How much glue?

[Cameron Wood]

James Krenov, in "The Fine Art of Cabinetmaking", says: 'Any glue pushed out should not have been there in the first place.'

Do you agree with this?

I know that factory made furniture generally has vanishingly little glue in the joints.

[John Kananis]

I like to see a little squeeze out and generally speaking, I'd rather over do it than under do it.

[Doug Garson]

In a perfect world you would have full glue coverage and zero squeeze out. In the real world a little squeeze out is the best way to ensure full coverage.

[mike calabrese]

If I were Krenov I would say the same thing however I am not Krenov so I slop on the glue on both surfaces, ( there is another debate topic) and I look for 100% show of squeeze out on every glue up.

Oscar Levant said..... "There's a fine line between genius and insanity" I would rephrase that quote of Mr. Levant by saying
There is a fine line between no squeeze out and starting your project over.
Why try to be Krenov by saving glue :p
calabrese55

[Michael Schuch]

James Krenov, in "The Fine Art of Cabinetmaking", says: 'Any glue pushed out should not have been there in the first place.'

Do you agree with this?

I know that factory made furniture generally has vanishingly little glue in the joints.

Yep, factory made furniture has very little glue... which is why factory made furniture is usually junk. They don't want to pay someone minimum wage to wipe off squeeze out with a wet rag. I don't mind wiping off a little squeeze out or just leaving it on to dry and taking care of it with a chisel. I make my own projects because I want it to be better than what is produced in a factory.

I use a brush to thoroughly but thinly coat the two mating surfaces with glue and don't rely a dollop of glue applied by a machine. A dollop of glue from a machine doesn't penetrate the surfaces leaving very weak bonds.

I have reglued almost every drawer in my girlfriends kitchen because after 15 years the little dollop just isn't doing it any more. After proper glue ups she doesn't despise her kitchen any more and hasn't talked about replacing all her cabinets in quite a while. It is amazing what a proper glue job makes!

When my daughter proudly assembled her own Ikea type flat pack desk every dowel and mating surface had a thin coat of Titebond brushed on it. The desk now could almost be mistaken for a piece of furniture. (I believe it is best to teach peope how to do a quality job while they are young.)

[Rich Engelhardt]

Dealing with squeeze out is a whole lot easier and faster that dealing with too little glue.

I slather glue on like mustard on a ham and swiss on rye.

[Lee Schierer]

I aim for little tiny beads of squeeze out along both sides of the pieces being glued. Large beads and/or runs indicate too much glue and leads to extra work and potentially finishing problems. Old tooth brushes make excellent glue spreaders and can be reused.

[Bradley Gray]

+1 for little beads. I use a printers breyer to spread glue.

[glenn bradley]

In a perfect world you would have full glue coverage and zero squeeze out. In the real world a little squeeze out is the best way to ensure full coverage.

This is how I approach it as well. I try for no squeeze out through the various methods to control (https://www.woodsmith.com/article/dealing-with-excess-glue/) it. Despite trying for none on purpose there are times I will worry over a starved joint if things go too well :D

[Michael Burnside]

I aim for little tiny beads of squeeze out along both sides of the pieces being glued. Large beads and/or runs indicate too much glue and leads to extra work and potentially finishing problems. Old tooth brushes make excellent glue spreaders and can be reused.

Exactly this for every glue up. Especially on long grain. People that slather it on just create more work for themselves and risk having the glue show up in finishing.

[Jim Becker]

In a perfect world you would have full glue coverage and zero squeeze out. In the real world a little squeeze out is the best way to ensure full coverage.
^^ This is what I shoot for, but I'd rather have too much and have to clean up than not enough, resulting in a poor joint. It's a dance!

[John TenEyck]

Squeeze out proves there was glue. Short of that, you'll never know.

John

[Richard Coers]

If you have to have a wet rag or toothbrush to scrub up squeeze out, you put on way too much. TV woodworkers use glue like it was free! LOL I'm of the school that the tiniest possible line of squeeze out, that can be cut off with a chisel in a few minutes after clamping, is perfect. If the squeeze out wants to run or drip, WAY too much.

[Michael Burnside]

If you have to have a wet rag or toothbrush to scrub up squeeze out, you put on way too much. TV woodworkers use glue like it was free! LOL I'm of the school that the tiniest possible line of squeeze out, that can be cut off with a chisel in a few minutes after clamping, is perfect. If the squeeze out wants to run or drip, WAY too much.

Exactly! And using a rag with porous wood is asking for a problem if you wipe too hard and press the glue down into the grain.

I always laugh at the YouTubers that glue dominos which subsequently squeezes out all over the place when they have a hardwood panel glue up. Like they think the 15mm domino glue is stronger than the many feet of long-grain to long-grain surface area. I've built so many panels I've lost count and I never glue the domino if it's there for alignment purposes only.

[Cameron Wood]

I think Krenov was talking about assembling fancy casework. Joining panels that will be planed or machined after is less important, and for a big glue up, if you try to get just the right amount, it may start to dry before all the glue is spread.

[Jimmy Harris]

If you could measure the perfect amount so you get no squeeze out, yet everything is covered, that would be ideal. But I don't pretend to live in a perfect world, so I plan for controlled mistakes. Therefore, I purposefully use too much glue and deal with the squeeze out, being the easier of two mistakes to fix.

[Michael Burnside]

If you could measure the perfect amount so you get no squeeze out, yet everything is covered, that would be ideal. But I don't pretend to live in a perfect world, so I plan for controlled mistakes. Therefore, I purposefully use too much glue and deal with the squeeze out, being the easier of two mistakes to fix.

Respectfully disagree. People don't realize how strong glue is, especially long-grain adhesion. It's not hard to get close IMHO. And a little squeeze out is fine, the goal isn't "no squeeze out".

[George Yetka]

Respectfully disagree. People don't realize how strong glue is, especially long-grain adhesion. It's not hard to get close IMHO.

I think it would depend on use. If you want full/no gap coverage minimal squeezeout is a price i will pay (cutting boards, anything that has grain that wont want to be together later) If Im gluing something non load bearing I'm ok with 50% coverage so no squeezeout(edgebanding, trim, stable materials that are otherwise supported).

[Chris Parks]

You know you have used too much glue when the pieces slide around when clamping them together How hard can it be to glue some offcuts together with varying amounts of squeeze out? I apply the glue and wait a bit for it to go off slightly so there is no movement when clamping and I experimented to be able to do that reliably. Too much glue causes the pieces to slide and not enough causes the joint to break and somewhere between the two is Krenof I would guess.

[Mel Fulks]

You know you have used too much glue when the pieces slide around when clamping them together How hard can it be to glue some offcuts together with varying amounts of squeeze out? I apply the glue and wait a bit for it to go off slightly so there is no movement when clamping and I experimented to be able to do that reliably. Too much glue causes the pieces to slide and not enough causes the joint to break and somewhere between the two is Krenof I would guess.

Yep, But Old Timers used to put a few grains of sharp sand between the meeting surfaces . Think about the ads for sports shoes with
cleats , same principle. The sand is probably a lot cheaper than glue cleats .

[Warren Lake]

thats neat not heard that. Most know if you rub the two pieces glue several times they stick together from a suction that forms. Dont listen to my technical description just know it happens.

[Chris Parks]

Yep, But Old Timers used to put a few grains of sharp sand between the meeting surfaces . Think about the ads for sports shoes with
cleats , same principle. The sand is probably a lot cheaper than glue cleats .

The only reason they did that and people still do it is they use too much glue. A bit of experimentation with some off cuts and you will soon learn how not to waste glue and get good results.

[Mel Fulks]

The only reason they did that and people still do it is they use too much glue. A bit of experimentation with some off cuts and you will soon learn how not to waste glue and get good results.

I don’t think so. Some shop owners won’t use a lot of the old shop remedies , until a new hire beats the time of his most cherished
speedy knuckle- head.

[Warren Lake]

glue costs nothing. More important is increase in manufacturing time when people are making 1000 pieces at a time and have to clean squeeze out. Old british cabinemaker taught you always see squeeze out to know there is enough and clean up in whatever your way is. For some stuff you can take the time to tape first and most of it ends up on the tape.

[Chris Parks]

glue costs nothing. More important is increase in manufacturing time when people are making 1000 pieces at a time and have to clean squeeze out. Old british cabinemaker taught you always see squeeze out to know there is enough and clean up in whatever your way is. For some stuff you can take the time to tape first and most of it ends up on the tape.

So Krenov was wrong and his furniture fell apart because he had no squeeze out....hmm, I will have to think about that.

[Warren Lake]

no I think it was fine the pocket screws held it together.

[Mel Fulks]

Dealing with squeeze out is a whole lot easier and faster that dealing with too little glue.

I slather glue on like mustard on a ham and swiss on rye.

I agree with Rich. Our ancestor furniture makers had to work quickly with hot hide glue. No heat pumps and insulation. They put the
material in a warm spot ,near the fire , and worked quickly with dry glue and wet water to make the glue. People were frugal in olden
days, but they probably had to slap on more glue than what would be used in Summer.