Along the journey from rough sketch to finished project, there usually is a way of recovering from a mistep. Glue up isn't one of them.
Glue up can be HIGH ANXIETY!
Even more than selecting and applying the final finish on a piece, for me, glue up is the most stressful part of making furniture (or kid toys or boxes for that matter). There are so many potential pitfalls and almost no way to get out of most of those pits. The clock starts ticking with the application of that first bead of glue and the window of opportunity for correcting ?misteps? starts closing
All the parts have to fit together properly, snug, but not overly tight
be oriented correctly, corners that are supposed to be square should be square
Glue has to be where it's suppose to be AND NOT where it isn't suppose to be
Things may have to go together in a specific order or ALL the parts CAN?T be put together
The right clamps, in sufficient numbers, have to be close enough at hand, but not in the way
Glue applicators have to be ready and the right ones, as well as THE GLUE.
A Square to verify that what you think is square is square
Once the glue up process starts it's a race against the clock, tic-toc, gravity and one?s attention span.
Like playing chess glue up requires thinking several moves ahead while NOT skipping the next one
Of course there are things one can do to increase the likelyhood of success.
A Marking Method so you know which piece goes where and in what orientation
A Dry Run to work out bugs BEFORE any glue is applied
Once you start there?s no turning back. Commit and make the leap checking as you go. Tighten this, loosen that, check and move on.
Tomorrow you?ll know if things went well or not.
GLUE UP Some Assembly Required (batteries not included)
charlie b