Glue ups without smearing glue

[Jared Cuneo]

I've gotten pretty decent at only squeezing out a nice beaded line of glue when gluing up my panels however I am having one problem that I hope I can get some help on.

In an effort to perfectly line up the joints, I use my fingers to rub across top and bottom panels or in some cases use cauls. this always causes glue to get pushed into the pores or smeared on top where I have to sand it later.

Is there any way to perfectly align panels and not disturb the bead line?

Thanks!

JC

[Dave Avery]

Dowels, bisquits, dominoes.........

[Jim Kountz]

Dowels, bisquits, dominoes.........

add to this list splines, Tongue and Groove and half laps, the list goes on and on!!

[Lee Schierer]

I've gotten pretty decent at only squeezing out a nice beaded line of glue when gluing up my panels however I am having one problem that I hope I can get some help on.

In an effort to perfectly line up the joints, I use my fingers to rub across top and bottom panels or in some cases use cauls. this always causes glue to get pushed into the pores or smeared on top where I have to sand it later.

Is there any way to perfectly align panels and not disturb the bead line?

Thanks!

JC
You can apply painters tape or regular masking tape on each side of the joint. Smeared glue will stay on the tape.

Or

Align the joint with your finger and use a wet rag to wipe off all the glue. The normal sanding after assembly shold take care of any glue residue.

If you stain the wood and see a glue mark just sand that area immediately before the stain dries and restain.

[Rick Levine]

It sounds like you are using too much glue. Using a brush to spread an even amount of glue as well as blue tape at the joints to help reduce the problem.

[Denny Rice]

When doing glue-ups the masking tape is a real good idea when working with wood. Its takes some extra time but the pain of removing dried glue can be a hassle. For most of my projects I keep a sponge and clean water handy and remove the glue before it has time to set. Like Rick I also use glue brushes that can be bought at any woodworking or hardware store to move the glue around before putting pressure to the joints, I have found this really cuts out on the amount of squeeze-out you will get.

[Mitchell Andrus]

I've used packing tape BEFORE jointing. A great co-planar edge results and squeeze-out flecks right off.

[keith ouellette]

You can also wet the wood with either water or spirits and it will usually point out any glue that will show up after staining. Its a good idea no matter what method you use to glue up panels. I have also heard (never used) of a brown glue that isn't very noticeable after staining but that depends on the wood you use.