Clamps vs Glue

[DeanJackson]

I've used Jorgenson parallel clamps for awhile. Using a friends' Bessey parallel clamps, I really liked the rubber grips. I bought a few.

When I make cutting boards, I like to use too much glue; it covers my sins, and I'd rather have more glue to sand off than have a gap in the board.

The glue, dripping on the Jorgenson clamps? No problem. The parallel bars are smooth, I can take the glue right off with a paint scraper. Buuuut the Besseys? Those have grooves cut into them, and the paint scraper takes a hell of a lot of work here.

Any ideas on how to use the Besseys without driving myself nuts trying to get this glue back off?

[PaulMarcel]

If you get it on the bar, heat the glue with a heat gun or hair dryer in a pinch (based on your avatar, I assume you have a lot of hair dryers around ) Softens the glue enough that you can easily knock it off with a brass brush.

My parallels have grooves, too. Go heavy on the paste wax on the bars from time to time seems to work. Actually, one is hanging by my monitor and I see a blob of glue on the side; d'oh!

[DeanJackson]

If you get it on the bar, heat the glue with a heat gun or hair dryer in a pinch (based on your avatar, I assume you have a lot of hair dryers around ) Softens the glue enough that you can easily knock it off with a brass brush.

My parallels have grooves, too. Go heavy on the paste wax on the bars from time to time seems to work. Actually, one is hanging by my monitor and I see a blob of glue on the side; d'oh!

Nope, no hair dryer; had been outside in a desert for a few days at that point, and my hair was pretty much stuck that way. Oops? :-)

Paste wax. Genius. Or at least, worth an immediate try. Does it ever get on the wood and screw up a finish, though?

[alindsey]

Having found myself in the same situation after last Christmas and the metric-ton of cutting boards I made as gifts I did some looking online. The wax is a good way to prevent future issues, but removing it once it's there... everything I read suggested using vinegar. Basically slightly diluting vinegar, soaking paper towels in the solution and draping them over the affected areas which softens the glue. It does work.

Working in a woodworking store, and being a lazy bastard, I saw that we carried a product called "De-Glue Goo." Bought some of it. Even with my employee discount I think I spent $6 on it. The directions on the bottle said to apply liberally to the glued areas, let it soak awhile then remove the softened glue.

Anyone want to guess what it smelled like when I opened the bottle and squeezed some out? I'll give you a hint: It rhymes with "shminegar."

[PaulMarcel]

I've never noticed the wax causing anything, but usually after glue-up there's some planing, scraping, sanding, and maybe some cussing depending on how it turned out. Wax is long gone by then. It isn't heaped on thick, but I don't usually care if any is left thick in those grooves as that's for the bar to grab and doesn't really touch the surface of the wood.

In my case, I have a heat gun for hockey-stick maintenance so it works great for this. You can get them for < $20 if you look around.

Oh, one thing I did once that was good... I was in the middle of a glue-up and realized I'd get a good hunk of glue on the clamps and it had been awhile since I waxed them. After trying to put a sheet of wax paper over the bar (it only drifted away constantly), I gave the bar a quick rub with the wax paper. Worked perfectly.