Removing dried squeeze out

[Matt Day]

Hello,

I tried searching quite a few different strings of words to find the answer to what I thought would be a common question - how to remove squeeze out after the glue is dried.

I glued up the frame of my recent table project and have a little bit of glue squeeze out that has fully dried. I should have done more reading on the techniques of glueing up to prevent this (I like the technique where 1/2 - 3/4 of the way through inserting the tenon, you use a brush to wipe off the roll of glue. Also chamfering the corners of the mortise), but that is beside the point now.

What I've done is the past is meticulously used a sharp chisel and scraper to cut away the dried glue. Is there a better way?

Also, after I am satisfied with it, it's a touch joint to sand because the grain of the leg is perpendicular to the grain of the rail. Any suggestions?

[Joe Scharle]

I'm always missing a bit too. Sharp chisel followed by cabinet scraper works for me.

[Tom Veatch]

I have an old Stanley #90 I picked up on eBay that I use as a chisel plane - without the toe section - to shave off dried squeezeout. Works great.

[glenn bradley]

Like Joe; small chisel and a little scrape if required. If we're talkin' major line of goo; heat gun and old chisel.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Make a 1/4" wide 1/8" thick (dimensions are approx. all it has to be is thin and strong) scraper stick. Wet rag, wipe the glue and scrape with the stick. Repeat repeat repeat. Takes time. And only works on water based glue. Less potential to gouge that table leg..... A chisel gouge would be tough to fix.

[Greg Hawthorne]

Finishing components prior to glue-up is an option - the squeeze-out is usually a lot easier to remove from a finished surface than a bare wood surface. To make life even easier, wipe a little mold release along the edges adjacent to the joint, and the squeeze-out will flake off.

As well as making removal easier, finishing prior to glue-up eliminates the problem of glue staining the timber.

[Doug Shepard]

Anything sharp and flat. LV sells a flush plane that works pretty well http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32664&cat=1,230,41182 (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32664&cat=1,230,41182) but I've often just pulled the iron out of a plane and used that. A sharp chisel works well if room permits.

[Keith Christopher]

I'm always missing a bit too. Sharp chisel followed by cabinet scraper works for me.

This is the easiest way eveah !

[Kevin Groenke]

Finishing components prior to glue-up is an option - the squeeze-out is usually a lot easier to remove from a finished surface than a bare wood surface.
As well as making removal easier, finishing prior to glue-up eliminates the problem of glue staining the timber.

Yep, I often finish before assembly simply because it gives much more control over all of the variables. I mask off tenons and other bare wood when finishing. With stain and/or finish and often wax on the finished surfaces, dried glue pops right off and never gets into the grain so the resulting "glue shadows" are not a problem.

Obviously each piece is handled differently, whether to finish before or after is a decision to be made for each one and is influenced by the eventual finish and application method (stained or clear - sprayed, brushed or wiped?)

Pre-finishing is usually my preferred method for anything with numerous mortise & tenons like Arts and Crafts seating and tables. Also carcasses with a complicated finishing schedule since getting a consistent finish into corners can be difficult. If I intend to spray on the final finish, I'll sometime seal with a thin cut of shellac before gluing up.

[John Thompson]

I'll join Greg and Kevin with finish before glue up and then a rag dampened with distilled water makes it a charm. But.. there are occasions that glue up after finish is not feasible. So... I use an old #5 plane iron when wide is necessary and the appropriate chisel size for smaller needs.

I will emphasize the iron and chisels are sharp and.... I hold them canted at about 5-7 degrees with the back of the iron or chisel facing me and remove with a pull stroke which gives more control IMO. You get a feel for just how much pressure to use to get it done taking just what you need to off without digging in.

Have fun...

[John Coloccia]

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://www.mclendons.com/img/products/01/013670.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.mclendons.com/item.asp%3Fsku%3D013670%26cat%3DPaint%26subcat1%3D painting%2Bequipment%2B%2526%2Bacc.%26subcat2%3Dsc rapers%2B%2526%2Bputty%2Bknives&usg=__sDvYIH3yPhAk1BdQLjRdnujEGQQ=&h=300&w=300&sz=22&hl=en&start=21&um=1&tbnid=ySy7iztk3smWCM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpaint%2Bscraper%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den %26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26start%3D18%26um%3D1

Works for me, anyhow. Best, of course, is to aggressively clean it as you assemble.

[Bill Huber]

With most of my glue ups I always have glue I miss so I just get out the old jack hammer, its a little loud but get the glue off.... :D

Really I am a chisel and scraper man.

I also have a little Bahco 625 that works very well in those real tight corners.

http://www.tools-plus.com/sandvik-bahco-625.html



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