Finally starting my armoire. Questions...

[Michael Costa]

The side panels are 3/4" cherry with 1/4 cherry ply. I believe the method of joinery is called stub and tenon.
I'll dry fit the sides before gluing but have 2 questions.

1) Should I stain the parts before glue and clamp up?
2) What's the best way to remove glue seepage (that I know I'll have) from the corners where the plywood meets the hardwood?

Thanks

[John TenEyck]

With plywood panels I would not stain anything before glue up.

The best way to clean up glue squeeze out is to work hard to minimize it. It doesn't take much glue to hold together that type of assembly, especially if you glue in the plywood panels which I would do. Just a little glue on the sides of the dados and a little on the stub tenons. The only squeeze out should be on the tenon joints, and that is easily cleaned up with a wet rag.

John

[David Eisenhauer]

1) Definite yes.
2) I have always had good luck by waiting until the squeeze out dries to a "rubbery" consistence, then use a chisel to carefully lift it off the surface. That said, I do pay attention towards not creating any more squeeze out than possible.
I also made sure I did my final sand/scrape/etc on any molding details on the panel frame prior to final glue up because it is so much easier to do then.

[Jacob Mac]

You can take a straw, cut it at an angle and use that to get in corners to get rid of glue. Some people put wax on the piece to make it easy to peel the paint off,others say that ruins the finish. Some use painters tape.

Personally, I just try and not get crazy with the glue. An ounce of prevention and all of that

[Michael Costa]

One vote yes.
One vote no.

Lol.... love it.

Since there are two sides, perhaps I'll try one of each to see which I prefer then will know how to proceed from there.

As for glue. I always feel I'm not using enough and end up with the squeeze out. I like the straw idea. Have enough of those from Dunkins or Starbucks.

[Lee Schierer]

I always stain the panels and the groove ide of rails and Stiles before assembly. By doing this you insure that the panels and grooves are properly stained without an excess of stain in the corner where the panel meets the groove. On solid wood panels it also insures that if the panel shrinks a bit that it doesn't expose bare wood.

[Justin Rapp]

I have build a lot of furniture panels and it's similar to the way you put together a door with rail/styles/panel. I stop my glue spread about 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch on the tenon and keep it very light on the outward facing part of the groove. On the back of the panel, it isn't as bad but I try to avoid glue push out as much as I can. I wait 30 or so so I can unclamp and clean up / scrape any squeeze out away before it hardens. I then put the piece back in the clamps for a few hours (or overnight).

[Jim Becker]

Many folks pre-finish a panel to the first clear-coat before assembling frame and panel to insure that wood movement doesn't expose raw material over time. For cherry, (since I would never use stain on cherry) I would typically oil the panel and shoot a light coat of de-waxed shellac on it prior to assembly. That's the first part of how I most often start my finishing regimen anyway. Movement should be minimal with a plywood panel and reasonably narrow rails and stiles, of course, and depending on the humidity and heat environment the unit will live in post production, it may not ever be an issue.

[Tom Bender]

Stain depends on the finish you choose but finishing first is my usual approach. Definitely finish sanding first.

[glenn bradley]

Always plenty of advice. That's because we have all found methods that work for us and they differ just like we do. I pre-finish items or areas that will be difficult to get to after assembly. I tape off or otherwise keep areas free of finish that are to be glue surfaces.

Like Tom B. I plane, scrape or sand to my near final surface state before glue up. For this reason I avoid the wet rag method of clean up as it raises the grain and due to my method or whatever reason, this never gets all the glue and I have finish problems. There is nothing wrong with the wet rag clean up, it just doesn't play well with my methods. I go with the "let it set" to a rubbery consistency and then use a chisel or a cut straw (or both) to remove any squeeze out.

I also practice minimizing squeeze out as part of the assembly plan. The web and the forums are full of tricks to prevent excessive squeeze out. You will also get mixed results when you ask "how much glue is enough?".

For PVA, it is true that you want enough glue to visually block the surface; that is, you don't want the application so thin that you can see through it. On the other hand, your joints should fit well and not require puddles of glue. You will find your favored methods as you go.

[Robert Engel]

Agree re: staining ply panel not necessary.

The last cherry project I did I used oil and it came out very nice.

Some people will use a dye on cherry to darken it a bit and even out the color.