All woodworkers have tips for gluing
that work well for them.
Here are a few of mine:
WHITE GLUE: I use white glue instead of yellow glue to
provide more assembly time when working with a complex project. I've heard people
say that it's not as strong as yellow glue. That may be, but in my experience,
it's strong enough.
TETHER THE CAP: To avoid mis-placing the little glue bottle cap, tether it with
a piece of string tied to a wire brad stuck in the end of the cap. As I read this,
it sounds like a silly tip. But I have wasted more time than I want to admit searching
for caps.
"MUSTARD" GLUE BOTTLE: To avoid the lost cap problem all together, store
your glue in a mustard bottle. It's free, airtight, and it has a handy twist cap.
FORCING GLUE: To force glue into a tight spot like a crack, put a little dab of
glue where you want it and then blow it deep into the tight spot using a straw.
Sounds crude, but it works.
SPREADING GLUE: An old toothbrush (or a new one) makes a terrific glue spreader
in some applications like spreading glue on edge of a board. It spreads the glue
evenly, and it's easy to clean up. If you've got to cover a large area in a short
time, use a 2" or 3", short-napped paint roller.
INSIDE CORNER SQUEESE-OUT: Before assembly, apply a piece of masking tape along
both sides of a joint line along an inside corner. The excess glue oozes out onto
the tape (mostly) and saves you some time cleaning glue out of the corner. If
you don't like tape, try scooping out the excess glue with the end of a plastic
straw. The soft plastic takes the shape of the corner as you move it along the
joint line.
FREE SCRAPER: When gluing up panels, try using a plastic clip from a bread bag
to scrap away freshly beaded or skinned-over beads of glue along a joint line.
Go to Tip #24
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