There are plenty of ways on how you can join two pieces of wood. The simplest and most common way is by gluing them together. You may want to make a bigger plane, join boards side-by-side, or make corner joints. So, if you are working on a home project, here are some guidelines that you can follow:
Organize the boards and then mark all of them with chalk. Next, arrange them so that the best sides would show. You can shift them around until you have aligned the grains in a nice pattern.
Once you are happy with the way you aligned the boards, you need to create a V-shape. Use a lumber crayon or chalk.
Say, you want to join two pieces of wood to make a table. Obviously, want to make the better sides show. You want the planks or boards to look appealing for your tabletop.
In addition, you have to line up the colors and grains in order for them to look uniform. If you do not arrange them accordingly, they would look mismatched.
It is alright to have slight imperfections. Every line of the V-shape does not have to be straight. Just ensure that all the boards have this shape so that the V only becomes legible if the boards are properly aligned.
Get several strips of wood. You can use scraps if you have them around. Lay down your boards. Set the evenly sized wood pieces under the ends of the boards so that they would be raised from your work area.
Once you clamp or glue the boards, you would notice the excess glue seeping out from their joints. See to it that you keep your work area clean by raising your boards.
You can add a scrap or strip of wood in the middle part if your boards or planks are too long. Next, you should apply some glue on the edges of the board.
Be careful when you hold the glue bottle so as not to put too much glue. Use one hand to hold it and use another hand to hold the nozzle. Carefully move this nozzle on the edge.
Refrain from putting glue on both edges. Otherwise, you will end up with a messy board. To ensure that these boards are flush, you should clamp them by pressing their edges together and securing them with clamps.
Put a clamp at every end. Be mindful of the length of your boards. Do your best to get them as flush as possible so that you do not have to sand them off afterwards.
After about twenty minutes, the glue should be dry. Wipe away any excess glue from the boards using a damp cloth. Then, remove the clamps and flip over the boards. Clean their bottom side. Scrape away any excess glue using a putty knife.
Wait for a few hours for the glue to cure. If you live in an area with a humid climate, see to it that you are careful when handling your joined boards. Instead of twenty minutes, you may have to wait at least one hour before you remove the clamps.
Let the glue cure for as long as possible. You can leave it overnight. Remember that even though you may already remove the clamps after only a brief period of time, you better leave it until it reaches maximum strength. Once the glue is completely dry, you can do more work on your boards.
Using a glue to join two pieces of wood is simple, easy, and straightforward. Make sure that you only use high quality glue to ensure that your finished work lasts for a long time.