Dovetailed carcase - out of square glue up.

**jaguarrh** · 15th January 2010, 06:47 PM

I need a little help and advice...

I started making a dressing table for my daughter at the end of the christmas hols.

I am using pine which I recycled from some old shelves as SWMBO wants it painted white. I had a good week last week and glued up the panels, machined all the stopped dados for the drawer dividers and rebates for the back panels.

I then got to use one of my christmas presents for the first time in anger, the Veritas dovetail saw, and tried to get the dovetails straight off the saw.

This didn't go too bad either. One cabinet was a little tight, the other a little loose, but as these were to be "cabinet grade dovetails" I was more than happy with the results. However, as there was a few minor gaps around some of the pins on the looser joints, I chose to use the foaming polyurethane glue to hide them.

I started with the looser fitting cabinet when i started the glue up and due to a shortage of clampage and the number of tails and pins to apply glue to, I decided to do one corner at a time. I used some heavy duty aluminium angle and f clamps to maintain my 90 deg corner and glued up the first.

This went well, bouyed with success I went on to the second corner with the same procedure except I used some temporary struts to prevent the weight of the previously glued side from cantilevering the base and ruining the 90 deg on the second corner (the cabinet was on it's side during glue up). This second corner also went well and I ended up with a nice 3 sided cabinet with 2x90 deg corners at the base.

This is easy I thought (first mistake) so last night I went on to start the second cabinet. I did the exact same procedure only this time I forgot to put a square up to it after tightening the clamps (second mistake), thinking that the ally angle was keeping my parts at 90 deg. When I removed the clamps this morning from the first corner I checked it with a square.... gulp! Way off!

The side is leaning in towards the drawer space, significantly. If I stand the cabinet on its base and take a plumb line down to the base it is approx 12mm from the internal corner.

The polyurethane has now been on there for about 24hrs. So on to my question....

Is there a way to soften the glue enough to adjust the angle? I have thought either a heat gun, acetone or hot water. Or do I just start to make the parts again?

Please someone have a good way of adjusting PU glue.

This is enough to make me use horse sauce for all future projects. Oh, and a square of course.

Any suggestions?

**Zsteve** · 15th January 2010, 07:30 PM

Not that I am aware of - maybe a saw?

**jaguarrh** · 15th January 2010, 08:08 PM

Thanks Zsteve, just the answer I was expecting, but not hoping for.

**cultana** · 16th January 2010, 01:59 AM

Simpler solution than just cutting it up.

make a full length cut inside the botched angle and cut through the timber roughly 3/4 or more. See if you can bend it to square if so fill cut with epoxy glue and reset the angle properly. Since you are going to paint it if you feel it needs more than just epoxy use some small dowel pins through this "correction".

Better luck next time..

**jaguarrh** · 16th January 2010, 09:37 AM

OK

so I just applied some heat to the joint with an air gun. I didn't go so far as to scorch the wood, but the glue residue did start to turn amber in colour.

I then put the base in the vise and reefed on the side piece. I heard a little bit of foam tearing noise but no splintering sounds.

It is now sitting clamped up with squares. I have obviously weakened the glue joint some, but it aint gonna fall apart. I am going to leave it clamped for an hour or 2 to cool and check again but I think it might be good enough for a painted piece.

fingers crossed.

**Fencepost2** · 16th January 2010, 07:14 PM

A good recovery Jaguarrh. Fingers crossed for you. If you are worried about the integrity of the joint I am sure you can figure a way of supporting it, dowels or splines or a screwed block or something.

**jaguarrh** · 16th January 2010, 08:25 PM

Thanks for the words of encouragement Fencepost.

Having let it cool it seems to be fixed at a good 90 deg.

I think I got away with this one

.

I have planed up all the dovetails and they look pretty tight. I'm happy!

Only wish I had a camera.

On to the drawer dividers tomorrow.

Thread: Dovetailed carcase - out of square glue up.

Thread Tools

Search Thread

Dovetailed carcase - out of square glue up.

Similar Threads

The Eccentric Toolworks Carcase Saw

Polishing Vic Ash/Tassie Oak Flooring. How do I remove carpet square glue?

First Dovetailed Box

First Dovetailed Box

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions