Gluing multi-piece carvings

[Claude]

Jillsy's thread, All 1-piece vs. attachments, prompts this. When I glue on added pieces of wood, either pre-carved, or as a block, I usually end up with what I consider to be thick and ugly glue lines. I've tried clamps and rubber bands, but still seem to have the problem. What I haven't done, yet, is to spend a significant amount of time getting the two mating surfaces perfectly flat and smooth - is that the secret, or is my laziness not causing the problem? I usually use Elmer's Carpenters Glue.

Claude

[Lynn O. Doughty]

Claude. Here's the secret. First, you have to get the two parts completely flat so they mate perfectly. Next, don't use the regular Elmer's or Titebond but go and buy the waterproof version of those glues. The reason you are getting the glue lines is that, especially if you paint wet like I do, the water softens the outer layer of the woodglue and as paint will not stick to the glue anyway you're left with a white line. The waterproof glue gives you a little more latitude to in that it doesn't soften up.

Another tip is to glue up prior to carving the finished surface. That way there will be nothing left around the glued joint but the joint.

[Lynn O. Doughty]

Here's one more tip.....Go down to the tire store and ask them to give you an old, trashed out innertube. Cut it into 1/2" strips about 2' long and use those for clamps. Stretch them a little as you wrap them around the uneven pieces and you'll get a much better bond than trying to fiddle with clamps.

[mark yundt]

Yes,,the key to glueups is perfectly flat surfaces,,if done properly you won't have any line to even consider.You'll be able to carve right through it without noticing it,and can paint/stain/seal without any problems.I personally use titebond,have never had a joint fail,,nor give any problems during finishing/painting as it has,,when completly dried,,quite a bit of "waterproofness" to it according to the technicians at the factory.Titebond 2 even more so.And I've done some good size glueups.

[Claude]

Ok - thanks, guys! Guess I'll have to make a trip to Woodcraft this weekend and get the waterproof Titebond.

Claude

[mdallensr]

My best results in mating a piece to a carving, such as a head to a decoy, came from keeping the mating surfaces perfectly flat, and not finish-carving the mating areas on both parts. If you can get a good glue joint and have wood left to carve away to finish the carving, you can blend the two parts together and the joint will not be noticeable. It's nearly impossible to carve a body part completely and have it mate to a body witout an obvious joint, even if the glue line is invisible. Lynn and some other pros could probably do it, but the rest of us would really struggle. I've seen some horrible examples of those attempts at carving shows (I think of them as Frankenstein carvings).

Twice I've cut the head off of a carving, a bear and a songbird, after deciding there was no way to salvage the mess. The key is to make a perfectly flat and straight cut, to mate well with the new piece of wood. I did my amputations with my miter saw, glued on a new block on and carved the new head in place. If you use a hand saw or band saw, you will struggle to get the pieces to mate well. Mike

[Lynn O. Doughty]

Mike.....I agree, no matter how good you are there will always be a glue line as if there weren't there would be no glue between the two pieces! Sounds logical to me anyway. Here's a suggestion that might help....

Ideally, a disk sander is the best way to get a flat survace but if you don't have access to one take a full sheet of sandpaper and glue it to a piece of 3/4" plywood. Smooth surfaced of course. Now, you can sand the mating surfaces on a flat ground. Another thing I do prior to glueing is to dish out the center of the glued area just a bit to give me a "pocket" of glue when I put the two pieces together. Now I no longer have to worry about squeezing out all the glue when I clamp or wrap with rubber straps as there is that little pocket in there holding a bubble of glue. Also, if the pieces are large enough put in a peg or two to keep the parts from slipping on you. I always dish out around those pegs too clear out any fuzz drill might have raised.

[BobD]

I use a handplane to get the best glue joints <GRIN>. But that's a skill of it's own!

Bob

[Eddy-Smiles]

Lynn... Thanks for the great tips... the old rubber inner tube clamp... and the hollow at the center of a joint. Great ideas. I'm not sure who suggested it on another previous thread but like Claude I also switched to Titebond II. I threw out my Weldwood and Elmers which was getting pretty old and thick anyway.

[TUKLONITA]

My thanks to you all for your expertise on gluing and solving a problem that has been plaguing me for some time... and to think I could have saved so much work... thanks again...