Panel Glue-Up question

[Matthew Curtis]

How and when do you all remove glue squeeze out from panels?

[Frank Drew]

Ideally, when it gets rubbery and comes off the wood easily. Too soon, and the glue smears and can be difficult to get off entirely later on; too late, once the glue's cured, and it just becomes a bit harder to remove and there is the risk of pulling up a bit of your wood along with the glue. A really sharp scraper comes in handy at that point.

[Tony Bilello]

How and when do you all remove glue squeeze out from panels?

I usually do it when it is around the rubbery stage and it will peel off easily. That is always not practical in that I am not always going to hang around waiting for this to happen. If that be the case, when I get back to the shop the next day it only takes a few minutes with a scraper and then I proceed to plane or sand the panel flat. I always start with my boards oversized in thickness.

[Lee Schierer]

I agree with Frank, but usually sand off the glue rather than use a scraper if it gets too hard before I remember to remove it. Sanding avoids tear out caused by the glue.

However, The best cure is to use just enough glue to not get excessive squeeze out. I love it when I see just pin head sized bubbles of glue every 1/8-1/4" along a glue seam.

[Matthew Curtis]

How long do you let the glue set-up before un-clamping?

[glenn bradley]

I'm with Frank. I have a kitchen timer that I set for 30 minutes to remind me to come back and check. If I catch it right, I can skin off the rubbery squeeze out by running a chisel, bevel down, along the line. I have a carbide scraper to handle anything I miss. Like Lee, if I totally miss something and it has cured, I carefully sand as I have torn out material with the scraper once the glue is set. If only the glue would hold when we want it to and let go on command ;-)

[Glen Butler]

I typically sand well after glue up so I will wipe immediately with a damp rag. On something that may not require heavy sanding, I am with the rest.