http://www.woodreview.com.au 63TECHNIQUE9Charles Mak enjoys writing articles, authoring tricks of
the trade, teaching workshops, and woodworking in his
shop. Email: [email protected]1013111312- I turned a broken-down block
plane into a chisel plane for
glue clean-up. - To avoid smearing, never use
the part of a rag that already
has glue on it. - During the dry run, apply
the tape to the joint and slit
it with a sharp knife. Then
disassemble the piece and
apply the glue as usual.- One corner was not properly
clamped, leaving a visible gap
in the joint. - Using water and heat, I
loosened the joint and applied
new glue before re-clamping
the joint. - Using a forgiving glue
Did you ever wish that you could recover effortlessly
from a glue-up blunder with the push of an ‘undo’ button?
Well, reversible glues – such as hide glue or liquid hide
glue – do exist and are the closest version of an ‘undo’
button for woodworkers. For tricky or ‘one-shot’ glue-
up deals, the slow-setting liquid hide glue is usually my
adhesive of choice. Not only does it offer a long open time
of 30 minutes, it is also reversible with heat and moisture
(photos 12, 13). Its squeeze-out can also be easily
removed with a damp rag.
On occasion, the best assembly tip is to get someone to
help you in a glue-up. At other times, these proven tips are
the next best thing to having an extra pair of hands – to
help keep your blood pressure from spiking!