Glue seam joint / Re-glue?

[Mike Black]

My perfectionism maybe showing through here, but at lest I'm willing to admit it, and that's the first step right.

Anyway...I guess I didn't get this joint as perfect as I thought I did before I glued it up. After rough carving it It seams as if the joint was better on the edges than the middle. I now have a hair-line seam between the pieces. It's cut to shape with a little play room and I have the outside arch carved, but NOT the inside.

My question is: Should I try to heat the joint to seperate the seam and re-glue it? Or should I just leave it alone? The seam was glued together with regular tightbond.

Anyone have experience doing this rework?

Thanks in advance!

[sunburst]

Good pictures!

I believe I'd redo that one if there's enough wood. I would rip it apart, though, rather than trying to heat the glue joint, but I have a thin kerf blade. You might be able to heat it apart without too much warping, but I don't know.

Did you start with wedge shaped pieces?
If you were jointing and clamping wedge shaped pieces, that can lead to the joint opening on the angled (not the flat) side of the piece, and the joint will be loose in the center after carving.

If you redo it with it already cut to shape, it will be even more difficult to get a good joint, so work carefully!
This might be a good time to get some scrap wood, some hide glue, and learn to do rubbed joints before you do that back over.

[Tony Francis]

I agree with John, re do it.

If there is any doubt in your mind, re do it, and make a note of it so next time not to make that same mistake again. Its easy enough to fix now, much harder down the track.

Best,

Tony

[Mike Black]

Any suggestions on what to use to get them apart if I don't have a thin kerf blade?

[sunburst]

How much wood do you have to spare? Do you have a good bandsaw that you can set up for a precise cut with a small blade?
If you have plenty of wood you can rip it with a table saw with a regular, not thin kerf, blade. Double stick tape or hot melt it to a piece of plywood or lumber so you can use the saw fence. You'll lose a little more than 1/8" doing it that way, and perhaps a little less than 1/8" with a good bandsaw.

[Lefty Luthier]

I too suggest recutting the joint. If the grain is reasonably straight and you have at least 0.25 inch margin, just take a heavy chisel and split along that joint. Then run both pieces through your jointer and reglue. Based on bitter experience, never attempt this type of fix with maple or walnut backboards, always saw them apart.

[Mike Black]

Since this is a quilted maple board, you suggest that I saw it then? I don't have a table saw so I'll have to work slowly with my bandsaw. Wish me luck!

[sunburst]

Use a fence on the bandsaw. All you need is a straight board clamped to the table and a board or piece of plywood with a straight edge to fasten the back to. Be sure the center seam is exactly parallel to the edge of your board and set your fence so that the blade tracks right down the center of your glue joint. After you've ripped the halves apart, then joint them again.

[Mike Black]

John...Thanks for the tip about attaching it to a board first. It worked like a dream. I've got the seam apart and smoothed back up and it won't be too small. I still had some room (at lest a skosh or more). I think that i'll look a lot better this time.

Now I just got to work on that hide glue rubbed joint.

Practice, practice practice....