How to deal with only partial glue squeeze out?

[Eric Schubert]

I'm working up some large panels for a desk top. It's my first attempt at really making something this large. The panels are 30 x 48 inches (three glue joints) and 30 x 84 inches (two glue joints). I've glued my panels with what I thought was more than sufficient glue and, after removing the clamps today, I noticed that the bottom of the glue-up (where I couldn't see, of course...) didn't have nice squeeze out of glue along the full length, leaving some sections with what appear to be gaps.

I could just work a bit of glue into the gaps before I sand and finish the panels, but I figured I should ask to avoid issues. Most of the joint length seems okay in terms of glue reaching the full width of contact. Is there a better way to deal with this lack of full joint contact/glue, aside from cutting the joints and redoing them?

[Lee Schierer]

If you spread the glue evenly on one surface you should get pretty even squeeze out along the length of the joint. However, areas of rough or open grain could soak up more glue than other areas. You don't need glue dripping out of the joint, just little beads of glue along the joint line. If you want more absolute glue coverage, apply glue to to both sides of the joint before assembly. Just about the worst method is to apply a bead of glue along the joint and then put the joint together without any spreading before hand.

[Andrew Hughes]

Too me a gap on the underside means your boards were not square to the faces or if it just the middle then a spring joint that was too big.
Adding pva glue to the gap isn’t going to do anything. It’s up to you if it’s not acceptable. Wait a couple days and see if you have any thick glue lines on the top side. That might be the reason to make the joint over.
Good Luck

[Ron Citerone]

Do over. Check jointer fence for square. Check that edges are straight their entire length. If using pipe clamps make sure pipes aren’t bent. Best to alternate the faces that go against the jointer fence. Final part of jointing operation should have pressure down on outfeed table. Double spread glue.
dry clamp pieces first to determine what is wrong with your pieces or technique. If everything doesn’t lay flat when dry clamping without a lot of clamp pressure or pushing/shoving your edges are suspect.
Sorry to sound blunt and direct but you need to work through this. Until you do, make your panels wide enough so that you can rip apart and redo until you figure this out.

[Mel Fulks]

Joint one board face to fence , next board face out. That makes everything fit flat. Forget about making a jointer fence perfectly square
to bed surface.

[Eric Schubert]

I probably should have mentioned, edges were jointed with a hand plane after rough jointing on a table saw. I do not own a jointer. I also should have mentioned that these boards are hard maple, in case that makes a difference. I plan to apply General Finishes flat poly even I reach that stage.

The edges aren't perfectly square, but I kept checking the dry joints as I worked and they looked okay. The gap is on the non -show side, so under the desk. I had glue squeeze out along the top, but not entirely on the bottom. Small beads, not thick lines. Next time I'll try applying a thin layer of glue to the opposite side, as well.

I'm under a bit of a time crunch to get this done, so I think I'll have to see how it goes for now just filling the gap with a little wood glue so it's not as visible. If I notice an issue, I'll have to rip the joints and redo them.

Would some thin epoxy work to at least flow into the joint and add a little more contact that's bonded?

[Bryan Lisowski]

As you just mentioned the problem is the joints aren’t perfectly square. This is leading to the joint not closing. If your table saw is set up so the cut is square, you could rip along the glue line and do the glue up again. You would lose some width, but not much. If you’re really worried about it you could fill with epoxy or CA glue and sawdust.

[Mel Fulks]

Epoxy will probably work if the project is going to be painted, not ‘natural finish.

[Marc Fenneuff]

If using a handplane to joint your boards, first lay them out in the orientation for the glue up, then "fold" each adjoining pair of boards downward, clamp them together, and joint the adjoining edges of each pair, together.

[Richard Coers]

I would be concerned you didn't use the clamps properly. Adding glue now is useless.

[Eric Schubert]

I would be concerned you didn't use the clamps properly. Adding glue now is useless.

I'm not sure what I would've done wrong. I alternated clamps on top and bottom, some facing one direction, some the opposite direction (i.e. some clamps turned 180 degrees compared to other clamps, so the screw to tighten them is on the other end). Maybe I could have used a couple more clamps, but they were maybe 12 inches or so apart, though that's just an estimate.

If using a handplane to joint your boards, first lay them out in the orientation for the glue up, then "fold" each adjoining pair of boards downward, clamp them together, and joint the adjoining edges of each pair, together.

I didn't think of this until I'd already worked to get the edges as mated as I could, putting the mating board in place to check as I went. I recall this recommendation now that you mention it, but totally forgot about it while I was working. Could've really saved my bacon.

Epoxy will probably work if the project is going to be painted, not ‘natural finish.

If the filled gaps are on the underside where no one will see them, would that really matter?

[Kevin Jenness]

If there are significant gaps then rip and reglue. If it's just a matter of no squeezeout in spots and the joints are tight except for a few minor gaps where they won't show, it will be ok. It's a judgment call. Remember, squeezeout is proof that you used excess glue.

Since you don't have a jointer, you can ensure complementary angles on mating edges by placing adjacent boards in the vise face to face or back to back and planing them together as Marc said. Alternatively, if you can get a straight, clean cut off the saw you don't need to use a plane. Users of sliding table saws often omit the jointer when edge gluing. It's not so easy on a cabinet saw but can be done. Straighten out one edge with a plane and feed that edge smoothly against the rip fence. You can alternate up/down faces when ripping to ensure complementary angles as on a jointer, but if the blade is set square that shouldn't be an issue.

Squeegeeing epoxy or more pva glue into an open joint, aka "crap in the gap", may provide a paintable surface but there is no real bond strength.

A straightedge laid across the glueup will show up problems with clamping, and a dry run is never wasted.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Put me in the redo camp.
If you see gaps, then I see a huge problem down the road.
Easy enough for me to say since I have a track saw & making a cut like that is not a problem in the world.

[Lee Schierer]

I'm not sure what I would've done wrong. I alternated clamps on top and bottom, some facing one direction, some the opposite direction (i.e. some clamps turned 180 degrees compared to other clamps, so the screw to tighten them is on the other end). Maybe I could have used a couple more clamps, but they were maybe 12 inches or so apart, though that's just an estimate.

I would have used more clamps, spaced about 6 inches apart. Alternating top and bottom is good practice. You don't need to swap clamps end for end, but it doesn't hurt anything to do that.

I save narrow cut offs 3/4-1 in., to use as protection strips between the pieces I am attempting to glue up and the clamp faces. These strips allow me to apply more clamping pressure without denting the edge of the finished piece.

[Mark Gibney]

Eric, you might not really need a jointer to get a tight glue-line, if you redo the desktop.

If you rip the glue-up apart, and run the boards across your tablesaw taking off less than 1/32" on each side of the boards you can use a fine-toothed sharp blade and go straight to gluing the top together, without any more jointing work. I've used a cross-cut blade to do this in the past.

But you need to move the boards at a sure steady pace, not super fast, through the cut, without any wobble, so feather boards can help.