WAY BEHIND on my Guid Build! Need Help!

[jgfore]

Ok. With my daughters softball pratice and me stupid enough to agrre to coach, I am way behind on my build. I was way ahead of the curve and then everything happened. Anyway, it is time for me to assemble the case. I do not have epoxy and do not have the cash to buy any right now. So, my question is: Am I about to ROYALLY mess -up by using my TiteBond III to do the assembly? I know that the water based glue is going to make the joints swell making it a bit more difficult to seat all the joints, and the drying time is a HUGE concern. Especially since I am NOOO Professional. Woodworking is very relaxing to me, until the assembly, then I get very stressed out. I almost have to scrap a LARGE picture fram a while back because the glue started to dry faster than I could get it square. I have added a poll, so you can give me your opinion, but please reply back as well. I do not want to screw this up.

Thanks,

Jeff

[thewoodwhisperer]

I left a comment on the Guild site for you as well. But I'll sum up here. You'll most likely be fine. I tend to present an over-exaggerated view of glue set time simply because of my climate. In Alabama, your relative humidity is probably going to work in your favor. You'll still want to work at a quick pace and do a few dry runs to make sure you have everything you need and no last minute emergencies. Also keep in mind that dovetail joints don't need a whole lot of glue to be secure. The joint itself does most of the work. A little glue on the mating face grain is really all that's needed lock everything down. So don't spend too much time painting every pin and tail to absolute perfection.

[jgfore]

I left a comment on the Guild site for you as well. But I'll sum up here. You'll most likely be fine. I tend to present an over-exaggerated view of glue set time simply because of my climate. In Alabama, your relative humidity is probably going to work in your favor. You'll still want to work at a quick pace and do a few dry runs to make sure you have everything you need and no last minute emergencies. Also keep in mind that dovetail joints don't need a whole lot of glue to be secure. The joint itself does most of the work. A little glue on the mating face grain is really all that's needed lock everything down. So don't spend too much time painting every pin and tail to absolute perfection.

That was exactly what I needed. After readying your reply, I went straight down to the shop and assembled it. Worked Great!!

Now I have another question for ya. After completing my doors, I found that my fence must have moved slightly between my rails and stiles. Once I did my first dry assembly, I saw that the stiles set about 1/32 of an inch proud, one of them is closer to 1/16. My question is, can I complete the assembly and feed them through my planner? Can I send wood through a planner cross grain? I am using red oak, and it chips pretty bad anyway. I do not have very good hand plans or that would be my first choice. If I can not use the planer, then I guess it will be just a LOT of sanding.

Jeff

[thewoodwhisperer]

I would recommend staying away from the planer on that operation. The board will NOT be happy going in sideways. And even if you could do it, you'd have some killer tearout at the edge of the board, if not downright destruction of the door. So either scrape, sand, or buy yourself a nice new handplane.

[Vic]

Jeff, I vote for the hand plane a some water stones. It'll be worth waiting.

[jgfore]

Jeff, I vote for the hand plane a some water stones. It'll be worth waiting.

A new hand plane is probably the best choice. I have tried to sharpen my "Lowes" brand Stanley hand planes, but I just can not get them to make nice smooth cuts. At the very best, they "jump" really bad and cause me to do a lot more sanding in the end. Can a cheap hand plane cut like a good if it is sharpened correctly, or am I wasting my time?

Jeff

[Vic]

A new hand plane is probably the best choice. I have tried to sharpen my "Lowes" brand Stanley hand planes, but I just can not get them to make nice smooth cuts. At the very best, they "jump" really bad and cause me to do a lot more sanding in the end. Can a cheap hand plane cut like a good if it is sharpened correctly, or am I wasting my time?

Jeff

It depends, Jeff. If you can get the toe and mouth to be flat, have the proper opening in the mouth, the proper angle for whatever you're cutting and a nice sharp blade, almost any plane can cut well. But, honestly my Veritas does much better than my rehabbed Stanleys. They're close..but not quite as good.