Grim Posted April 12, 2012 Report Share Posted April 12, 2012 Well, the old saying that you can never have enough clamps held true for me. After planing down the bench top to just a few hairs over 4" I found a bunch of gaps between boards of my glue-up. Fabulous. Evidently I needed more clamps and pressure. Live and learn. Now I need to know how to fix it. The gaps are fairly small, the widest being .019" as measured with a feeler gauge. Unfortunately, although most are on the end due to planer snipe there are some far into to bench top so I can't just lop them all off. If I somehow thin wood glue can I get enough in there for it to hold if I clamp it? Should I use epoxy? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMarshall Posted April 12, 2012 Report Share Posted April 12, 2012 That stinks. Sorry to hear about the gaps. The type of glue depends. Have you tried re-clamping them with no glue to see if the gaps close up? If you can get the gaps to close up when dry, then I'd use standard wood glue like Titebond or whatever. Use any means needed to get the glue into the slots and reclamp until tight and dry. Try using a syringe, or blowing the glue into the gaps with an air hose if you have a compressor, or possibly using a shop-vac from the underside to suck the glue into the joint. If you can't get the gaps to close up because the top is too stiff, you should switch to epoxy. Regular PVA glue won't fill gaps, or at least won't add any strength when used this way. But epoxy will work inthat situation. Same deal, use any means needed to get the epoxy down into the gaps. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grim Posted April 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2012 I can get some of the gaps to close up if I apply a behemoth amount of clamping pressure to them. But even my Pipes can't apply enough pressure to my pipe clamps to close them all up. Do you have a recommendation on what kind of epoxy to use and where to buy it? I don't have any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted April 12, 2012 Report Share Posted April 12, 2012 Depends on the amount of gaps and if it bothers you. I like West System epoxy. You can get it from Jamestown Distributors. If you go epoxy you'll need to tape off the bottom of the gap. But, if the slab is stable and it doesn't bother you, don't worry about it. (null) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted April 12, 2012 Report Share Posted April 12, 2012 Also, for future reference. Make some cauls next time. I have some 2x6" one I made for long glue ups. They're Fir and about 1/4" thicker in the middle and taper to each end. (null) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewoodwhisperer Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 The good thing here is that the vast majority of your boards probably have good glue contact. Even if some spots didn't get the ideal amount of clamping pressure, there is little risk of your top coming apart. Those long grain glue bonds are just too darn strong. So i would suggest using the epoxy to fill it. Before you do the final flattening of the top, mix up some fairly loose epoxy (west systems is ideal), and pour it into the cracks. Let it absorb as much as it wants. you might even use a putty knife to force as much as possible down into the crack. If the crack goes all the way through the thickness, use a shop vac to pull the epoxy through. The epoxy will not only fill the gap but also hold everything together nicely. Once dry, clean up the stop with a scraper to remove the excess glue and then when it is time to flatten the top, you'll be in pretty good shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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