glue squeeze out

[Cecil]

How do you handle squeeze out? I am gluing up a table top. 3'x7'. 6 boards. I have always just wiped the joint with a wet/damp rag. some say to leave it and scrape it off later. your thoughts.

I generally scrape with an old credit card (motel card key, junk mail card, etc) while it is rubbery.  Like the straw trick someone else pointed out, these can be cut, trimmed, sharpened, etc. Occasionally I get busy and forget and have to back with a chisel, but like someone said, it is easy to get tear out.  I have done the wet rag thing, but I prefer the rubbery thing.

[tablesawtom]

I generally scrape with an old credit card (motel card key, junk mail card, etc) while it is rubbery.  Like the straw trick someone else pointed out, these can be cut, trimmed, sharpened, etc. Occasionally I get busy and forget and have to back with a chisel, but like someone said, it is easy to get tear out.  I have done the wet rag thing, but I prefer the rubbery thing.

Water is the solvent for yellow glue. Wood absorbs water  Water and thinned glues makes glue sizing which is a stain blocker. The best way to avoid finishing problems is to not allow them to happen in the first place.

[wood2woodknot]

Great idea, Dave.

[Edwin Hackleman]

I've used the following method for many years and it's always worked well.

I dry clamp the pieces and rub a bar of paraffin along the joints making sure to cover the wood on both sides. It doesn't need to be a very wide swath of paraffin. Then I go ahead and glue the pieces together and let the squeeze out form little beads where it will. The little bit of squeeze sits on the paraffin and can't soak into the wood. A few swipes with a card scraper remove the dried glue and the paraffin. If you're using an oil based finish, it will dissolve any remaining paraffin but you can also wipe it down with mineral spirits before applying any finish. The mineral spirits will help you confirm you didn't miss any spots with the paraffin, too.

That's how I have done it for years-- especially after DaveR1 and I talked about it in Minnesota when I visited him about 12 years ago. We both learned a lot about woodworking back then. One thing for sure, you have to get rid of that paraffin and any residual glue before you apply a finish.

[ronlaughlin]

For  a table top type glue up, i use a yellow carpenter glue.  Clamps can be loosened, and removed while the squeeze out is still rubbery.  The rubbery squeeze out is easy to remove without tearing the wood.  No joint i have ever done was perfect.  All the joints can stand some scraping, planing,  or sanding to tune.  When ready for finish, no residual glue to block stain/finish.  Easy peasy, no tape, wax, water...................

Now for more complex glue up,  for me there  is a whole  different  story.  Forget about yellow glue, it goes too fast.

[gregbois]

I've used the following method for many years and it's always worked well.

I dry clamp the pieces and rub a bar of paraffin along the joints making sure to cover the wood on both sides. It doesn't need to be a very wide smath of paraffin. Then I go ahead and glue the pieces together and let the squeeze out form little beads where it will.. The little bit of squeeze sits on the paraffin and can't soak into the wood. A few swipes with a card scraper remove the dried glue and the paraffin. If you're using an oil based finish, it will dissolve any remaining paraffin but yu can also wipe it down with mineral spirits before applying any finish. The mineral spirits will help you confirm you didn't miss any spots with the paraffin, too.

Dave's method is exactly what we were taught at the Fine Woodworking Program at the College of the Redwoods.  We'd take the wax we used for finishing -- in this case, Clapham's Beeswax Lavender Polish -- and spread it along both sides of a dry-clamped joint with the swipe of a finger.  It doesn't take much.  The glue will not adhere to the wax.  This never poses a problem with later finishing, since there was usually smooth-planing and scraping to follow, especially on wide board glue-ups.  It's a tried and true approach, and the lavender smells much nicer than the glue.

[DaveR1]

I'm happy to know that others are using the wax idea, too. I started doing it in the mid 70s in the shop my father and grandfather shared. I like the paraffin because a box of it is dirt cheap and it's useful for lubricating screws, hand plane soles, and miter gauge slots. I keep a chunk of it in my apron pocket and one box will last for years.

As Edwin mentioned, you do have to get rid of it before finishing with water-based finishes but since its hard it mostly sits on top . The card scraper gets the majority of it. Planing and sanding would get more of it. Again, mineral spirits will remove the last bits of it.

Edwin, has it really been that long?

[MichaelMouse]

How do you handle squeeze out? I am gluing up a table top. 3'x7'. 6 boards. I have always just wiped the joint with a wet/damp rag. some say to leave it and scrape it off later. your thoughts.

I'm on the cabinet scraper side.  Use a big burr after the glue is dry, because then the wood the glue is dampening will have contracted to normal.  Otherwise, you can get tearout, as mentioned, or subsidence along the glue line after the wood dries.  Inspection after the scrape should be done with something non-polar, like mineral spirits.  Wipe on, re-do any revealed areas with a finer burr.

[DarrellC]

I'm happy to know that others are using the wax idea, too. I started doing it in the mid 70s in the shop my father and grandfather shared. I like the paraffin because a box of it is dirt cheap and it's useful for lubricating screws, hand plane soles, and miter gauge slots. I keep a chunk of it in my apron pocket and one box will last for years.

As Edwin mentioned, you do have to get rid of it before finishing with water-based finishes but since its hard it mostly sits on top . The card scraper gets the majority of it. Planing and sanding would get more of it. Again, mineral spirits will remove the last bits of it.

Edwin, has it really been that long?

beeswax?

[Edwin Hackleman]

I'm happy to know that others are using the wax idea, too. I started doing it in the mid 70s in the shop my father and grandfather shared. I like the paraffin because a box of it is dirt cheap and it's useful for lubricating screws, hand plane soles, and miter gauge slots. I keep a chunk of it in my apron pocket and one box will last for years.

As Edwin mentioned, you do have to get rid of it before finishing with water-based finishes but since its hard it mostly sits on top . The card scraper gets the majority of it. Planing and sanding would get more of it. Again, mineral spirits will remove the last bits of it.

Edwin, has it really been that long?

Yes, it has been that long. Time flies. My dog was at most three years old back then. Lady is now 15.2 and still walking. Peppy, your big mountain dog, was still running around your yard. You had just bought the Incra LS Positioner. I bought one two years later. I still drive my 1991 Lincoln Town car that I bought in December, 1990. It was at least 14 years old when I visited Rochester. Now it's pushing 27.

I still have the signature baseball you gave me in my display case -- all the Twins on the championship team, including Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, etc. Some things never die.