1/4" joining

flyray · Post by **flyray** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 9:30 am

I'm looking for a way to join 1/4 solid wood edge to edge and be somewhat strong. Any ideas???

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 9:56 am

flyray wrote:I'm looking for a way to join 1/4 solid wood edge to edge and be somewhat strong. Any ideas???

Your question is a little vague but it sounds like you need to "edge join" simple 1/4" wood strips.

I am a firm believer that the glue joint is stronger than the wood it is joining; therefore, I would simply glue those pieces together. Use minimum pressure so as to not squeeze out all of the glue.

A quality joint is dependent upon a good edge to edge fit so I would say the strips need to have been jointed in order to get the "best" joint..

algale · Post by **algale** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 10:07 am

flyray wrote:I'm looking for a way to join 1/4 solid wood edge to edge and be somewhat strong. Any ideas???

It would help to know the other dimensions of the two pieces being joined and whether they are being joined on the short edge or the long edge.

Regardless, I believe you will want to scarf the joint. I think the recommended length of the taper in a scarf joint is about is 8 x the thickness of the pieces being joined. Since your stock is 1/4, you'd start the tapers 2 inches from the edges being joined (assuming the pieces to be joined are more than 2 inches wide).

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 6:54 pm

I've had excellent results in edge jointing 1/4" boards. Usually the individual boards are not wider that 3" or so, building up panels as much as 24 inches wide. I use yellow glue and Bessy K clamps.

One thing to watch for on a wider panel made from quarter inch boards is warping. There has to be a way to hold the panel flat.

derekdarling · Post by **derekdarling** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 7:26 pm

Cut the width down even further (3/16") and you have described part fo the art of lutherie, making guitar tops and backs. Clamp the pieces together and joint them flat, then open up the pair, use whatever glue you want (I use hide glue), and press the edges together and hold. I would put wax paper under neatha dn above the joint to prevent sticking, and a weight on the top, then use sliding tapers or shims to apply pressure to the edge. See here for a demo: http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/Jo ... alves.html

Derek

holsgo · Post by **holsgo** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 7:37 pm

I would joint then half lap. This is totally dependent on usage. Boards under tension or structural then half lap. As said, for a guitar top, laminations, inlays then you can certainly edge join the pieces. If the edge being joined is short then scarfing could do, but if it's a long joined edge then you'll wrestle cutting matching scarfs that then mating them well. Tried this joint on a 6 foot pine bureau. Edge joining at least 10 6ft boards on long edge. Wanted to scream until I pulled out the biscuit joiner.

oscarthefuzz · Post by **oscarthefuzz** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 6:15 am

Would probably go scarf if they are going to be strong and edge joint if they go up against anything.. was doing an easy way to do scarf joints last week for the boat I am building..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txVXIwO6 ... ature=plcp

robinson46176 · Post by **robinson46176** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 8:21 am

I would probably want a joint like this:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004T7MA/ref=asc_df_B00004T7MA2093847/?tag=becomcom00464-20&creative=394997&creativeASIN=B00004T7MA&linkCode=asn

I would want at least a couple of ribs to a 1/4" edge. If I were doing a lot I would want a cutter bit (actually I have one a lot different and made for a different function but would work fine) but if I were just doing a smallish quantity I would just make up a way to do it by hand like a specially ground plane iron used with a right angle guide clamped to the plane body.
The cutter I have would put about 3 ribs on a 1/4" edge. The whole cutter body is a couple of inches wide and just under 2" in diameter. It was actually originally made for the shoe repair trade for preparing the leather faces of the long scarf joints used on half-sole work back in years past when such work was done using celluloid adhesives.

There are any number of possible ways to make something to do such matched grooving by hand. I'll have to think about it a bit and see if I can figure out how to describe a couple of them in a way that is understandable by non-crazy people...

I have an antique pie safe around here somewhere that has a back in it that is quite thin solid wood that has tongue and groove edges that are quite tiny. In that case they were just assembled together dry but they could have worked glued up but might not have dealt with expansion and contraction well on such a big area.

.

derekdarling · Post by **derekdarling** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 1:05 am

Going back to my post, I have had to break apart two VERY thin pieces of spruce edge-glued using a similar technique to the one I described above. In ALL cases, the wood beside the glue joint broke, not the glue. And this was using hide glue, with minimal pressure. Yes, I could have used hot water or a steam iron, but I didn't.

I'm just sayin'