MontanaChinook Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Well, like everything else with my Chinook, I'm pretty much winging it... I was talked into making a "nice" tabletop instead of just using plywood with a nice veneer. So I've got a 10' or so by 8" plank of white oak. I'm going to cut it in three, and glue them together to form the 24" width of my table/bed. So I'll need to be glueing these three planks together. Beyond needing some really long clamps, what advice do you have? I have access to a table saw, but otherwise I'm going pretty primitive. Can I get away with just glueing them together and not using any kind of dowel? Basically, how simple can I go, while still doing it "right", and not ghetto? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 me, I would use my router and notch or dove em.then glue and tap into each other THEN clamp em. or a KREG Joint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaChinook Posted June 25, 2013 Author Share Posted June 25, 2013 Ok, thanks. I'll see if anyone has a router... I'm still wondering, though, if its wrong to just glue them together with no biscuit, dowel, or joints? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphinite no longer here Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Zach, I've glued planks together for table tops many times over the years and never had any of them come apart. A pass on a table saw was almost always the only edge I gave them - no routering, no planing and no jointing. The secret? Two part epoxy glue! And light to medium clamping pressure, of course. Other glues, like carpenter's yellow glue, require lots of clamping pressure, but epoxy doesn't. If too much clamping pressure is used with epoxy, the strength of the bond is actually decreased, not increased. Just use enough epoxy and clamping pressure to get a little squeeze-out of epoxy from each joint, scrape up the excess and clean up with a cotton rag dampened with acetone before the epoxy hardens. Piece of cake... One helpful hint is to thicken the epoxy with something so that it doesn't run out of the joint before you clamp everything together. I use Bisquick flour sometimes. It's cheap, always around and makes me remember to make pancakes the next morning. (True story!) John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaChinook Posted June 26, 2013 Author Share Posted June 26, 2013 Thanks John! Ok. I would rather use a different glueing material than find tools I don't know how to use and make cuts I don't know how to make I'll swing by Home Despot tomorrow and see what they have to offer. Hmm...so maybe even just some flour? I'm not much on flours and ground grains...so it's not something I usually have laying around. Maybe my helper/friend has some, though. He seems like a pancake kind of guy. At least you'd think and old banjo playing telemark skier retired-BLM guy would be into pancakes, right?? So I'm looking for wood epoxy? I've used jb weld (clearly not what we're looking for here) and some epoxy for fiberglass and plastic. I'm assuming there's a special kind for wood? We'll make this thing happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Got any model hobby shops near by? Model epoxy is for wood, also check out micro ballons as a filler to make the glue thicker. Instead for food use talc for a thickner if you can't find micro ballons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 I would joint one edge of your board before you rip it that will establish one very straight edge and the others will follow if you have even the slightest bow they will not fit together well. You can use biscuits they help to make the top flatter but with good water proof glue you don't have to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphinite no longer here Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Zach, Epoxy glue/resin isn't just for wood, its for everything. Its used in laminating fiberglass cloth to make boats and Corvettes and carbon fiber skis and strip planked, fancy canoes, etc. Just get two part epoxy resin and mix it according to the directions and you'll be okay. Home Depot sells some two-part epoxy resin that sets up in about five or ten minutes. I'd stay away from that stuff and just look for regular epoxy resin. You'll need less than a pint mix but that might be the smallest amount you can find. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaChinook Posted June 26, 2013 Author Share Posted June 26, 2013 Ok, thanks! And as far as aligning wood grain..? Cut the 10' plank and keep everything going the same direction, or alternate, or "it matters not"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Instead of wide planks think about a Butcher Block look 1" wide strips. I heard that you should alternate the wood right side up/upside down so that any possible warps will work against each other Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaChinook Posted June 26, 2013 Author Share Posted June 26, 2013 Alright, thanks. That's a good idea...but I'm not going to make so many cuts and glue so many joints. Three 8" wide planks sounds nice to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphinite no longer here Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Zach, Three 8" wide planks will be fine. Just try and keep them all level so that after the glue dries, (overnight is best) you don't have to do so much sanding to make them all level. I'm lucky to have lots of clamps so that after glueing up the planks, I lay down a couple of strips of wax paper or Saran wrap across the boards (on top and underneath) and clamp some straight pieces of wood across the boards to force them to all be flat. The wax paper or Saran wrap is to keep the cross boards from sticking to the table top boards. Good Luck! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaChinook Posted June 26, 2013 Author Share Posted June 26, 2013 Well...I appreciate all the advice and was going to make it happen... But when I got up to my friend's house, he said his neighbor offered to just do it. So we went over there, he cut, planed, lined everything up, cut slots for biscuits, and got it all glued and clamped. So...I lucked out! The guy has a huge wood shop, and his own saw mill... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 My dad always said he"d rather be lucky than smart........Ya done good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaChinook Posted June 27, 2013 Author Share Posted June 27, 2013 Yup. The first thing the guy said was "too bad you bought that oak". Apparently he had a lot of it just laying around. But of course if I hadn't bought it and looked for help from my friend, he never would have thought about me while he was looking at the nice shop his neighbor had...so it worked out about as well as I could hope for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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