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Six common situations where specialty glues serve you well. It goes without saying that most of our projects would be nothing more than a loose assembly of parts without the holding power of [...]

Work with the grain when gluing panels, even when the grain throws you a curve. When I look at a piece of furniture, aside from its design and craftsmanship, I examine how the wood was used. How [...]

I well remember the day when I couldn’t get a mortise-and-tenon joint to come together no matter how hard I tightened the clamp. I had ignored a fundamental rule: Always make mortises 1/16“ [...]

Thirst, not starvation, leads to weak glue joints. On my first day on the job as an apprentice cabinetmaker, my task was to glue together radiator panels for an office building. Two sticks of [...]

Ironing edge-banding that has hot-melt glue backing is familiar to most woodworkers. But what if you don’t have any on hand, or it’s not available in the species you’re using? I [...]

Delve into the characteristics and properties of the 7 families of glue and adhesives. OK, so you consider yourself a woodworker. Let’s say that your neighbor asks you what appears to be a simple [...]

Until recently, my go-to glue-spreading tool for small joints was always a cheap nickel-plated steel brush with natural bristols. I still use these brushes, but ever since I discovered the [...]

Prepare your wood, pick the right glue and prevent problems. Baseball bats, utensils, turned items and small carved objects are usually made from one piece of wood. But most woodworking projects [...]

Clamping cauls are indispensable for gluing up casework. A caul is simply a stiff piece of wood used to apply pressure where a clamp can’t reach. Sooner or later, you’re going to run [...]

Your joints will last for decades if you know how to apply your glue. Much of woodworking is joinery: An edge-to-edge joint is used to join two or more boards to create a tabletop, dovetails are [...]

Bob Flexner walks you through all the steps in repairing an antique factory-made chair that is glued with animal hide glue.

Glue Cleanup in Tight Spots Glue squeeze-out can be difficult to clean up in tight spaces such as beads and grooves because you can’t wipe the area very effectively with a damp rag nor insert a [...]