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Thread: Panel glue up without clamps
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24th April 2018, 03:59 AM #1
Panel glue up without clamps
I have Bessey parallel clamps, however I prefer to rely on blue tape when glueing up panels. It is clear to me that one does not need clamps applying great pressure to create flat panels with tight joints.
I am in the process of building an apothecary chest. This one is a little different in that it will have a curved front with curved drawer fronts. There are 24 drawers in all, and these are arranged in 4 vertical rows (by 6 horizontal rows). The chest requires three vertical dividers. The carcase and drawer fronts are Black Walnut. The dividers are made predominantly from Merbau, a hardwood, and faced with Black Walnut. The Merbau is secondary wood and will not be seen with the drawers inserted.
The boards were thicknessed and jointed with machines. They are slightly oversize and will be taken to final dimension with hand planes.
This is a panel-to-be ...
Stretch blue tape across one side to pull the boards tightly together ...
Run blue tape along the joins ... we do not want glue escaping ...
Flip the panel over and insert glue into an open join ...
Do this with all the joins, and then pull the lot together with tape. Wipe the excess glue off with a wet rag ...
Add a caul ..
... and leave to dry ...
The result is very flat panels, ready for planing before being cut down and inserted into dados ...
Regards from Perth
DerekVisit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.
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24th April 2018, 11:26 AM #2SENIOR MEMBER
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Thanks for the photos. I've been using blue tape as a clamp more often too. It really works well.
Cheers,
ajw
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24th April 2018, 12:25 PM #3
Hi Derek, that's good to know......especially after I just bought 6x 900mm alum sash clamps last week.....
It would be interesting to know (and I guess we never really will without a lab test) just how the two would compare for strength, i.e. clamped vs taped. The glue is claimed to be stronger than the timber anyway so I s'pose it doesn't really matter.
Given that you have taped over the joint of the "dry" side so that no glue can escape, I imagine that you could back to back the dry sides whilst they are drying - I've been making quite a few panels recently, as the sash clamps purchase would indicate. These have been from the somewhat tricky fence palings. My point is that I quickly run out of Real Estate and can only do a couple at a time because of the extra space that the clamps take.
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24th April 2018, 12:25 PM #4GOLD MEMBER
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Just for clarity is this the standard blue painters tape, or something else?
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24th April 2018, 01:17 PM #5China
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Back when I was at trade school we glued to machined boards, one with a rubbed ad one a cramped joint, after three days we took them to the engineer up the road who had a destructive test rigg
in both cases the timber failed before the joint
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24th April 2018, 01:52 PM #6SENIOR MEMBER
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I have a chopping board in my shed, that i made in a wood working class back in highschool that was glued together using the rubbing technique. I've never used it as a chopping board but do use it as a surface protector. So its had its fair share of abuse thrown its way.
I've also tried stress testing it just to see how strong it is, and i get the feeling it'll be around many more years to come.
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24th April 2018, 09:51 PM #7
All good points, Brett.
What I did not mention was that the flat surface is my new K3 tablesaw. The blue tape does not leak glue! Otherwise I would not have done this.
This is a technique I have used for some years. I am sure it is common practice with many for edge banding. I am reminded of Japanese woodworkers who simply bind their boards together with twine.
Regards from Perth
DerekVisit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.
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24th April 2018, 09:52 PM #8Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.
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24th April 2018, 09:54 PM #9
China, one could rub the joint - I did not do so here, but have done so at other times. The joinery is made easier because the edges were off my jointer. One really does not need high tension to pull the parts together. It does made one wonder at the claims of manufacturers of parallel clamps who brag their clamps clamp tighter!
Regards from Perth
DerekVisit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.
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24th April 2018, 10:08 PM #10
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25th April 2018, 08:45 AM #11SENIOR MEMBER
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Hi Derek
Thanks for the demonstration and for the photos; as usual, a picture is worth.... !
Did I notice that the cauls you have used are lined to prevent getting "stuck" to the panels? If so, what did you use as a liner?
Cheers Yvan
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25th April 2018, 09:31 AM #12
Baking paper works an absolute treat for not sticking to glue. The same sheet can be used many times. You can also use freezer sheet (plastic) but paper can be folded around the caul.
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25th April 2018, 09:38 AM #13
Thanks Derek, you have high lighted 2 points that have been on my mind for a while.....you have "left room for the glue" with the taped joints. The other point is that too many people screw the b-jesus out of sash cramps to do a glue up. Too much pressure will push out the glue as well as promote a board that is cupped and not flat.
If the boards have been jointed correctly your method has to work. Sash cramps are not made to "straighten" boards that do not meet accurately
I have always used sash cramps, but after reading your method I am going to give the tape a goJust do it!
Kind regards Rod
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25th April 2018, 12:42 PM #14
Hi Yvan
I keep a bunch of cauls on hand for glue ups. These are simply pine (from Bunnings) and along one edge is black plastic duct tape. The tape is wide enough to cover the side. The tape is, of course, to prevent glue sticking to the caul.
These work marvellously. Amazingly, the cauls have remained straight, and I have used the same ones for several years.
Regards from Perth
DerekVisit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.
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25th April 2018, 12:53 PM #15
I do have and do use parallel clamps. I have a bunch from Bessey ..
... but there is a time and a place. The Besseys get used on a carcase, where you may need to apply some pressure selectively to get parts into square, and keep them there.
Panels, however, can become glue-starved with too much pressure, especially when they are thin (I learned this the hard way) ...
Regards from Perth
DerekVisit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.
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