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DAE have a face frame split on install day because of one dumb clamp mistake?
Two weeks ago I was installing a maple face frame in a kitchen out in Beaverton and heard a crack when I snugged down my last bar clamp. I had the clamp sitting right on the joint instead of behind it, so it crushed the wood fibers and opened a hairline split down the stile. I pulled the clamp, wicked in some glue with a syringe, and drove two 18 gauge pins from the back to close it up, then sanded and touched it with a wax stick. Ended up looking fine, but I lost about 90 minutes and a bit of my pride. Has anyone found a better way to keep clamps off the glue line on narrow stiles?
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dixon.anthony6d ago
Man, you CRUSHED it just by resting the clamp on the joint? That is wild to me. I always figured a gentle snug would be fine but apparently maple fibers give up way easier than I want to believe. Hearing that crack on the last clamp would have made my stomach drop, no joke. Good save with the syringe and the pins though, most guys would have panicked and made it worse. For narrow stiles I started putting a scrap block behind the clamp so the pressure lands past the glue line, and I keep the clamp heads waxed so they slide instead of grabbing. Still, 90 minutes and your pride is a cheap lesson compared to redoing the whole frame.
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