In Reply to: Re: No fasteners needed for complex glue-ups of horns posted by toxicport.e on December 13, 2003 at 05:41:40:
Lots of ways to skin that cat but what I was trying to describe eliminated the inevitable change of position caused by the torque of the screws. No fasteners go into the sub-assemblies at all.
I put your "A" side on the bench, outside down. Located the sub-assemblies and drew lines around them. Then put the glue on one side (edges) of the subs and placed them within the lines. It's important to push down on the subs so they flatten out the glue a little and become "stuck". Otherwise any subsequent action, placing side "B" or putting weight on "B" may cause movement.
So now side"A" has subs glued to it.
Place side "B" on top, and, since you don't have clamps, get the Brittanica or Madonna's coffee table book or a piece of concrete, etc and weight down side "B". No glue between the subs and "B" at this point. Next day you remove "B", spread glue on the exposed edges of the subs, replace "B", position it square with a few nails and put the weight back on. I used 1 1/4", 4 penny finish nails, 2 on one side and 2 more on an adjacent side just to maintain square while I weighted "B". Be sure to countersink them which really improves the mechanical action and allows them to be easily hidden. All the weight required is enough to flatten the glue just as you did by hand in the first step to glue "A". 24 hours later it's done.
The main thing about this method is eliminating using screws to fasten the sub-assemblies at all. Just let the urethane adhesive do it's job. BTW, I am NOT talking about Gorilla Glue or other brands of that type. They expand as they dry and they dry hard. Very bad for creating an airtight seal. What is called for is any of the various brands of Urethane "construction" adhesive that comes in a cardboard tube and requires a caulking gun. It becomes tacky rather quickly at almost any temperature, does not expand as it dries and remains permanently flexible so acts as a sealant. Once the sub-assemblies have sat in it for a few minutes you could actually turn the whole thing over and they would stay put. The "squeeze-out" is a bit of a bother to remove. Try to remove it too soon and it just gunks up your scraper or knife. Wait too long and it's really tenacious. It peels right off after a couple of hours, tho'. If it's quite dry, you can cut or chisel along the edge of the glue bead and then it peels okay and sand the residue. Worth the trouble.
I realise all this borders on pedantry but describing a mental image is so hard. I talk to people all day about theur kitchen or deck or pole barn ideas and it gets pretty hilarious at times when something clear in their minds just doesn't come across in words. Of course they think I'm a Cretin.
Here's an interchange between myself and Steve Culton on wiring up a fairly simple on-off switch, DPDT, I think. Real Abbot and Costello stuff:
Who's On First
Creating is more like performing than listening
Follow Ups: