Glue on shoulder


Ronn W

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Regarding mortise and tenon joints (like a table apron to a table leg): In your opinion, how important is the glue between the tenon shoulders of the apron and the flat grain of the leg?  I know that end grain gluing is not very strong but I don't want to weaken the joint.

Background.  I may use stain on this project and am wondering if I have to mask this part of the joint or not.  My chosen stain after testing several is Minwax stain and sealer (because it looks the best) so the glue will probably not stick to it.  I am deathly afraid of having glue ooze out onto unstained wood and not being able to remove the ooze well enough to have the stain penetrate.  But I don't want to weaken the joint.  I am in the process of testing the glue on the stain to see if it sticks and/or the glue can be cleaned off of a stained surface.

Thanks for your input.

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+1 on just putting glue onto the cheeks of the tenon and faces within the mortise only. Try to avoid any squeeze out by not applying too much glue (some people go over the top and apply much too much) or clean it up straight away if there is any squeeze out if you are staining afterwards

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Follow up:  Just one guys test.....

I tested the effect of glue before is is totally dry on the MInwax stain/sealer...

If I glue before staining and wipe away the glue with water immediately and sand it, the stain penetration is inhibited but only slightly. 

If I glue before staining and scrape the glue away with a putty knife and sand it, the stain appears the same as staining bare wood.

If I glue after staining, the glue removes easily and does not affect the color of the stain.

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44 minutes ago, drzaius said:

The effect of glue on finishing varies by species as well. Open pored woods like oak are more susceptible. The glue easily fills the pores & is hard to get out.

+1 on that, as I found out the hard way very early in my woodworking

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