Glue up after finish Question

[Drew Pavlak]

Haven't posted in a while and hopefully I can get a quick answer.... I am working on a beam style Mantle for my wife... everything is done and I finished it last night... now I just need to glue it up... only 2 mortise and tenon joints hold it together... question I have is how do I keep the clamps from damaging the finish when I glue it up?

Mantle is Cherry and it was finished with Watco Danish oil and then I will probably wax it and buff it out.

My fear is that when I clamp it it will leave a spot where the clamp was on the front and top side of the mantel.

Wondering what other people might be using ... Another piece of wood between clamp and project? MDF? Cloth of some kind?

I have noticed recently that the little pads that are on a lot of my clamps are leaving a spot that I have to sand out when I do my glue ups... pads are clean, not sure why I am getting the spot. Bruising the wood? Is that even possible? Doesn't look like a dent. Are the pads leaving some kind of oily residue behind?

[Larry Browning]

Maybe use another small block of wood between the mantle and clamp pad? I have also heard about, but never used, wax paper to keep glue from sticking to your clamps. Maybe that would also work. I think there are lots of options to protect the finish.

[Barry McFadden]

I would use another piece of wood that is very smooth on the side that will be against the mantel and use as big of a piece as you can to spread out the clamping pressure over the biggest area....

[Prashun Patel]

My black rubber pads also transfer some kind of oil to my wood.
Once the wood is sealed and finished, though, it's not an issue for me.
I would use a softer piece of wood or mdf as a backing block to prevent denting, though.

[Lee Schierer]

Place smooth wood pads under your clamps where they will contact your mantle, the larger the better. To protect the finish place pieces of wax paper between the wood pads and the finish.