How Do you Glue This Up?

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Is there a better way to glue this up than using tape? It is really fiddly to get those edges lined up exactly and not have them move as I move down the seam trying to line up the rest of it. I think it actually might be easier with glue on it as it gets tacky it'll hold in place better.

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This is what it will look like when done. I'm thinking of gluing it up in two stages, first the two small pieces together then gluing those to the panel.

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[Matt Day]

Rather than just plain edge to edge Where you’re going to get glue creep like crazy, I’d either use a mechanical alignment of some kind (dowels, biscuit, domino) or make some kind of locking joint.

[glenn bradley]

I agree a hidden (stopped groove) spline would be easiest to handle if I were doing a lot of this. For one or two I would use tape. I do not try to get the alignment set and then apply tape. That way leads to madness ;-)

Lay a strip of wide tape on the bench, place one piece with the length of the edge stuck about halfway across the tape, place the adjoining piece, now fold.

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Small parallel clamps or more tape can be used to hold things tight for a half hour or so.

[Dennis McDonaugh]

I'm using these mini biscuits, but they don't hold everything together and the alignment can move slightly if the joint moves. I've tried to figure out how to clamp it, but I don't think that's going to work.

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[Kevin Jenness]

I do a fair amount of miterfolds. If the pieces are flat and straight they go together easily. I lay them edge to edge, put two or three pieces of clear packing tape across the joint to hold alignment and one piece the length of the joint, then burnish the tape down for best adhesion. I may use a temporary gusset to hold the folded joint at the correct angle. I would do the pictured joint in one go. For production 90 degree joints a lock miter is easily clamped but the setup is exacting.

I find it easiest to clamp splined joints using temporary blocks that allow clamping the joint perpendicular to the glueline. To my mind the taped miterfold is easier in most situations, self-aligning and as strong as a glued flat edge joint if accurately made. I re-enforce miter joints with splines, dominos or biscuits when the grain direction runs across the joint.

[Matt Day]

In your last picture, you’ve got one biscuit in the center. Having a single biscuit centered creates a pivot and the joint can move quite easily. Have you tried doing at least two biscuits? Are your biscuits very loose in the slot? If so, check your technique and make sure you are holding the biscuit joiner steady and it’s not moving up and down while you plunge in and out. If that still doesn’t do it, maybe a spritz of water will make them swell a little bit and fit tighter.

[Lee Schierer]

Instead of a few strips of tape spaced along the joint get some 2" wide tape and run it full length n one piece and then place that piece on your work bench. Apply glue to the second piece and carefully against the edge of the first piece. Then fold the pieces together. YOu can apply pressure to the joint with rubber bands stretched over both pieces. For the third and final glue up, clamp the large panel to your work bench with the full length tape applied to the miter. Apply glue to the first glue up edge and align it to the panel, then fold up. Clamp on a few C-clamps and use bungee cords connected tot he handles to apply pressure by stretching them across your work bench. You don't need tons of pressure for good glue joints.

[Mel Fulks]

I would start with pinch dogs on the ends. And if the material is not already trimmed to exact length , I would try them
at ends of face side too.

[Jim Becker]

Make custom cauls so you can clamp them up or at least stabilize them while using the tape.

[Dennis McDonaugh]

In your last picture, you’ve got one biscuit in the center. Having a single biscuit centered creates a pivot and the joint can move quite easily. Have you tried doing at least two biscuits? Are your biscuits very loose in the slot? If so, check your technique and make sure you are holding the biscuit joiner steady and it’s not moving up and down while you plunge in and out. If that still doesn’t do it, maybe a spritz of water will make them swell a little bit and fit tighter.

That was a practice piece. I'm working on a cabinet 5 feet tall and used 10 of those little biscuit in each joint.

[Dennis McDonaugh]

I do a fair amount of miterfolds. If the pieces are flat and straight they go together easily. I lay them edge to edge, put two or three pieces of clear packing tape across the joint to hold alignment and one piece the length of the joint, then burnish the tape down for best adhesion. I may use a temporary gusset to hold the folded joint at the correct angle. I would do the pictured joint in one go. For production 90 degree joints a lock miter is easily clamped but the setup is exacting.

I find it easiest to clamp splined joints using temporary blocks that allow clamping the joint perpendicular to the glueline. To my mind the taped miterfold is easier in most situations, self-aligning and as strong as a glued flat edge joint if accurately made. I re-enforce miter joints with splines, dominos or biscuits when the grain direction runs across the joint.

Kevin, I didn't have confidence I could glue all three pieces at once and have a 90 degree angle all along the joint.

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Make custom cauls so you can clamp them up or at least stabilize them while using the tape.

That's essentially what I did. I couldn't use a continuous piece of tape the way Glenn and Lee suggested because you can't fold the two pieces over if you're using biscuits. I used two cauls to set the width and a small amount of downward pressure to force the two faces together,

[Andrew Hughes]

I would just use extra thick wide packing tape just the same as Lee mentions. Sometimes too much glue is not a good idea because it takes more clamping pressure to get out the extra glue. If you don’t the joint will not be closed . So this is where a scrap of wood with a notched edge works to spread out the glue.
Good Luck

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Once I glued a pair of the corners together I was able to mock it up and now I've got something I can use to support the glue up when I attach the sides to the front.

A view from the bottom. This is a cover for a gun safe. I'm told it's ugly and has to be covered so I'm going to attach two wine racks on either side and put it in the dining room!

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This is the top end.

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It looks pretty good. This isn't glued yet.

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[Kevin Jenness]

"I didn't have confidence I could glue all three pieces at once and have a 90 degree angle all along the joint"

That's where the temporary gussets on the inside of the assembly are useful.

If the tips of the miters are touching and held together with well-burnished full length 2" packing tape all that is required is to make the fold to squeeze any excess glue out of the joint, then lightly clamp to the gussets to keep the shape.

I recently glued up two 4" square newels and pulled the last joints up tight with stretch-wrap film. The miters were accurately sawn at 45 degrees so there was no problem winding up with a square post.