Shop Tip

Clamps protected with heavy plastic during glue-up.Doing glue-ups can leave a frustrating mess of adhesive on your clamps. I have seen many suggestions of applying wax or tape to the surface of the clamps, or using wax paper to separate and protect the clamps from the glue. All of these work to varying degrees and I have tried them, but today I will share my favorite method for protecting clamps from glue.6 mil heavy plastic.

I like to use a heavy plastic sheeting often called visqueen. It is a construction grade plastic that usually about 6 mils thick. The benefit of this is that it is incredibly durable and so the plastic is reusable. Wax paper may be reused once or twice, but it will not even come close to lasting like this stuff. My plastic pieces have been in service for about 4 years now and are in great shape.

Bending the plastic easily releases the glue.The heavy plastic only needs to be shaken or bent to release the glue. Sometimes I shake the pieces outside or I run them across the edge of my workbench and wipe the glue off with my hand, depositing it straight into the trash can. Then they are ready to go again.Running plastic over end of bench releases dried glue.

I don't try to cut pieces exactly to the size of the glue-up. I just have a series of strips that I lay over my clamps and they overlap as necessary to fit the size of the project. This creates an expandable and adjustable system of clamp protection that can be used for any project instead of being dedicated to only one.

Using the plastic in this manner works best for panel glue-ups, but not so much with a glue-up such as a cabinet carcass. On something like that tape may be the best answer. In my shop I just do so many panel glue-ups of various sizes that I use these on a frequent basis.

New Plans & DVD From Scott Morrison

Scott Morrison has just released another instructional DVD and set of plans for a the Ultimate Shop Stool. It is a beautifully designed piece of sculptural furniture that includes a footrest and drop leaf desk that can be mounted on the right or left. The DVD and full size templates are a great value at $29.99. I can tell you from designing furniture myself that templates are worth their weight in gold.

You can check out all the various plans that Scott offers at FineWoodworker.com. He is creating quite a library of pieces to choose from so check back with him regularly to see what he has to offer. His videos are of good quality with clear video and audio. He is a great teacher and is good at laying out the information in a comprehensive format. It feels like Scott is giving you a personal lesson in shop, they are well worth checking out.Instruction DVD's from Scott Morrison.

You can check out the review I did on his other videos "Building an Elegant Rocking Chair" and "Building A Contemporary Bar Stool."

That is all I have for now and so I will leave you with Scott's intro video to his Ultimate Shop Stool. He also has a few more videos that can be seen at his YouTube Channel.

Your friend in the shop, Todd A. Clippinger.

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Will Your Glue Joints Hold?

Most woodworkers struggle with trusting their glue joints. Will they hold up? How much stress will they handle?

I used to struggle with the same insecurities about my glue joints when I started woodworking. How did I get over it? By continually doing quality control checks on my glue joints through destructive testing.

QC Through Destructive Testing

Ash glue joint.It is important to know that I don't do things one time in my shop just so I can share it with my friends online, the techniques and principles that I share are the things that I practice everyday in my shop. Testing my glue joints is something that I do in most every project.Cherry glue joint

When I glue up panels, thick or thin, I always glue them a little oversize and then cut them down to the finished width and length. I like to use the end drop pieces of a glued up panel for destructive testing to see how my joints hold up.

The other day I was making some frame and panel assemblies and used the scraps to do destructive testing. I take the scraps and stress them until the point of failure. I am not using scientific equipment to measure the pounds per square inch, I just am getting a feel for how hard it is to break and I am examining the break.

By examining the break I am looking for the failure location. Is it the wood? Or is it the glue?

The waste piece in the photos happens to have a biscuit in it. I used to think biscuits added strength to the joint. I now believe that a good glue joint is stronger without the biscuit, but I use them to aid in the alignment of boards.

The panel I was cutting was 3/8" thick and I broke several pieces of waste to see if the results were consistent, which they were. You will see that the biscuit does not break, of course, and it adds some internal leverage to break the panel, but the glue joint itself did not fail. Ultimately, that is what I am looking for. Realistically,the panel will not suffer stress like this, but I want to test my glue joints.

Breaking the test piece.

Glue joint held, wood broke.Examine the glue joint.

Through constant testing I have become secure in knowing that my glue joints are good. Testing allows me to gain confidence that the products and techniques are good. Pushing the waste pieces to the limit of failure gives me an opportunity to examine both.

A Video On Testing Glue Joints

Here is the video I made to demonstrate how I do destructive testing to check my glue joints. It has a lot of good information in it. I hope you enjoy!

Your friend in the shop, Todd A. Clippinger.

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Click Here For Direct Link To Episode