Gluing up the top

[skiback46]

I have enough wood thicknessed to glue up the two tops, I still need to joint/rip to 4.25 or whatever my thinnest piece is. But my question is after I've done that, I need to glue them up.

I don't have a domino, or biscuit joiner, and can't justify it for this build, I know the domino is infinitely more useful, but still not going to buy it (yet). I also don't want to have visible splines, etc, to help with alignment. In the video mark glues up one slab all at once, even with the aid of dominos, there is some misalignment.

I am thinking about gluing up only 2-3 boards at a time, that way I can get them close to parallel. I guess I am wondering if it is worth the extra time to do that, or if there is a downside other than time that I am missing?

Anybody glued them up in multiple steps? or have another idea for helping with alignment (I plan to use cauls and clamps), that doesn't require a new tool or a lot of work?

Thanks

[rmac]

another idea for helping with alignment

Dowels?

-- Russ

[Beechwood Chip]

Cauls? Not the flexible kind that are intended to apply force, but just straight pieces to keep the boards aligned.

If you have a large enough flat surface, maybe you could use that for alignment. Protect it with something like wax paper. You could use weights on top to keep the boards pressed against the flat surface.

Just ideas - not from personal experience.

[Trip]

i glued-it up all at once without splines/dominos/etc. i used a slow-set glue and had plenty of time for cauls.

[mwatkins]

If a slow set glue and some cauls as suggested by hhh isn't in the picture I'd run with splines along each piece. Cut them from some of your scrap out of the same stock being used for the top, glue them in and bob's your uncle.

[thewoodwhisperer]

I really like to glue it up all at once when possible. The primary reasons are time and accuracy. After a partial glueup, you have glue squeezeout and slightly swelled joints that now play a role. If you give the slab time to cure and remove all the squeezeout, there is no reason you can't do the glueup in stages. And that brings in the issue of time. By doing it in stages, you're essentially adding an extra day to the schedule. That may or may not be an issue for you.

But the short answer is you can certainly glue up in stages using cauls and you should be ok.

[walnut_weasel]

I agree with the previous suggestion of slow set glue (titebond liquid hide glue?) and cauls. When making the legs for the Morris chair we glued up 32 pieces of oak into one huge slab that we later ripped down into individual legs with no problem using cauls.

[skiback46]

First, thanks for all the responses, Time is not really an issue, I got a lot farther milling the boards yesterday than I thought I would so I am ahead of the schedule I don't have. That's a good point about having to clean the squeezeout between glue-ups. I think I'll give it a shot all at once.

hhh, what type of glue did you use? I was thinking about grabbing a gallon of Titebond 2 Extend, any other recommendations?

I like the idea of liquid hide glue, but getting enough, and not having experience with it...I think I will save that for another time.

[Barron]

Another possibility is using a router bit to cut the biscuit slots. Having suggested that, each slab is only 12" at the most (for the split top) so cauls will work very well. I built mine using saw horses and was able to put a caul every two feet or so. It worked.

Good luck!

[allencrane]

You can also do what I did and scour craiglist for a Porter Cable 557 biscuit joiner. I found one for $75, well below the $200 retail. Also, Ryobi makes one for $100 that Wood magazine rated Best Value, second only to the P-C. The top is what you and the world will see every time you use this bench, so you'll want to make it count. Good luck!