I'm a total newbie here! I'm currently building Graces' Bookshelves and I was having problems with figuring out just how to clamp and glue. Trying to clamp a "T" was enough of a challenge that I just went ahead with screws and no glue, instead of nails and glue. Any resources or insight you can give on your clamping and glueing strategies would be appreciated! Thank you!
nathan
Thu, 01/27/2011 - 13:32
If you've got the right sized clamps, you can put anything together. You can never have too many clamps, and you'll need them in all sizes. Big clamps. Little clamps. C-clamps. Bar clamps. Spring clamps. Each one has its use and you'll always need several. I haven't looked at the plans that you're struggling with, but you can't go wrong if you go big first. Craftsman 36" bar clamps (link: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_1.....ckType=G20) are the biggest ones I have, and I use them all the time. For smaller projects they can be unwieldy, but they'll work for most projects. You can use a long clamp on a small project, but you can't use a short clamp on a large project.
If you just need to make a T-joint, then you'd put down a bead of glue the edge of one board--I'd do it on the hangy-down part of the T. Then you just clamp it together with a clamp big enough.
Imagine the at signs are the ends of the clamp: @|---------@
psuryan
Fri, 01/28/2011 - 12:17
I would say having a flat place to work on is very helpful, as the wood needs to hit square or the clamp will pull the wood out of place. I take it your T keeps collapsing on you?
The long clamps usually have a screw that you tighten. The trck to these clamps is to get everythin to line up. Start with the side that does not move on the top of the T. Imagine the post of the T going through the top, and place the clamp there. Now, the long clamps usually have a slide as well, slide it down till that end touches the bottom of the T.
You also have to line this up vertically, so if you lined the fix end up 1 inch from the top, you need to have the movable end one inch from the top. It is often easiest to let the clamp rest on the wood, this can make lining it up easier and get rid of the guesswork. Really, it is all about having both ends of the clamp pushing straight toward each other. Hald an inch either way will create enough force to pull it out of place.
Always, a second set of hands helps, but if you work on the floor, you can try holding the board between your feet.
claydowling
Fri, 02/04/2011 - 10:12
Also, to save money skip the bar clamps and buy a set of pipe clamps. These are cast iron gadgets that slip over the ends of 1" pipe. You buy pipe in the length you need. Orange sells the Pony brand, which is decent, but the knock-offs at Harbor Freight are a lot cheaper and nearly as good. These things have saved my bacon a lot.