Tite Bond III...how long after glue up before working?

[Tim M Tuttle]

I am making some cutting boards and am wondering how long I need to wait after gluing before I can joint, plane, etc?

Thanks

[Michael Pyron]

I'm sure it's dry enough to trust the joint not failing in a couple of hours...

that being said, I prefer to wait at least 24 hours before trying to work glued up woods as the joint is still tending to move a bit, evidenced by sanding everything flush when glue it wet (and perhaps expecting the dust to mix with glue and fill any voids in a glue up) and finding joints not flush 24 hours later...even joints sanded 24 hours later can exhibit movement as glue takes a while to fully cure (one luthier reports freshly joined top plates exhibit tap tone changes that stabilize 2 weeks after gluing).

in the case of TIII, it never hardens fully until subjected to ~200*F so it might be pointless to expect locked in joinery (guess you could toss them in the oven for a bit!!!)

[Prashun Patel]

Assuming no crazy conditions, I usually give it about 8 to 12 hours and notice no probs. I test my nail on squeeze out. If it's pretty firm, I consider it ready.

If the joint is under stress like in a lamination, I give it the full 24 in clamps.

[Mark Bolton]

We are in Michaels routine. We are usually out of the clamps in 30-45 minutes for a standard glue up but as a general rule hold off on any hard machining for a day as Michael said. We have pushed this many times with no ill effects but if its possible its better wait to be sure to avoid future failure and movement. As a side note, TBIII is one of the thinnest and, IMHO, about the worst glue out there with regards to strength and creep unless you absolutely need the water resistance. Have a lot of guys come in the shop, and read in forms, where thought seems to be if TBI is good than III has got to be better, but its not. TB Original or TB Super our our preferred glues and for water resistance we use TBIII or PU (we have just about switched to PU everywhere that isnt seriously effected by the foam from PU). Creep in TBIII has caused us a lot of headaches which can be a reason to wait as long as you possibly can.

[Andrew Hughes]

I wait at least three days and leave them in clamps for as long as possible.The reason is I'm adding a lot of water back into the wood.So I need to give it time to absorb it I feel I get less warp in the blanks when I cross cut. This is my method for a end grain cutting board.

[Matt Day]

For a glue up for instance, I’ll light sand/plane after an hour or two. But on a flat panel there’s not really any stress on the joint. Otherwise, I wait overnight.

[John K Jordan]

I am making some cutting boards and am wondering how long I need to wait after gluing before I can joint, plane, etc?

For things to be turned on the lathe I wait until at least overnight, 24 hours or longer if I can. I too am concerned with moisture swelling the wood next to the joint, not with the strength of the bond. I sure the clamps can be removed earlier as long as the wood is not worked too soon, but for me it's just as easy to leave the clamps on since I don't have a production line going. Waiting 24 hours until working the wood (in a conditioned shop) I've not yet had an issue.

I left this one clamped for two days. Cherry and basswood. Ok, it was the first one of these and maybe I went a little overboard on the clamps.

BOC_A_glueup_IMG_20160123_114.jpg BOC_A_CU_IMG_5374.jpg

JKJ

[Mark Bolton]

Man thats a beauty John.

[John K Jordan]

Man thats a beauty John.

Thanks, Mark. That was my first try at that glue-up technique (and the carved letters) but I've done several more since. I pre-hollow each layer before the glue-up to make it a lot easier to hollow the whole thing. BTW, for anyone wondering this is a Beads of Courage box, a program for seriously ill children.

JKJ

[Jim Becker]

I un-clamp after a couple hours so I can scrape any squeeze out while it's still flexible, but don't "work" things until the next day, if at all possible.

[Nick Decker]

For things to be turned on the lathe I wait until at least overnight, 24 hours or longer if I can. I too am concerned with moisture swelling the wood next to the joint, not with the strength of the bond. I sure the clamps can be removed earlier as long as the wood is not worked too soon, but for me it's just as easy to leave the clamps on since I don't have a production line going. Waiting 24 hours until working the wood (in a conditioned shop) I've not yet had an issue.

I left this one clamped for two days. Cherry and basswood. Ok, it was the first one of these and maybe I went a little overboard on the clamps.

BOC_A_glueup_IMG_20160123_114.jpg BOC_A_CU_IMG_5374.jpg

JKJ

John, off topic, but is that finish something you apply while turning? Very nice.

[John K Jordan]

John, off topic, but is that finish something you apply while turning? Very nice.

Thank you, Nick! Good clean fun (and hopefully good for some child.)

The finish is a coat of shellac-based sanding sealer on the basswood and then "danish" oil on everything.

I used a couple of coats of thinned sander sealer on the basswood before carving the letters since it keeps the wood clean when sketching and carving and helps with detail in the corners. It was a bit tricky since I didn't want the oil on the bare basswood but I did want the effect of the oil on the bare cherry. I applied oil with a tiny brush to just the cherry with while rotating slowly on the lathe, wiping off any that got on the edge of the basswood. Then I put sanding sealer on the basswood. (At least I think I did it in that order!) Then I reversed and cleaned up the bottom, removed from the lathe, penciled in and carved the letters, then wiped on a few coats of oil on the whole piece letting dry between coats as usual.

If interested, there is picture of a similar one I did for a particular child here: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...e-box-for-Jack
I've done several more since then but not yet another with carving.

JKJ

[Nick Decker]

Thanks, John. Maybe I'll make another run at Danish Oil, my attempts have not ended up looking anything like yours.

[John K Jordan]

Thanks, John. Maybe I'll make another run at Danish Oil, my attempts have not ended up looking anything like yours.

This is my basic procedure. (I'm no finishing expert but this works for me.) Over the years I've talked with others and read advice and books and it seems to be a fairly common finish although other people do have variation in their steps.

- After scraping and sanding, i soak in "danish" oil. If I want to fill the pores on wood like walnut I'll wet sand with the oil, perhaps 320, then 400 then wipe that off and let dry/cure before soaking. I don't have a bucket full of oil do soak it in like some do but I keep applying until the wood won't take any more oil. The end grain will usually soak up a lot of oil. For small areas that are soaking up a lot and still not saturated I might "immerse" in oil by plastering a piece of paper towel to the area and dousing it with oil and keep applying until saturated. Another way to immerse with a small amount of oil is to put the piece in a big zip lock bag and add oil to the bag. I might let the oil soak in for an hour or so then wipe off the surface oil with a paper shop towel. Let it dry and cure completely. I allow 3-4 days, some suggest a 4-7 days. (my shop is heated in the winter if that matters)

- If I want a glass-smooth surface and the wood still has visible pores I wet sand with the oil with fine (400-600) sandpaper on the first coat after wiping away excess oil then wipe it dry. (This is after the wet sanding with coarser paper earlier in the process.)

- For subsequent coats I wipe on, wait 20-30 minutes then wipe it dry with a paper shop towel. Let that dry overnight then repeat. Each coat adds an extremely thin layer of resin/varnish. Coats after the first are very thin films and dry quickly. I might apply 5-10 coats. The whole process is an exercise in patience - might take 4-6 weeks.

- For a gloss surface I buff with the Beale wheels. This gives a glossy surface but one I prefer instead of the thick transparent look you can get with lacquer, poly, or something like TruOil. If I want a glass-smooth surface but not a gloss (and I have enough time), I'll apply multiple coats then rub it with something to give a sheen instead of a shine (pumice, rottenstone, very fine sandpaper, 0000 steel wool, fine abrasive pad/scotchbrite).

The oil does darken many woods but it can also really make interesting figure "pop" (test on scrap).

One thing - I've used this on a lot of species but made a mistake putting it on beautiful cocobolo once. It seemed to accelerate the darkening and turned almost as black as ebony in a relatively short time! I haven't seen that on any other species.

Safety: as with some other finishes, a wad of oil soaked paper towels and rags can catch fire spontaneously. I spread them out to dry in the shop. Some lay them out in the driveway to dry or put them in a bucket of water.

If you ask Sir Google to kindly look for "danish oil finish" you will probably find lots to read.

JKJ

[Nick Decker]

Thanks again, I'll have to try the wet sanding part. Well, that, and the "patience" part.

(I realize this belongs in the finishing forum. Apologies for that.)