I assembled my latest project (a blanket chest) yesturday and I contemplated prefinishing it before glue-up. This should make glue clean up a lot easier. I can see two potential problems with this: 1) finish will weaken any tenon shoulder glue adhesion (finish surrounding a mortise). 2) the act of clamping can scratch the preapplied finish. Take the poll.
If one does not get any glue into the M&T area, the resultant joint will = be just as strong as it would have been had the glue-up been done first.
Were one to use buffering block between the clamps and the project, = "clamping scratches" would be minimized if not eliminated.
If one does not mind the M&T joint being noticeable to the touch, = however miniscule the joint separation might be, because the finish was = done first; then finish first. This might be considered part of the = aesthetics of the joint.
My preference is glue first because I like the feel of a smooth joint.
P D Q
joints and glue-up areas. I don't worry about the shoulder joint where the glue would be end-grain to side grain, just the mortises and tenons themselves. I don't do this with dovetailed drawers, but do pre-scrape the inside in order to make applying the finish easier. I also pre-finish the drawer bottoms -- it keeps glue from sticking to them.
I'll pretty much echo Mark & Juanita's response.
Where it makes sense and is possible, I mask off and finish prior to glue up.
Tom Veatch Wichita, KS USA
finish the exterior after assembly. Mask off any areas that will be glued.
cabinet door panels. With wood movement and seasonal shrinkage door panels can reveal unstained areas.
That's kind of what I havebeen doing with panels only. I will prefinish panels for exactly the reasons you stated.
I'm going to give this a try next time. I realize that there isn't much strength from the shoulder (end grain) to long grain, but it still bugs me knowing i'm making it even weaker. Silly, I know.
I prefinish unless I'm going to do more machining after assembly. I even wax the finish. That makes any glue squeeze-out easily removable.
As far as scratching, I mostly use bar clamps with rubber pads and don't clamp any harder than required. No problem with the finish there. I'm more likely to get a scratch from moving the piece around on my bench - but a clean benchtop and the wax minimizes that problem.
Finally, I mostly use shellac as a finish and any scratches are easily fixed.
BTW, I just followed my normal procedures on a blanket chest - worked fine.
I stain prior to assy because the glue squeeze out will affect stain penetration. Also may do first coat of oil-urethane finish on interior areas for protection, with proper protection of the actual glue joint area, and subsequent coats after assembly.
Hope this helps.....
Depends on the project. For example, we have been building a new house and have taken on nearly all of the finish work ourselves. Nearly all trim including craftsman door headers, tub surround parts, etc were stained in the garage shop prior to installations, then final finish after installation. Some of the parts, including base and window trim were stained and poly'ed in the shop prior to installation. However, most parts don't get final finish until installed.
Some stuff that requires careful fit and attachment are stained and finished in place. My personal preference would have been to assemble or attach a lot of the stuff in place; then stain and finish. But when you are working next to painted walls and finished hardwood flooring, that isn't always practical.
Gluing requirements always have to be in the back of you mind when planning.
When I do normal projects such as small cabinets, rocking horses, quilt stands, etc.; I usually stain the final project at one time including side-assemblies such as drawers.
Ron.
On Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:49:08 -0700, the infamous Mark & Juanita scrawled the following:
What, just one hand-rubbed coat of Waterlox, or something thicker? Anything should make a big difference with glue.
P.S: You finish the inside of drawers?
On Tue, 4 Aug 2009 07:33:18 -0500, the infamous "Leon" scrawled the following:
Ohmigod! I came back too soon. You guys are still using the 'S' word!
Shameful. Just shameful. I bet I'll see the 'P' word soon, too.
I usually use an oil-based finish to pop grain and then top-coat with wipe-on poly followed by two coats of wax -- same finish schedule as the rest of the project. Note -- that said wipe-on poly, not the thick plasticy-looking stuff, that IIRC, you had little use for. I've found Watco wipe-on to provide a good durable top coat that doesn't have that plastic appearance.
Umm, yeah, doesn't everybody?
Then don't look at the response to your previous response to one of my postings.
Now that was a memory flogger. IIRC your favorite finish word was "polyurinestain". ? time traveler, jo4hn
On Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:47:18 -0700, the infamous jo4hn scrawled the following:
Erm, -not- "favorite finish", but favorite nick for that P stuff. Ayup, you got it in one, jo4hn.
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