Pre-wax to ease removal of glue squeeze

klkirkman

Well-known member
A recent woodworking magazine includes an article on using a specialized wax on wood in the vicinity of joints before glue up to make it easy to clean up squeeze out.

It seems too good to be true; the author ststes that the wax is easily removed and has no effect on various finishes.

What expereience have others had with this technique ?

Karl
 
Sure looks like a lot more work, then necessary.  Does it work? Who knows, but I am not going try to find out. If the maker is careful with glue ups then there shouldn't be an issue. Also this is why Old Brown Glue, and hot hide glue are great options, for there isn't a concern on squeeze out.  I would say try hide glue and enjoy how awesome it works. 

Fred
 
 
I believe the product is Waxilit, which is sold by Lee Valley.  I have not tried it, but did see a demo by a person who was inlaying ground stone into wood art projects.  It seemed to work in that case.
 
It appears Waxilit was discontinued by Lee Valley:

http://forum.canadianwoodworking.com/showthread.php?47740-No-more-Waxilit.-What-to-use-as-a-glue-resist

One thought about this (and just my opinion) is that modern woodworking shows and instructional DVDs show FAR too much glue being applied to joints.  In fact, I vaguely remember a quote from a WW book suggesting that if you don't have glue squeeze out all along a joint, you've "starved" the joint and it won't hold.

I think that's malarkey.  I very, very rarely have any glue squeeze-out from any joint where I'm using modern PVA glue, and the resulting joints are unbreakable (the wood will break first).

Besides, it's generally only modern furniture designs that rely solely on glue strength;  most period designs are carefully constructed to have multiple, redundant mechanical interlocks that back up the glue strength (pinned mortise and tenon joints are an example).

But, as Freddy notes, the best solution is the old solution - hide glue.  The only time I avoid HG is when I'm building a piece that is intended for outdoor use.
 
Hi All
  When you consider the time it takes to apply and remove the wax, it's just as fast to remove the squeeze out with a damp rag. And ,you don't have to worry about finishing problems. Grandpa always said, put the horse in front of the cart, not the back! Randy
 
Indeed the damp rag is my present method, and no known failures or problems so far.

I have always worried that the watering down of the glue near the joint might cause weakness, and that is why I was merely asking if anyone had experience with the product - not advocating it.



Karl
 
Oh I think this is a great discussion, for glue staining is a concern.  I understand that many can't wait for hide glue to harden, or know how to use hide glue.  And at times hide glue is not a possibility, but as it was once explained to me -if you wipe the glue off quickly with a damp hot rag and if you are going to sand then should be a o'kay.  That said there is still that small chance you missed something and now you have to deal with the glue squeeze out some how.  It is true that the maker needs to be clean and not have glue splattered everywhere,  but I understand why people would try to find a way to solve this issue/concern. 

Cheers,

Fred
 
One trick I feel worth mentioning is something I learned from Phil Lowe. An old toothbrush can be used with water to "scrub" joints where there are tight corners - like where the stretchers meet the chair leg. Since learning this trick I haven't had much problem w/ glue squeeze when using PVA glues.

But since I learned that trick I discovered hide glue for furniture construction and haven't looked back. So those old tooth brushes I once used to clean out glue squeeze out are looking pretty dusty.

JB
 
I don't subscribe to the notion that a joint without squeeze-out is starved of glue, but I would rather see squeeze-out as confirmation that the joint isn't starved. That and it's more expeditious to swab a joint with glue rather than faff about with small dabs of it when trying to assemble a complex structure.

There are too many contaminants that can spoil an aged or stained finish (including glue spots, squeeze-out and fingerprints), so as a matter of policy, I always wipe raw furniture down with a hot wet cloth - and often a toothbrush for the corners - prior to finishing it.

I can imagine that squeeze-out may not be much of an issue beneath un-stained finishes (other than perhaps, great lumps of the stuff), but that's not my thing.
 
Waxilit is great for it's intended purpose... getting wood to feed through machines. I read that article as well and it may be a good trick for rare complicated assemblies but not all the time. I've spent many a day shoving sticks into a Weinig molder and wouldn't want to be without it for that. Always had a 5 gallon pail nearby!
 
Hi all,
A while back I was producing a small desk clock which included 6 columns.Glue squeeze out was a major issue because all the pieces were pre-finished and when the piece was clamped-up it was not possible to clean up the excess. I did discover that if I watched my glue set-up time(about 2 hrs) I could spray pledge wax on the areas that had squeeze out and after about 5 minutes the glue would change color to a milky shade. I did worry about joints being compromised but it did not become a problem.At the time  I was using TB II.I used a dull slightly blunted #11 X-acto knife and although a bit tedious I was able to remove any squeeze out without damaging the finish.
I have not tried this approach with TB III.
Hope this helps,even with wiping off on pre-finished pieces there always seems to remain a slight film.
tom
 
I would say why not just use Old Brown Glue- hide glue? For hide glue cleans up easily, squeeze out isn't a concern, and plenty of open time.

FR
 
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