Shopsmith Forums

2 Grand-kids birthdays coming up.

So I need to glue these up and I have a few quetsions. For those of you more "well read" forum members. I WILL NOT be asking any table saw questions or asking Sawsucker for any advice.

I have Gorilla glue, thats all I've used up to this point. Undoubtably there will be some squish out and I don't want to have the glue ruin the finish process. I've heard conflicting things about, wipe with a damp cloth-don't w wipe with a damp cloth, scrape 20 minutes later, just sand ect. I ran into this with my little tool tote and the box joints. (I later saw where a box guy tapes the insides of his boxes ect and then just peels off after it dries)

Its going to be hard to get everywhere with a cloth, sandpaper or anything.

I want to learn the "right" way to handle my glue on this project and all others going forward. Finish recommendations are always welcome. Its a toy, not a work of art.

Sorry last pic is a little blurry, you get the point.

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My recommendation would be hide glue and easy water cleanup but not a lot of people want to use hide glue anymore. It's still the best IMHO but not everyone agrees.
Oh yes, for toys in particular, it is absolutely non-toxic, basically the same stuff as Knox gelatin. Glue with hide glue and finish with shellac and the kids can eat them when they get tired of playing with them. :-)

Paul M

Don't put yourself down. It is a work of art and they will be cherished for may years to come.
I like original Titebond wood glue on toy projects. It really holds well, clean up is simple with water. I glue carefully, often using a q-tip as an applicator. I wipe exposed areas with a wet towel. I wipe again a few times before the glue sets, trying to be careful not to get water into the joints.
Shellac is my second favorite finish. If there are large flat surfaces, like a scooter toy, I will use Waco oil followed with wax. For a toy like the plane I would pick shellac. First couple of coats would be cut thin, maybe 1/4th Bullseye.
I like Gorrilla glue for many applications, but is swells and even with care it become a real project to remove the yellow foamy stuff when it drys.
I'm sure many will have other favorite products, and I respect their knowledge and experience. I've only used hide glue once, many many years ago...it was messy, but maybe it was my technique...bet it was my technique.
Your project looks wonderful. If your anything like me, you will see every inperfection. The children will see it as the best thing they have or ever will have.
Enjoy.

The key to gluing is to not use too much of it. Coat both surfaces lightly and clamp immediately. You should see just the tiniest bead of glue squeeze out along the two mating surfaces. Use something like an flux acid brush to apply the glue and spread it evenly. It helps to trim the length of bristles by about half to make a stiffer brush.

Polyurethane glue would be my last choice for toys or other things, although it does work well with dissimilar materials. For one thing it always seems to have hardened in the bottle before it gets used up. If you use liquid hide glue, make sure it's fresh. I still like Elmer's Glue All.

Shellac is a great finish for toys. Zinnser makes Seal Coat which is wax free shellac that you can get at Home Depot or Lowes. It dries fast, so you can get multiple coats on in one day. You can apply it with a rag or brush, and clean up with alcohol, or with household ammonia and water. It smells good too; the shellac, that is.

I've read or heard somewhere that once you wipe the glue with a damp rag, the glue mixes with the water and soaks into the wood. Thats why you can't just sand it off the surface afterwardds.

Is this accurate?

The worst place to glue will be the dowels through the wings, there won't be any way to "not" have squish-out or push-through glue..

A tip I saw a while back that works well is to use a drinking straw to remove squeeze-out in corners. Simply push the end of the straw into the corner and slide. The glue collects inside the straw and is not smeared onto the surface of the wood. When the straw fills up (it will only fill to about 3/8 inch) cut the filled portion off with some scissors and keep going. Works great.

mountainbreeze wrote:A tip I saw a while back that works well is to use a drinking straw to remove squeeze-out in corners. Simply push the end of the straw into the corner and slide. The glue collects inside the straw and is not smeared onto the surface of the wood. When the straw fills up (it will only fill to about 3/8 inch) cut the filled portion off with some scissors and keep going. Works great.

Nice tip here!

You can avoid some glue up mess by using masking tape. Dry fit everything together and then apply tape to those surfaces where you expect some squeeze out to occur, like on the dowels between the two wings of your airplane. After the glue dries, remove the tape and any squeeze out goes with the tape. Where you have easy access to remove the glue, like on the top of the upper wing where the dowels protrude, simply let the glue harden and then scrape away any dried glue, followed by some sanding. It's in the corners, like where the lower wing meets the fuselage, that you want some tape. Another technique is to allow the squeeze out to solidify somewhat and then use a sharp chisel to peel away the glue.

In some cases using a damp or wet rag will work, but I'd only do this with a wood like maple that has a smooth surface and not with one with a coarse grain like oak because the glue gets smeared down into the grain and would be visible when adding subsequent finishes. If you can't easily sand away any raised grain caused by the moisture, I wouldn't use a wet rag.

In the end, it's a matter of choosing which method will result in the least amount of clean-up after the glue dries.

I just read a tip in Fine Woodworking regarding glue squeeze out. Wax the outer surfaces where the squeeze out will occur when the glue that squeezed out starts to set, peel it off. It worked in the photos in the magazine.

DISCLAIMER: I have not tried this, YMMV.

Those look really nice! Forget about Sawsucker and post those to LJ when finished.

Who needs a table saw anyway?