If you ask a woodworker if they have enough clamps, the answer is always “no.” You always need at least one more clamp.
I’ve become that woodworker. I don’t have enough clamps. So I make do.
My glue of choice is Titebond III. This has a working set time of 15 minutes, it is an extremely strong adhesive, it is water resistant, and it is “easy” to work with. It comes in sizes ranging from your standard Elmer’s glue bottle to 55-gallon drums.
My local hardware and lumber store only had it in the pint size. I’ll be ordering more online shortly.
What I learned today is that I have not been using enough glue in my past glue ups.
Yesterday I went through almost half that bottle with an 11×48 three-board lamination. And I didn’t use enough.
The first board didn’t get enough glue, but I think it will be fine for what it is. The problem I ran into was spreading the glue. I had quickly made a spreading stick, but it just wasn’t working. I switched to using my finger and got better results, but I almost ran out of time working the first board in the sun.
Even a thin layer of glue is more than you expect.
I also took a page from the machine shop and looked up the specifics on the glue. It requires 100 to 150 PSI to properly work.
For those keeping track, that means we need to be providing over 65,000 lbs of pressure for proper use. A good clamp will provide 2000 lbs of pressure. This means that I should have been using 30 clamps on that one glue up.
I hate mathing.
Have a fantastic day; music tomorrow and SCOTUS on Wednesday.
my mom was told by my high school math teacher that I will never be able to do math….
I wonder how I made it to 62years old not being able to do math…
calculations of square inches, cubic inches, cubic feet square feet..
built 3 shops and a house..not to mention plating times and amps for copper, nickel and chrome plating, proper amount of paint to mix and drying/flash time..
hmm, guess he was right..
1. Much like ammo, you will never have enough clamps.
2. If it is not dripping, it is not enough glue.
I was amazed when I first saw a woodworking bench picture that had holes for pegs, and similar holes on the edge-mounted vises, for clamping stuff right on the bench without separate loose clamps.
BTW, for high clamping force, have you considered a come-along? 🙂 Or maybe a couple of small bottle jacks?