glue up maple top.

[james susick]

Hey guys I did a search and found alot of info but for longer bench. I am making a maple bench 36"x60"x3"thick. I need to glue up 18 pieces of wood. How would you guys glue this up. How much open glue time do you really have? I have them numbered and was going to put them on the ground and use a 9" foam roller to glue at least 6 at one time fast. If I do 4-6 boards at a time how long should I wait to glue the sections up? 24hr?

Thanks,
-Jim

[George Bregar]

I would do as you are doing...6 at a time. Then surface the three glue ups and glue them together. Then surface the result. Roller will work, apply to both surfaces. Open time can be found on the product label or website...you didn't say what you were using. If you are using a product like Titebond II you will have five minutes. Thats more than enough time if you have your clamps all set up. another five minutes or so to get your clamp pressure done. I leave the clmaps on at least overnight. Titebond II has a pretty fast set time, but what's the hurry?

[Brad Wood]

+1 on sections. I find it too difficult to manage more than a few boards at a time... particularly when they are long.
I tend not to wait 24 hours though.. maybe it will bite me in the butt some day, but I typically believe the instructions when it comes to set time... unless it is really cold

[Tom Cross]

Much better way is to glue up two at a time then glue two of the doubles, etc. It is much easier to align the surfaces and get tight joints. Use clamps about every six inches.

[Howard Acheson]

James, let me help you to find your own answer to your question. The only way to tell how many boards to do is to go through a couple of dry fits. Do all the steps including mimicing the application of the adhesive and the setting of the cauls. This will give you the opportunity to make sure all your boards are properly prepared and that you have all the tools and clamps pre-positioned carefully. You'll find that it will go faster with each practice dry fit.

When I built my bench years ago, I had my wife and 12 year old son give me a hand. We probably went through 4 or 5 practice dry fits. When it came time to do it for real, everything went very smoothly and we were not even close to a problem.

You don't say what adhesive you plan to use. When I did mine, I used Elmers PVA White Glue as it gave the longest open time.

[Jacob Mac]

Going through a dry run is good advice. I didn't, and I have one spot on my bench that is not as tight as I would like.

After that mishap, I started using a doweling jig to help alignment because I was rerally struggling with proper alignment on the 8" long boards.

If you find it is difficult, ratchet down to a manageable amount of boards. Better to do it right than to rush and screw up.

[glenn bradley]

+1 with Howard on the dry fit. This process has saved me enough times to where I just automatically do a dry fit on everything anymore. Like some others, I find that more than a few pieces make it hard to correct alignment. As I fix one, another piece two boards away will move from it's previously perfect state :p.

Even when testing the waters with a dry fit, remember that when doing the actual glue-up, things will slide around on you unlike when dry. When in doubt, start small; you can always do more in the next phase. Keep the width to your planer or jointer's limit so you can surface sections to ease any irregularities before moving on.

[james susick]

Thanks for the help and i am using titebond 2. I will do the dry runs for sure.

[Alex Shanku]

When laminating, I glue up as many as I can, up to 8" (the width of my jointer)

[Brian Kent]

Also, depending on what you do next, make sue that the grain orientation is the same for all of the boards so that jointing or planing will be free from any tear-out.

[Dave Lehnert]

The use of Elmers Glue-All will give you a much longer working time before it sets up. No different than wood glue, just a longer open time. Very common to use in drawer construction with dovetails.

http://www.seatonhobbyshop.com/elmers%20glue/img5.jpg
http://edge.shop.com/ccimg.shop.com/230000/230700/230719/products/-%21Elmers%20Glue%20All--36354916.jpg

[Bud Millis]

As for glueing them up, you can use an old plastic credit card. Apply glue to the wood, use credit card to spread. Put what you feel comfortable together and clamp for at least 1 hr. Undo them then go on to the next batch. Repeat for however many batches you have. On the last glue up leave them clamped overnight.

I did my workbench top in one shot and let it set overnight.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

I am a bit skeptical even suggesting a method so different from the general consensus but I've glued up a lot of table tops both thick and thin. Still, you have to do this one, not me and you must be comfortable with the method. The end result is yours so pick a way you are comfortable with given the tools and skills you have.
You have undoubtedly spent time jointing all these boards to get them straight and true. You have them all dimensioned to width and thickness and hopefully as square as possible. If you now glue them up in pairs or halves, you risk the possibility of having to re-joint the glued up sections prior to gluing. Yes, it is very possible, unless you glue gown against a perfectly flat surface, you might inadvertently allow the pairs to no longer be straight.
Yet, gluing a compete workbench top is tricky, mostly due to the weight. Start by setting up on a good pair of horses that have been leveled to each other. Dowel individual boards for alignment and use a slow drying glue. A little help just in case would also be nice.
Urea Formaldehyde glues, sold by any good woodworking supplier will dry in 12 hours. They are wonderful for difficult gluing projects like yours.
You will have two dry runs. The first after all edges are prepared and you lay out the individual boards. Clamp the stack and be sure you are happy with the joints. Then make 3 or 4 dowel placements on each joint. Stagger them. Mark a triangle on the top so you can repeat the lineup.
Two tips; drill the dowel holes slightly oversize. Use 3/8" X 2" dowels but use the next larger lettered bit to drill the holes. The dowels should easily fit in and out the holes with no noticeable slop yet no need for a pliers to remove them. Needless to say, the holes must be drilled using an accurate doweling jig to assure the holes are aligned and exactly 90 degrees to each board and drilled deep enough to allow the joints to close.
Secondly, don't put glue in the dowel holes or on the dowels. The hydraulic pressure created forcing glue out of the hole puts too much pressure on the clamps. Besides, the dowels are for alignment only and add no strength to the joint.
Lay wax paper under the area you will use to glue the top, there will be a lot of dripping. Mix the glue and go to work. You will not have to worry about the 5 minute "bite" experienced with Titebond 1, 2 or 3. Glue all the boards then go to work clamping.
Use lots of clamps with as many under the boards as on top of the boards. A 6' top will require up to 20 clamps. Tighten the clamps evenly working your way back and forth tightening a bit at a time. Give the excess glue time to work it's way out of the joint. It will take some time but it will work if you have enough clamps and your prep work is done well.
One last comment, UF glue is hard and brittle. The excess must be scraped or sanded away. Planer and jointer blades don't like it much.
Good Luck which ever way you choose.
butch

[Frank Drew]

I like Weldwood's Plastic Resin Glue (brown glue, as it's sometimes called) if I need a long open time; I think if you have everything laid out in advance and have enough clamps -- which I'd stagger above and below the work -- this wouldn't be an impossible job to do in one go. (I think doing one joint at a time would try the patience of a statue.)

Doable alone, it would be much easier with a reasonably competent helper.