thing a nightmare.

I make a ton of cutting boards. Typically, I use the bar clamps themselves as the clamp rest, but I've also seen a great solution that is super simple and effective… Basically, you just take two lengths of PVC, create a cradle to keep them stable, then use those as clamp rests…You then do all of the clamping from the top… I've thought about throwing that together, but honestly, it's just easier to glue on top of my bars and then scrape the bars after the glue is dry.

I think the thing you linked to will be a giant headache and a waste of time. IMHO…


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## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

> That thing looks like a major pain in the ass and I think all the squeeze out is going to make that thing a nightmare.
> I make a ton of cutting boards. Typically, I use the bar clamps themselves as the clamp rest, but I ve also seen a great solution that is super simple and effective… Basically, you just take two lengths of PVC, create a cradle to keep them stable, then use those as clamp rests…You then do all of the clamping from the top… I ve thought about throwing that together, but honestly, it s just easier to glue on top of my bars and then scrape the bars after the glue is dry.
> I think the thing you linked to will be a giant headache and a waste of time. IMHO…
> - UncannyValleyWoods


I use blue painter's tape on the bars of the clamps so I don't have to scrape the bars clean. Learned this after having had to scrape so many of the clamp bars over time… ;-)


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## cathode (May 18, 2014)

Keep in mind that black iron pipe that most people use for pipe clamps will stain wood when a water-based glue is used. If you're using galvanized pipe or normal bar clamps with a chrome/zinc finish obviously this isn't an issue.


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## CopperTree (Jul 3, 2015)

Standard pipe or bar clamps for me, a lot of them spaced evenly and clamped from both sides. They create the force necessary to close up any minor gaps and keep the blank flat while drying. I too have used PVC as an alignment aid but now just use the bars/pipes themselves. It's easier to plan for an 1/8" misalignment and plane/sand it away than it is to align 20+ strips all at the same time. You can never have too many pipe clamps…


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## Starfury (Jul 1, 2015)

I don't have any pipe clamps, just a bunch of the HF bar clamps that work great. Since my planer is 12" I make all my boards 11" wide and at $4 each the 12" clamps from HF are perfect. I did make a sloppy jig from some scrap pipe and 2×3 lumber, works great to glue the board up, get it mostly flat then move to a drying area.

I've also discovered that Bubinga (it's red) looks REALLY cool in a cutting board and isn't much more expensive than Walnut. Adding a few thin bits accents a board nicely.


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