glue-up horrors

[tom blankenship]

How much swelling is expected from wood when glue is applied?

I built a bookcase from red oak. Shelves (7/8" thick) were fitted to the support dadoes (3/8 " deep) so that they were snug, but easy to insert and remove.

A practice run of assembly and clamping indicated it would all be a nice fit. I applied glue (Titebond II) to the dadoes and ends of the four shelves (one side at a time). When I tried to fit the second side to the shelves immediately after gluing I had, shall I say, a bit of trouble. The shelves would not fit. Panic, sweat, tachycardia, anger.

As the glue is drying I manage to get a series of Bessy K-body clamps attached and was just able to close the joints (using all the clamping pressure available). The alignment of shelves and sides wan less than perfect.

So, will the glue have any useful holding power?

How much clearance, or how loose, should these joints be prior to gluing?

Thanks from a woodworking beginner.

[glenn bradley]

That seems like an extreme reaction in that end grain. If the dados were sized to allow easy but not sloppy assembly as described I would not have expected this. A solution for next time would be to apply the glue to the dado as opposed to the end grain. Better safe than sorry. Glad you got it recovered.

[Jim Becker]

Do remember that red oak is like a bundle of soda straws and will absorb moisture "really fast". A very light coat of glue on the end-grain that is allowed to pre-dry might help in this situation to keep swelling from moisture to a minimum since the glue will not re-desolve. (Type II or III)

[Al Killian]

I would/have used sizer on the end grain of red oak to help with this. Just thin some glue with water and apply it. one other thing you should do first is to sand the end grain to atleast 320 or 400. This will close up the poors some and help the wicking common with red oak.

[Andrew Williams]

I predict that the joints will hold up just fine. K-body clamps don't have much leverage, and it may take what seems like a lot of hand force to get them to close up that joint when just turning a wooden handle. A dado joint is very long and should take some force to close with glue. Try using pipe clamps and cauls, much easier to close. I have the same issue with Dowelmax joints. Sometimes a carcass will have 20-30 tight-fitting dowels in the process of expanding and I need to use pipe clamp force to close them. They go together fine, and once the joint is closed I can take the clamps off immediately and check for square.