Thursday, January 21, 2010

Rain & Humidity??? Thought this was a desert!


This has been a strange weather month to say the least.  So far this month we've had 1.55 inches of rain which is almost as much as we had all of last year!  So, my problem was wanting to use liquid hide glue but it needs at least 50 degrees.  I called the folks at Titebond and they were more than helpful.  It was about 52 in the shop when I started so they suggested warming the glue under some warm water so it wouldn't gel, that made spreading easier.  I hooked up the propane heater and raised the temperature to around 65 before I began to glue all of the finger joints.  Always get a bit anxious before glue ups and there were lots of fingers to cover.  All the preliminary things like the dry fit and having all of the clamps ready were done so away I went!  The plan was to keep the heat going during the initial clamp up period and then after 3-4 hours, removing the clamps and bringing the boxes in doors.  The folks at Titebond also suggested that I put some glue on a scrap piece and test it to make sure it wasn't sticky before removing the clamps. I had already put the glue on a scrap piece of plywood for application so that worked for my test piece.  As luck would have it,  my propane bottle ran out so that meant going out into the rain to get the other one on the barbecue. I was able to keep the glue up area at around 70+ degrees most of the time.  All went well so tomorrow I can continue work on the outside of the cases before separating the lid from the bottom.  You can see in the picture that the top and bottom panels have been oiled on the outsides, they also have two coats of my top coat sanded into them.  That's taking a little longer to dry also due to the high humidity. The inside of the cases will be finished with shellac/wax, the insides if the panels are done already.

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