Gluing and Clamping Tips, Part 1

NEW ANGLE ON GLUING CORNERS

             Triangular blocks often slip when clamping mitered corners.

TIP: Double-faced carpet tape to the rescue again! A layer of tape on one surface of a triangular block makes a world of difference when clamping mitered corners. After the glue has dried, save the blocks, and reuse them on your next project. (Stay away from thin double-faced tapes that don't have a lot of sticking power.)

ROLL ON THE GLUE FOR BETTER COVERAGE

When laminating or edge-gluing stock, you often need to put on a lot of glue quickly and evenly. Spreaders or your fingers aren't always the best solution.

TIP: Spread the glue with a 3" paint roller. Just pour some glue on a 10"-12" square of any nonporous material, such as waxed paper. Now, load the roller as you would with paint. When you take a break, seal the roller in a plastic bag along with a wet sponge to keep it from drying out.

SCRAP PLASTIC LAMINATE SOLVES STICKY PROBLEM

You're clamping boards across edge-glued stock to keep it flat, but you don't have enough hands to hold them, tighten the clamps, and slip in waxed paper to keep the boards from becoming a permanent part of your project.

TIP: You can save the waxed paper for wrapping sandwiches if, instead, you cement scraps of plastic laminate to the inside surfaces of your alignment boards. Both setup and cleanup will be easier and faster.

Gluing and Clamping Tips, Part 2

                   Rolls-Royce STOPBLOCK

A stop block comes in handy when you want to cut several pieces to the same exact length. But you usually have to move the stop block and flip the stock to ensure that both ends of the piece being cut are squared.

TIP: With the hinged gate closed, position and clamp the stop block to the fence so that it's the exact finished length of the pieces away from the blade. Open the gate, position the work piece against the stop block, and make the first crosscut. Then, close the gate, flip the work piece end for end, and make the final cut. The movable, hinged end gate of this stop block works on either side of a radial-arm or table saw blade.

 

Make fast work
of laminating

Applying plastic laminate to two faces of a cabinet door, shelf, or other stock eats up a lot of your time when you do one side first, then wait for it to dry before covering the second side.

TIP: You can apply the laminate to both sides almost simultaneously. First, drive brads or small finishing nails into the corners of the stock where shown. Apply contact cement to this side, and then turn over the stock so the nails support it. Now, apply contact cement to the other face and to the two pieces of slightly oversized laminate. Allow the cement to dry until tacky, and place the first piece of laminate on the side without nails. Flip the stock over, pull out the nails with pliers, and carefully lay the second sheet of laminate into position. Allow the cement to cure, and use a router with a flush-trim bit to route the edges of the laminate flush with the center piece of stock.

 Tool up for straight edge gluing

Using 2x4s as flush clamp bars when gluing up boards edge-to-edge can easily result in misaligned boards toward the middle of the panel. The problem occurs because non tapered boards exert more pressure at the ends of the assembly than in the middle. The means to a solution: your jointer.

TIP: Mark the center of the length of a 2x4 on its face side and set the infeed table of your jointer 1/8" below the cutterhead as illustrated in the inset drawing . Lower the workpiece over the cutter at the center mark and feed it off the table so it makes a tapered cut from the middle to one end. Keep downward pressure on the infeed side of the table throughout the cut. Turn the piece end for end to make an identical cut from the center to the opposite end. This will create a clamping bar that gently bows with a central crown 1/8" higher than its ends.

Gluing and Clamping Tips, Part 3

Homemade fixtures
make diagonal clamping easy

When gluing up the ends of rectangular projects, placing a bar or pipe clamp across opposite corners assures everything will be square after the glue sets-- providing you keep the clamp from sliding off the corners. Besides, metal clamp jaws can easily mar or dent the work piece.

TIP: From 3/4-inch plywood, make a pair or more of the swiveling fixtures shown. Use dimensions that fit your projects and clamps. These fixtures work well without slipping or marring the work.

Keep hand screw clamps handy with overhead storage

Handscrew clamps, your helpers for so many shop tasks, can leave you feeling helpless when it comes time to put them away. They sure fill up a lot of storage space, fast.

TIP: For out-of-the-way yet easy-to-reach storage, hang your clamps on a wall with the slotted storage rack shown. Make it out of 3/4" plywood 6" to 12" wide in a length to suit your situation.

Allow 1/2" spacing between clamps when you lay out the 1/2"-wide slots. Glue and screw a 1x2" strip, on edge, to the topside of the rack along the back edge. Mount the shelf to the wall, using appropriate brackets. By leaving 3" between the rack and the wall, you can hook large C-clamps over the back for storage.

Rx for difficult gluing

Getting the right amount of glue into hard-to-reach spots is a messy operation.

TIP: Inject glue with a medical syringe equipped with an 18- or 22-gauge needle. Keep the apparatus clean by flushing the syringe and needle with warm water and storing them in a closed container of water.

Gluing and Clamping Tips, Part 4

The original "band" clamp

Although it's fairly routine to glue flat surfaces, some find it difficult to get even pressure on round, irregular, or otherwise out-of-the-ordinary surfaces.

TIP: For less than $2 at most office supply stores, you can purchase an ordinary 1/2-lb. box of no. 107 rubber bands. The bands, which measure 1/16" thick, 5/8" wide, and 7" long before stretching, make great clamps. Smaller bands also can be useful in the shop. The glue pops off easily, and they never rust. (By the way, the bands will last a lot longer if you store them in a cool, dark drawer.)

Short clamp gets grip
on longer work

Every once in a while, you run across a project that calls for a clamp longer than any in your shop. You figure it's time to go buy a longer clamp.

TIP: Instead, clamp short pieces of scrap wood across the overlong part as shown at left. Then, clamp the joint with one jaw pulling against the scrap wood and the other against the opposite side of the joint.

 

Get a grip on hand screws

You can apply considerable pressure with hand screws, but some of us have difficulty gripping the smooth handles.

TIP: Old bicycle inner tubes provide an inexpensive, quick solution to this gripping problem. Cut a section of the inner tube the same length as your wooden handles. Use baby or talcum powder to help stretch and position the inner tube section on the handles as shown at left.