Handyman Guide > Woodworking Glue - Splices and Joints

GLUE FOR WOODWORK

There are several types of glue that are excellent for joining two or more pieces of wood. A well-glued joint is extremely strong, as you can easily discover in trying to take down a piece of well built furniture.

Hot Glue. This kind of glue has been used for many years by cabinetmakers and carpenters. It makes a very strong joint. This disadvantage of its use in the home workshop is that the glue must be heated before it can be used. This not only requires additional equipment, but considerable time must be allowed for bringing the glue to the right temperature. In shops where the glue is used throughout the day, the heater for the glue is controlled by a thermostat, so that the temperature of the glue is kept hard. In both cases, the glue will not dry satisfactorily.


Casein Glues. For the small workshop these are the best, and while many of them are made with a casein base, there are some made with different materials which are equally good. These glues are obtained in powdered form and require only the addition of water. They make a very strong joint, and the powder, as long as it is kept dry, will last indefinitely.

Liquid Glue. This is the most simple glue to use because it comes ready for use. The fact remains, however, that it is not as strong as the others and should not be used where a very strong joint is desired.

There are many brands of all-purpose glues - or so advertised - on the market today. Many of these are quite satisfactory in a wide variety of uses. For woodwork, however, use a glue made for this purpose alone. These special glues have been tried over a period of many years, with proven results.

SPLICES AND JOINTS

When two pieces of wood are joined in order to achieve greater length, the joint is callcd a "splice." When two pieces of wood are joined at different angles, it is called a "joint."

There are many typcs of splices and joints. The home mechanic should be familiar with a few of the more simple ones likely to be used in home-building projects.

Probably the easiest kind of splice is the simple splice shown in Fig. 59. It is easy to see that this splice depends upon the nails or screws in the wood for all its strength, and accordingly should not be used where there is any stress.

A somewhat stronger splice is the halved splice. Here, the pieces have been cut out so that they will fit together. This splice can withstand considerable compression, that is, pressure upon it from above.

To make the halved splice even stronger, plates are nailed or bolted to each side. This is called a fished splice because the plates used are known as fish plates. The strength of the splice will depend on the length of the plates.

There are probably hundreds of joints used in one form or another.

Making a perfect wood joint requires the highest kind of skill, and it is becoming something of a lost art, except for a few skilled cabinetmakers who carryon the traditions. Very few of the more complicated joints are ever used in modern construction work because of the time and labor involved in cutting and fitting the wood, and because of the smaller-sized timbers now used.

If you want to see how effective good joinery can be, look at the framework of an old barn or house.



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Elements of the House - Building Materials - Lumber - Molding - Kinds of Wood and their Characteristics - Plywood Wallboard - Roofing Materials - Concrete - Mixing Concrete - Cement Mortar - Concrete Forms - Concrete Blocks - Cinder Blocks - Bricklaying - Fieldstone - Anchoring in Masonry - Soldering.

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Plumbing
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Electricity
Definition of Terms - Ohm's Law - Alternating and Direct Current - Sources of Electrical Power - The Electrical System - Overloading the Circuit - Rewiring - Reading a Meter - Precautions - Fuses - Types of Cord - Splicing Wires - Replacing Plugs and Switches - Home Lighting - Electric Motors - Signaling System - Transformers - Burglar Alarms - Repairing the System - How to Install a Bell System.

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