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Just realized my 'strong' glue joints were failing because I was rushing the clamp time

I was putting together a set of oak shelves for my garage and the middle shelf just popped off after a month. The wood was clean, the glue was fresh, but I only clamped it for about 20 minutes because I was in a hurry. My buddy saw the mess and said, 'That glue needs hours, not minutes, to get its real strength.' I've been cheating the dry time on every project for years. What's the minimum clamp time you all stick to for something that needs to hold weight?
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2 Comments
taylor.elliot
You mentioned the wood was clean and the glue was fresh... what specific type of glue were you using? The clamp time can be really different between a standard yellow wood glue and something like a polyurethane glue.
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west.claire
But honestly, how much weight are those shelves REALLY holding?
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