Glue cleanup

[Brad Wood]

Hey,

what do you guys use for glue clean up after glue up?

What do you do to mitigate the amount of mess? Tape?

What if taping isn't appropriate? ... scraper? what kind of scraper? How long do you wait in the glue setup process before scraping?

I seem to really struggle with making a bigger mess in trying to clean up than I do with the original glue up. This is an area I am really trying to work on and I'm curious how you all deal with it.

Thanks

[Chris Tsutsui]

I use a damp t-shirt type of rag and wipe off excess titebond yellow glue after clamping.

If I can't wipe it, then I let it dry and i use a scraper to get it off.

If I can get away with it, then I will use an orbital sander to remove glue though this can mess with the plane and jointed edges so only do this method if you can get away with it. heh

I love to use glue and clamps. Sometimes a brad nailer and clamps but most of the time I just love clamping and yellow glue...

These maple laminated mdf speakers were made with lock miters, glue, and clamps. No brads or screws. This is an example of being clamp crazy:

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/2449/clamped.jpg

[Chris Padilla]

Brad,

It all depends. Blue tape is good. Can you prefinish before gluing? Glue won't stick to finish--usually! There are tricks you can employ to minimize squeeze-out or eliminate it all together: cutting very shallow grooves in connecting pieces allows the glue to pool there instead of squeezing out.

Otherwise, I sand or scrape as the need arises. I usually try to scrape first trying to focus only on the glue and when I start hitting the surrounding wood, I'll move to sanding from there on.

Also, learn to minimize the amount of glue you use. I use a foam roller to spread it out and this helps spread it thinly and more evenly.

[Brad Wood]

what type of scrapers do you guys use? I've used my regular cabinet scrapers but that just seems to really screw them up. what about the scraper in the picture?

[Wally Knight]

For flat panels, I just let it dry and then scrape off the ridge, usually after about 24 hours when the clamps come off. After scraping, I use the ROS or the drum sander.

[Brent Leonard]

I make grooves and chamfers inside my joinery to allow for squeeze out. When I still get squeeze out (which is most always), I let it set to a hard rubbery consistency, then use an old chisel to pare it away. Then I use sand paper.

I used to use the paint scraper and scrape off the HARD glue. Learned it in high school shop.....That will work okay for regular tightbond, but tightbond III bonds so well, it actually splinters and chips the wood as you scrape off the glue. I never use a paint scraper on any hard glue anymore.

[glenn bradley]

what type of scrapers do you guys use? I've used my regular cabinet scrapers but that just seems to really screw them up. what about the scraper in the picture?


I got this (http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100145658&N=10000003+90401) one at home depot with a couple spare carbide blades all for under $20. It is for large panel glue-ups where more squeeze out than desired might plague me. It scrapes pretty darn smooth but I may taper the ends of the blade; its easy to "oops" with the short knife and lots of enthusiasm ;-)

My normal deal is to wait 30 to 45 minutes depending on the weather (just till the squeeze out is rubbery) and then skin it off with a sharp chisel. As I said, the scraper is for uglier jobs. In open grain woods like ash or oaks, some attention with a cabinet scraper is usually required at my current skill level.

On complex joints that will be hard to get to, I cut relief slots or pockets to catch the squeeze out before it gets . . . well . . . out. This is a pretty sure cure but it is a bit time consuming (not more so than redoing a piece or component however . . . DAMHIKT).

[Leo Graywacz]

Learn to put in the correct amount of glue required to glue the joint and you will minimize squeeze out.