Rookie panel glue up question

[Rick Schubert]

I'm making my first cutting boards as a wedding present for my daughter. (Thanks Vaughn for sharing your design & production ideas.)

I glued up the different wood strips and the larger hard maple pieces using Bessey K-Body clamps. The boards sat on the clamps as a base, plus a couple clamps over the top, alternating them. Lots of glue squeezed out since I coated both sides of each wood strip with glue, per Vaughn's suggestion.

I was able to wipe a lot of the glue off before it dried, but could not reach some because of the clamps.

Finally my question: So glue dripped on the threads/slots of the clamps and dried. Does this hurt anything with the clamps? Is there an easy way to get it off now? Do I need to? Is there a way to prevent all this?

Thanks, Rick

I know I should post pics, but I don't have a digital camera here. And I'm already in such hot water and have a long probation with Tyler & the pic police, I figured one more time wouldn't add to my sentence. :):) (See Off Topic Forum 6/6 where Tyler raided a Creeker Compound)

[glenn bradley]

I use lots of waxed paper that I pickup whereever it super cheap. I protect everything from clamps to workbench tops with it. When dried the glue peels off so you can use it several times before recycling. During my dry fit I just think about gravity and have the wax paper waiting there for the glue up.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Yes, it's good to remove all hard glue from the clamps. It can interfere with the clamp operation and possibly scratch your wood. I just use a scraper to remove it when hard; it usually just flicks right off.

[Don Baer]

What Alen says. I usualy wait until I am ready to use the clamps again and discover that I need to remove some old glue. A sharp knife or a pointed screw driver takes the glue off.

[Vaughn McMillan]

To echo others so far, I use wax paper between the clamp bars and the wood. I learned the hard way that the Titebond can really get a grip on the serrations of the clamp bar. As suggested, you can scrape most of it off (I use an old beater screwdriver), but after a few times of doing so, you start getting creative about keeping it off the clamps in the first place. ;) All my clamps have a certain "patina" of glue on them, but I try to keep it from building up and interfering with the clamping mechanism. Sometimes you can also knock the bigger glue chunks off by simply sliding the clamp mechanism down hard on it. A coat of paste wax on the bars (before the glue gets on them) also helps when it comes time to remove dried glue.

BTW, don't forget to post pics when you're done with the cutting boards. :)

- Vaughn

[Ed Blough]

Living in Florida makes me wax or protect everything I don't want to rust. I have found a good coating of wax on the clamps prevents most of the glue squeeze out that gets on them to be little or no problem. A few flicks with something sharp usually cleans all the dried glue off the clamps.

And like some one said a nice patina of glue on the your tools make them looked used instead of looking like never used trophies.

The wax also works for your bench tops. I use a putty knife to flick the dried glue squeeze out off my bench top. Again a little patina of glue here also adds to the look that you use your shop.

[tod evans]

i`m on the same page as ed..slather `em with wax. or if ya` want high tech use a product called "bates boothcoating" made by u-c coatings in n.y......02 tod

[Lee Schierer]

The wax paper and other hints are good, but you need to learn to use less glue. When they say "glue squeeze out" they mean small droplets of glue that will look like a dotted line along the glue line. Glue that drips or runs was excessive and is only creating extra work for yourself and wasting glue. I apply a bead of glue and spread it with an old tooth brush. You should be able to see therough the glue layer after you spread it. Puddles of glue will only drip and run. Less glue means less clean up and less surprises when that first coat of stain or finish is applied.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I get glue on everything. I ignore it protecting only those surfaces I intend to finish. If it gets on the clamps I ignore it. if it gets on my bench I ignore it. It's just glue.
If there is wet glue on a clamp I intend to use I ignore it unless there's a chance it'll drip on the work piece.