Wipe, sand or scrape

[Hudson Carpentry]

As it seems some of you are liking a debate I have a topic.

When gluing up boards how do you prefer to tackle excess glue?

Personally I find if I wipe the glue off with a damp or dry cloth, you have to do twice as much sanding otherwise the spread of glue due to wiping can show through the finish. I prefer to just leave the glue on and belt sand off.

 

[jimi43]

I leave it to harden..get the worst of with an old chisel carefully and then use a cabinet scraper.

Jim

 

[yetloh]

Ideally, I like to leave it to go rubbery and remove it at that stage which seems to avoid most problems, but that ideal is rarely achieved, so I end up with a cab scraper after it has set.

Jim

 

[Chems]

What sort of glue are we talking about? Just normal PVA?

I sometimes think if its left as a nice hard line, it comes off easily, but it can also pull out bits of the wood with it, which is why I go for the damp cloth method.

 

[Karl]

Damp cloth after immediately clamping, then a good sand when dry.

 

[condeesteso]

May well depend on the glue used. I tend to use Titebond 1 or 3 mainly, but same for pva for me. I wipe with a dry paper towel, then cabinet scraper when fully dry. But I admit I am a bit ocd re not using abrasives at all unless as an absolute last resort. So an abrasive attached to a motor?.. not down my way #-o
All the other ways work too though, every single one of them. So if you want to start an argument you'll have to try something more contentious... sharpening almost always works I find.

edit: for the avoidance of any doubt at all, that was my sense of humour. :lol:

 

[Ironballs]

I'm with Jim, try and get when rubbery but that often fails (as I glue up and do something else and forget about it), so end up chiselling, scraping or sanding

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

I find sanding quicker then chiseling. You more then likely when jointing boards end up sanding anyway, to knock off the high spots, so its like a 1 stone deal.

Never tried scrapping it off.

I was talking about your typical carpenters glue (titebond or some sort of poly vinyl). Expanding glue is different, you wipe or spray with water to stop it expanding. Contact glue you don't want any coming out the joints, if you do you put to much on. Mitremate or similar you don't put enough on for it to spill out and if your using gaygrip or gripfill types on furniture, you need to go on a course.

 

[RogerP]

On the premise that whatever I do to glue squeeze-out when it's wet makes matters worse I leave it to harden and then deal with it by chisel plane and scraper.

 

[JakeS]

I'm in the leave-to-dry-and-chisel-then-sand camp, with the exception that if I've put far too much on and there's the chance it'll drip onto another part where presently there's no glue, I'll lift the bulk off before it's dry with one or two bits of thin card (index card weight), trying my best not to smear it as much as possible. No point creating a problem somewhere else just to make the first one a little easier to solve.

 

[Mark A]

gaygrip

:lol: It's a bad colour isn't it!

I either scrape with a blunt chisel when it's still soft if I remember too, but usually I sand it once it's dry.

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

It is a strange colour for a builders adhesive. I do prefer it though but it seems to have less compression rates and a shorter shelf life. I stock both.
I have alsorts of names for products and tools. The face on some clients faces when I ask thereaperman to fetch the "where did the wall go" tool or I shout at him for abusing "max".

 

[custard]

The hardest situation is where the glued joint is difficult to access but will still be visible. It's harder because if you don't completely remove every trace of glue it will affect the colour of the finish. In these circumstances I do everything I can, sponging with a damp cloth immediately after clamping, then scraping when dry, and finally sanding. All in order that there will be a completely glue free surface to receive the finish.

 

[mn pete]

I'm also one who claims to let it dry to a rubbery state and then scrape it off with a chisel...now actually remembering to check back in time...that's another story. Then it's the chisel and sanding!

 

[woodbloke]

I use a piece of acrylic ground to a knife profile on the disc sander to take off the excess. Then I scrub over the joint with a barely damp bristle brush, almost like a stencil brush to take off anything that's left. If the brush is wet, then water can seep into the joint...the emphasis here is on just damp and keep on cleaning the brush in water. If it's done this way, 99% of the glue squeeze out can be removed. The technique works even better if you can use hot water on the brush - Rob

 

[AndyT]

I generally wipe off with a damp cloth - but PVA on open grained wood will fill the grain a bit and make a finish look different, so you need Rob's hot wet brush. On my last few projects I've experimented with Titebond Liquid Hide glue, and found that

- it's plenty strong enough
- it has a nice long open time
- being quite runny it brushes inside joints well

and it seems to be much easier to wipe up than PVA.

 

[Paul Chapman]

I do it very much like the way Rob does it. For scraping off excess glue, I find that debit or credit cards cut in half make excellent scrapers, and can be shaped however you want. And like Rob I use a barely wet stiff brush.

However, I think most people use too much glue to start with. It's all to easy to fall into the trap of thinking it's better to use too much than not enough and, as a result, you get glue everywhere. If you're getting lots of squeeze-out, try reducing the amount you use.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

I do it very much like the way Rob does it. For scraping off excess glue, I find that debit or credit cards cut in half make excellent scrapers, and can be shaped however you want. And like Rob I use a barely wet stiff brush.

However, I think most people use too much glue to start with. It's all to easy to fall into the trap of thinking it's better to use too much than not enough and, as a result, you get glue everywhere. If you're getting lots of squeeze-out, try reducing the amount you use.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

Which brings me to my next thread debate (hammer)