Cool glue-up tip for cracked piece

[Jamie Schmitz]

Woodsmith magazine clipping.

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[Dan Hintz]

Well, that would kind of suck (no pun intended) if that excess glue ended up around the impeller of an expensive (e.g., Festool) vac.

[Dave Zellers]

Exactly. How are you supposed to know precisely when the glue appears on the bottom of that board?

OTOH, this is what 35 yo Sears vacuums are for! My Fein would never get near that, but maybe my 'ole trusty Craftsman. :D

I was put in my place a couple years ago when I brought my trusty Craftsman on to the job. The young owner, who had a new Craftsman vac, looked at mine and said, "Man, that's an old vac!" Gee, thanks. Given that I had bought it new when I was his age, and that in my mind I haven't aged (much), it took me a minute to absorb that blow.

For those of us that take care of, and hold on to our tools throughout our lives, apparently we are as old as they are.:cool:

Not that there is anything wrong with that. Sometimes I think this is why young folks buy old Walker Turners and refurb them, so they will appear wiser than their age.

Actually, young folks who buy old Walker Turners and refurb them probably are wiser than their age.

There. I have completely hijacked your thread. Sorry.:o

[Jim Matthews]

Perhaps because I use handplanes more, I'm forever spelching out the sides of boards - always where someone might see.

This works really well, but I tape near the crack before applying glue.
The vacuum draws the bead down slowly, but there's lots of excess squeezing out with this method.

I wouldn't worry too much about any reaching the vacuum fan, as "a little dab'll dooya (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6F4GtyRfto)".

[John McClanahan]

I wouldn't worry about glue in the blades. If the glue didn't stick to the sides of the hose, it would get trapped where the dirt goes. There is also a filter before it reaches the fan blades.

John

[Peter Quinn]

Brilliant. I love it, and can use it, and will use it!. Occasionally my boss has us try to repair a crack in an otherwise good board to squeeze a little more out of the product. I'm usually thinking if the board cracked there its better to cut out the weakness than glue it in, but its not my call. We resort to all sorts of things to get the glue in, including making the crack worse by prying it open a bit. I also have a set of needles for injecting thinned titebond into a crack. But this simple idea has real promise. And I don't care if any glue hits the impeller, its not my vac!

[Dave Zellers]

Of course, you could use compressed air to blow it through from the top...

[Bruce Page]

Of course, you could use compressed air to blow it through from the top...
That's the way I've always done it but like the article says, it's messy. I'm going to try this approach next time.
Jamie, thanks for the tip.

[Chris Tsutsui]

I think it would be easy to sandwich a rag between the shop vac and board. Excess glue will soak up into the rag and not get sucked up in the shop vac. You can occasionally check the rag to see if it saturated.

Thanks for the share, I love the idea better than using an acid brush to push glue into the cracks which is what I've done in the past.

[Lee Schierer]

Another way is to apply a bead of glue along the top surface. Then take a length of dental floss and slip it into the crack like you are going to floss the crack. You can slowly pull the glue down into the crack.

[Howard Acheson]

That's a pretty old trick. My grandfather showed it to me back in the 1940's. It wasn't new then.

It's particularly good when you have a split like that shown.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

+1 for the rag on the hose end to absorb the glue. Works.

Have not heard of the dental floss trick though. Be sure to use unwaxed floss.......

[Brian Penning]

I sort of did that once....the client wanted to know why there were lip marks on the back side of the wood.....;)

[Jim Matthews]

Ewww.... there's a vivid image I would like to un-imagine.

go Habs, GO!
(Canadiens fan in exile)

[raul segura]

I like it . Ill place a hair net or rag between the hose and wood also tape around the crack but a couple of spots.
Iv had my Skill and Black N Decker tools since I was 17 and don't plane on getting old with out them (LOL).