How much glue?

[darren]

I'd love to see some photos of how much glue I should use for glue-ups. Examples may be... fingerboard-neck, kerfing-rim, bracing, neck/tailblocks etc.

I always think I have too much, or not enough. I know checking the squeeze-out will tell me if I have the right amount of glue, but there's this fine line of too much to clean up, or not enough, and then I'm worried about a dry joint. Actually seeing how much others use would be useful to me and other newer woodworkers in the group.

[B. Howard]

I have no pics but here is my approach. When clamped together, small beads of glue about the size of a pinhead or smaller should squeeze out along the joint. If the amount of glue was perfect these will shrivel like dried corn and suck back into the joint as it starts to dry. Needless to say this is a fairly thin coat of glue. Make sure to spread it out evenly and completely over the joint surface, if you are going to work at the minimum then any void in the glue will weaken the joint and lead to failure. Sometimes I find it helps to let the glue set open for 5 minutes or so before closing. This lets the glue stiffen a bit and keeps it where it's needed. Also make joints a little less slippery during clamping.

For me, if I can't see through the glue to the wood, it's too much.
If the wood is completely covered but I can see through the glue to the wood, it's about right.

-tommy

[darren]

Those are good tips - keep em coming.

So far it looks like I usually over-do it.

thanks,

[Darryl Young]

In general, the thinner, the stronger for glue (at least for traditional wood glues); however, if you have any spot with no coverage, then the joint is drastically weakened. So you walk a fine line.

[Darryl Young]

Also, end grain soaks glue in much more than "normal" wood presentation. So it may be a good idea to wipe glue on end grain, wait a bit, then wipe additional glue before glueing the joint. This comes into play, for example, sometimes on neck/tail blocks when glueing them to the top/back (depending on the orientation of the wood in the block).

[stevemac00]

This is my first build but I think glue-ups are the same whether it's a guitar or a truss. If you don't get squeeze out then your joint is starved. Too much causes a mess.

I squirt it on then wipe with my fingers. Too much comes right off until there's an even coating.

glue_IMG_4715.jpg

glue__DSC5180.jpg

The fingerboard is just right. The neck brace had more surface area and caused too much squeeze out in the bottom photo but too much is better than starvation.

[Darryl Young]

Below the 10th fret (in the first pic of the fretboard above) is about the right amount of squeeze-out. The rest of the fretboard is more than ideal. With that said it's difficult to get it perfect......

[tippie53]

will do a video on this on Sat

[Darryl Young]

Now there is a man stepping up to the plate.......