Quick Tip: Gluing tips and tricks

Here are some gluing tips and tricks you'll want to keep in mind when doing your next DIY or woodworking project.

22/08/2018

Storing wood glue

If you store your glue containers upside down it will be much easier to squeeze out the glue when you need it. Making a glue caddy like the one shown above means that all your glues will be in one place and easy to find, plus they won't harden or dry out since keeping your glue bottles upside down will keep out air and keep glue soft.

All you need to make your own glue caddy is a couple of pieces of plywood offcuts, a length of dowel and assorted size hole saws.

Too much glue

It's easy to apply too much wood glue and have a sticky mess on your hands - or on your project. The ideal amount of glue should completely cover the sections being glued together, with just a little ooze out of the joint. Too little glue and your joints may not stick together and be weak, which you don't want when you are laminating pieces together.

When gluing projects, keep a damp cloth on hand to wipe away any wood glue before it hardens. Wood glue can also spoil a finish when stain is applied, so be sure to wipe all glue from the surface as quickly as possible.

GOOD TO KNOW: To protect wood from wood glue, apply strips of masking or painter's tape along the edge being glued. Remove the tape before the glue hardens.

Apply glue evenly

An easy way to spread glue evenly over an edge or surface is to use an old credit card, piece of plastic or laminate. You can also use a plastic card to remove excess wet glue from along joints where it oozes out.

Where you need to apply wood glue to larger surface areas, a plastic spreader will do the job quickly and easily. Notched spreaders are used for tiling but work just as well for woodworking projects.

Apply glue precisely

When you are doing repairs to timber furniture, or need to apply glue to precise or hard-to-reach areas, use a syringe to apply the glue. A standard syringe that you can buy at any pharmacy is ideal for squeezing glue between joints or cracks when fixing or restoring damaged furniture. 

Easy glue clean up

It's easy to make a mess when you're using wood glue for small or large projects. For small projects place a sheet of clingwrap or plastic underneath your projects to protect work surfaces. For larger woodworking projects, place a bin bag or plastic drop cloth underneath your project. 

Easy clamps for gluing

How's this for a brilliant idea. When you need to clamp a small project together but don't have any clamps on hand, use a caulking gun. Use a couple of scraps of wood or pieces of cardboard to protect your project and squeeze the trigger to apply pressure.

For larger projects it's easy to make your own clamps using lengths of PAR pine. Drill holes along the length of your PAR pine to allow you to use bolts and wing nuts to hold your project firmly in place. Tapered wedges placed at the ends of your project can be inserted and the wing nuts tightened to apply pressure.

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