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Officially loving glue blocks! Any tips?

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Getting ready to make tops for grandkids, resurrecting what I learned with Bonnie Klein years ago, the only time I'd ever used a glue block. Pulled out a 2" aluminum faceplate (Lee Valley), and set it all up. Lovely! So easy, and re-useable; doesn't waste stock the way a chuck does and is easier to work down close to the headstock. Am totally diggin' it. One thing I'm not sure about is how much I need to resurface after removing old stock, getting ready to CA-glue on the new stock. I've been taking off about 1/16" between pieces of stock I think, have turned 4 things on it. Using standard CA glue, not thin, for this.

Anything else I need to know about these accessories?
 
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Odie is the King of Glue Blocks, so he will undoubtedly respond with gusto. I don't think you have to remove any specific amount of the block after use, just make sure the face is flat and square (or very slightly concave). There have been disagreements about CA for fixing to glue blocks and I can't recall if there was a clear winner. Personally, I use hot melt glue--fast and reliable, though not as fast as CA.
 
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Odie is the tomorrow. g of Glue Blocks, so he will undoubtedly respond with gusto. I don't think you have to remove any specific amount of the block after use, just make sure the face is flat and square (or very slightly concave). There have been disagreements about CA for fixing to glue blocks and I can't recall if there was a clear winner. Personally, I use hot melt glue--fast and reliable, though not as fast as CA.

Hmmmm, there certainty are plenty of pros who use it, Bonnie among them. Of course, I'm not turning a 12" bowl.:rolleyes: I guess what I need to know is: Does every molecule of CA need to be dispatched before gluing on a new piece of stock?

Will watch for Odies' tips and tricks tomorrow.
 

odie

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Odie is the King of Glue Blocks, so he will undoubtedly respond with gusto. I don't think you have to remove any specific amount of the block after use, just make sure the face is flat and square (or very slightly concave). There have been disagreements about CA for fixing to glue blocks and I can't recall if there was a clear winner. Personally, I use hot melt glue--fast and reliable, though not as fast as CA.

Hmmmm, there certainty are plenty of pros who use it, Bonnie among them. Of course, I'm not turning a 12" bowl.:rolleyes: I guess what I need to know is: Does every molecule of CA need to be dispatched before gluing on a new piece of stock?

Will watch for Odies' tips and tricks tomorrow.

I'm not sure how much my input will be of help to you, Jamie.....as you say, what you're doing isn't very close to what I'm doing. I'm assuming you are mounting your glue block to a faceplate, and then completing a project, parting it off, and then using the same glue block for subsequent projects......right?

For my way of doing it, I'm strictly using Titebond for gluing my bowl blanks, then tossing the glue block out after I've parted the finished bowl. In your case, it will make a difference in what kind of glue you are using, and how much it penetrates the wood surfaces. The Titebond penetrates about 1/8th inch into the pores of the wood, so that would be a concern for my method of gluing up a bowl blank.

The way you're gluing up, using CA, and then removing 1/6th inch between mountings is probably ok. Not sure, because I don't use CA for this purpose, but I doubt the CA will penetrate as much as the Titebond does. It's probably a good idea to remove all, or most of the previous application of CA. In direct answer to your question, I don't think it's absolutely necessary to remove all the previous CA glue, but it could effect the amount of holding power the CA will have, if it cannot penetrate as much as it would normally.

ko
 

hockenbery

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I use CA glue blocks a lot, especially for natural edge bowls.

Resurfacing: I try to turn off the glue and not turn off any wood. If a little bit of wood gets turned off that's fine

It is a fast secure system.
The CA splits apart with a chisel.

CA does a good job of securing green wood to a dry glue block, another plus. I use thick CA.

ONE TIP bowls is to make both surfaces concave, put two beads of CA on the bowl, spray the glue block with accelerator and twist when they contact.
The CA then spreads into a wide glue line and dries quickly.

For parts with a small join area you can press then together with CA then spray with accelerator.


Have fun,
 
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I use CA glue blocks a lot, especially for natural edge bowls.

Resurfacing: I try to turn off the glue and not turn off any wood. If a little bit of wood gets turned off that's fine

It is a fast secure system.
The CA splits apart with a chisel.

CA does a good job of securing green wood to a dry glue block, another plus. I use thick CA.

ONE TIP bowls is to make both surfaces concave, put two beads of CA on the bowl, spray the glue block with accelerator and twist when they contact.
The CA then spreads into a wide glue line and dries quickly.

For parts with a small join area you can press then together with CA then spray with accelerator.


Have fun,
Very helpful to know how well it holds green wood -- have wondered about that. Is the standard CA, found in Ace etc., "thick"? Only labelled types I see are gel, and other. Get my thin CA at monthly AAW meetings. Thanks for helpful bowl details. I assume the beads go near perimeter since surfaces are concave. Not understanding the bit about small parts though. How does acelerator get to surface if parts are already together? Stock for tops is <2", I do the standard CA on one, accelerator on the other. May be using more than needed -- have been covering surface.
 
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I'm not sure how much my input will be of help to you, Jamie.....as you say, what you're doing isn't very close to what I'm doing. I'm assuming you are mounting your glue block to a faceplate, and then completing a project, parting it off, and then using the same glue block for subsequent projects......right?

ko

Right. Your input always helps! Are your glue blocks sized according to what you plan for the bowl's foot, or bigger? Curious why you don't re-use the blocks.:confused:
 
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odie

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Right. Your input always helps! Are your glue blocks sized according to what you plan for the bowl's foot, or bigger? Curious why you don't re-use the blocks.:confused:

For me, it's easier, and takes much less time to start with a new block than resurface the old one, and remount. My glue blocks are simply premium 2x4's and 2x6's cut into squares, and then lopped off on the corners to an octagon shape. This is all done in batches on my table saw. They are fast and easy to make in quantity....and inexpensive, considering how many I can get out of a cheap pine/fir stud. The glue blocks are not sized individually, except for the intent to make a foot smaller than 3 1/2", or 5 1/2", as these are the maximum foot sizes that are usable within the limits of these dimensions.

ko
 

hockenbery

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Very helpful to know how well it holds green wood -- have wondered about that. Is the standard CA, found in Ace etc., "thick"? Only labelled types I see are gel, and other. Get my thin CA at monthly AAW meetings. Thanks for helpful bowl details. I assume the beads go near perimeter since surfaces are concave. Not understanding the bit about small parts though. How does acelerator get to surface if parts are already together? Stock for tops is <2", I do the standard CA on one, accelerator on the other. May be using more than needed -- have been covering surface.

Accelerator makes the glue harden quickly. Gel is probably a thick. Thin won't work. Medium usually works. Thick is good. There are sort of three ways to glue two objects together with CA

1. Accelerator on one part, thick CA on the other part and stick them together. - this is a bit tricky. With beads of glue on a bowl and accelerator on the glue bloc if you just bring them together the joint will be weak since the beads set up as beads and just the thin top edge of the beads are glued to the glue block. Here is where the two concave surfaces and the little twist make a wide glue joint that is quite strong. It will hold up to turning a natural edge bowl nicely. It won't hold up to a catch. Not a good method for anyone who gets catches hollowing bowls. You want to use glue on one part and accelerator on the other for 2" tops.

2. no accelerator press the objects together with thick CA in the joint. I use this method to glue cutting tips into hollowing bars. Takes about 10 minutes before it set up for use.

3. Accelerator on the joint of two parts pressed together with glue in the joint. This works well for small stuff 1/2" diameter where the accelerator will cure the inner part of the joint. If you tried this on a faceplate the outer edge of glue joint will harden and keep the inner part from hardening. This makes a weak joint as only a thin bit of glue around the outside is holding. One caution on the wet wood. The glue joint will fail when the wet wood dries and moves. This works well for hollowing the bowl and then removing the block to finish turn the foot. Something you can do in lesson than an hour and usually less than 15 minutes. Leave it on for a couple of hours and the glue block will fall off. Al
 
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john lucas

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I use glue blocks for all of my hand mirrors and many of my ornaments. I use Accelerator for the mirrors. Accelerator makes the glue joint brittle. If you get a good catch it will break the glue joint. I use this to my advantage on the mirrors. I glue the block to the good side of the mirror, turn the opening and then break the glue joint by putting a chisel between the glue block and mirror and hit it hard. It's not the wedge or cutting action that breaks the bond, it's the impact so hit it forcefully. It almost always shears the glue and leaves both the glue block and mirror intack. I then use a scraper very lightly to remove the glue from the glue block so I can use it for the next mirror. I get a lot of uses before I remove enough wood to make the glue block too short. If I want a stronger less fragile bond I simply don't use the Accelerator. It does take longer to bond but is a lot stronger.
 
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I use glue blocks for all of my hand mirrors and many of my ornaments. I use Accelerator for the mirrors. Accelerator makes the glue joint brittle. If you get a good catch it will break the glue joint. I use this to my advantage on the mirrors. I glue the block to the good side of the mirror, turn the opening and then break the glue joint by putting a chisel between the glue block and mirror and hit it hard. It's not the wedge or cutting action that breaks the bond, it's the impact so hit it forcefully. It almost always shears the glue and leaves both the glue block and mirror intack. I then use a scraper very lightly to remove the glue from the glue block so I can use it for the next mirror. I get a lot of uses before I remove enough wood to make the glue block too short. If I want a stronger less fragile bond I simply don't use the Accelerator. It does take longer to bond but is a lot stronger.

John, very helpful information as usual! I did not know that the accelerator makes the glue join brittle, though that was proved last night when I had a bit of a catch (seriously, not a big one:)) and the stock popped off. Had not thought of using a scraper to remove the glue -- that might be more efficient than what I've been doing. Can't remember who's video I watched to learn about glue blocks and how to "whack!" -- probably Lyle Jamieson. Got that part down.
 
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