I started using Old Brown Glue a couple of months ago. Why?
I suppose initially I wanted it to be an introduction of sorts into the world of Hide Glue without having the start up cost of purchasing a glue pot. I like the idea of reversible joinery and a glue that doesn’t mess up finishing. Here in my shop I like to keep the finishing process as simple as possible.
Well it didn’t take too long before the Old Brown Glue paid off and that happened this morning. Yesterday, I glued up the legs and cross members of another new saw bench I’m building. Somehow I mixed up the legs and this morning, when I went to attach the top boards to the sub frame assembly it didn’t fit.
????
: o
What the heck happened?
Worse- what was I going to do now?
Thankfully, I’m using Old Brown Glue…
; )
I grabbed my electric kettle fitted with pipe and hose ( a set up I use for steam bending ) and in about 5 minutes time I was able to bang the joints apart without any damage to the wood. A bit of warm water cleaned up the joints and I’m ready to glue the frame back together the right way this time!!
So, thanks to OBG I didn’t have to rebuild half of the saw bench and I can continue on with the rest of my new book projects.
If you’d like to have the luxury of reversing your joinery ( when you completely mess something up like I did ) then I’d recommend you visit Patrick Edwards site and place an order.
Cheers!
4 Comments
Hey Tom,
so important to share these matters with others, mistakes, oversights they’re all part of any shop environment and typical working day…..the important thing is always how we solve them, these little tricks of material know how is where it’s at, it’s what starts to make a wood working a seasoned craftsman.
So no smacked wrists this time Tom!!!, just a big thank you in fact for sharing the solution and another good reason for marking all the pieces up thoroughly in any project.
Well done, you get a gold star for initiative.
Cheers
Steve
Thanks for sharing your screwup — some days are like that, at least in my experience.
Can you share some details on the saw bench? I’d be interested in seeing that.
Hey Joe,
thanks for the comments. The bench is based on a traditional saw bench with a few alterations. The first is it has one side square instead of splayed legs which makes ripping wood much more efficient. Another is a removable fence for cross cutting and the last detail I’ll mention is a ripping notch down the length for thin ‘hard to hold’ stock.
The plans and building procedure will be in the new book so I can’t share too much just yet~;)
Cheers!
Thanks Tom, totally understand about the need to keep the new projects under wraps until the new book is out. I really enjoyed your first book and hope to make a few projects from it after I finish my workbench. If my cardiovascular system survives the planing and sawing.