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Edges and Assembly
If you are going to dress your completed panel by hand, lining
up your boards at the seams is critical. If just one board ends
up lower than its mates it can result in a lot of unnecessary
planing of the others to get the panel flush.
With small panels, you can usually just plane the long edges
flat and then manipulate the edges at glue-up. However, for
large tabletops, I recommend a traditional tongue-and-groove
joint or spline. (Some woodworkers prefer biscuits or dowels.)
A well-made tongue-and-groove joint can result in a near-perfect
panel and a stress-free glue-up.
When you glue up your panel, start by clamping in the middle.
Apply pressure and touch each seam. Manipulate your boards until
they are flush. Then, clamp toward the ends. To keep the boards
lined up, I apply an F-style clamp across each seam and then
cinch the bar clamps.
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With small panels, you can usually just plane the long
edges flat and then manipulate the edges at glue-up.
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Begin clamping in the middle of the panel. Apply pressure
and check each seam with your finger. Adjust the boards
until they line up. |
An F-style clamp across each seam can help bring your
seams into alignment.
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