Glue up order dilemma

[Tony Wilkins]

Glueing up the top for the dining table I’m making. Had 6 boards to make up the length. I have the two outside pairs glued up now. My original plan was to glue up the middle pair to make three panels to glue up to make the final width. Now I’m thinking of adding the middle board to each panel so ther will be two boards at the end to glue together. Which would you do? Is there a benefit of one over the other?

[Prashun Patel]

There's no benefit. I always prefer to add a single board to each glue up because if there's a little bit of final joint tweaking required, the single board is easier to handle.

[George Yetka]

If you can fit the 3 pairs in a planer then there would be a benefit to that. Otherwise just glue the 4 pieces together

[Tony Wilkins]

If you can fit the 3 pairs in a planer then there would be a benefit to that. Otherwise just glue the 4 pieces together
Don’t have a planer

[Kent A Bathurst]

I've always been "one joint at a time" so I can exert detailed focus and control on the target joint, only needing a card scraper to massage the finished joint. Never even considered running a glue-up through a planer, because eventually I'd run out of planer width. In which case, I decided I'd learn to do without.

I've done this before. I got it down to one final joint in the center.

[Scott Winners]

Pick your poison. Sooner or later you are going to need something large enough and flat to hold all six boards, and enough clamps to clamp the last joint. I think your available workspace and clamp inventory should be more important to your decision than the opinion of this guy having a cold beer after work. Either of your options will work. What makes the most sense in your workspace with the clamps you own?

Also, no matter what you pick, you will probably try it the other way next time, just saying. Once you have done it both ways, you won't need any help until you move to a new space or build a bigger workbench.

[Tony Wilkins]

Pick your poison. Sooner or later you are going to need something large enough and flat to hold all six boards, and enough clamps to clamp the last joint. I think your available workspace and clamp inventory should be more important to your decision than the opinion of this guy having a cold beer after work. Either of your options will work. What makes the most sense in your workspace with the clamps you own?

Also, no matter what you pick, you will probably try it the other way next time, just saying. Once you have done it both ways, you won't need any help until you move to a new space or build a bigger workbench.

Been slowly adding long Bessey parallel clamps planning for the final glue up so I think I’m good there.

[Tony Wilkins]

If it makes a difference, one of the remaining single boards developed a pretty good bow in it after skip planing it. Put it on top of the other single (even at the ends) and I’d loose 1/8”. I’d still have enough but hate thinking about planing that out lol.

[mike calabrese]

Youtube is your friend.................have a look here

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=table+top+glue+up
calabrese55

[Tony Wilkins]

Health and skill (more likely luck) made the decision. Didn’t have the strength to manage the double board panels. Put the single boards together and it was a solid joint on both sides. Will have strong young helpers tomorrow to put the double board panel k the bench to joint.