# glueing geometric 1x3 pine/oak boards onto plywood surface for table



## _thinkaboutit (Aug 16, 2016)

I have cut various geometric shapes using 1x3 pine and oak boards - some small traiangles (~4 inches) and some larger (~9 inches). I am glueing them onto a piece of 1 inch plywood to form the top of a coffee table (see photo - once they are glued in place the ends will be cut off in a straight line and a border attached.)


I have never used wood glue before. 


Is clamping going to be necessary or is simply placing and applying pressure going to be enough to keep them in place? My main concern will be to keep all the edges close and achieve as smooth a surface as possible. There will be no real stress on the pieces once they are in place, the glue is simply to keep them from falling out. Thanks for any help.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

It looks nice but you will need some kind of a sturdy frame to keep if flat. The solid wood will draw up as the glue cures and make the top bow. Clamping the individual pieces together won't be necessary. After an hour or so when the glue sets up enough the pieces won't move you might put it face down on a clean sheet of plywood or masonite in your driveway and park your car tire in the middle of it. The longer it would sit under pressure the better. If you would use a resin glue the panel would cure overnight. Regular wood glue might take a week to cure.


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## TimPa (Jan 27, 2010)

clamping is much better than no clamping.


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## _thinkaboutit (Aug 16, 2016)

So just to make sure - you're suggesting to glue the individual pieces to the 1" ply and then flip the piece over and place on another piece of ply and roll a car tire over the *bottom* of the table therefore making sure it doesn't bow? hmmm... car parks outside and I'm in florida - lots of rain this summer. Would a 550lb motorcycle tire be sufficient?


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## Toolman50 (Mar 22, 2015)

I really like your table top. I think it will finish out great. If you use a good wood glue, fit the pieces tightly and apply downward pressure, you will not need any clamps until you apply the borders. Your downward pressure does not need to be too heavy. Just enough weight to hold the piece firmly in place. If you cut some scraps about the same size as the piece your gluing in place, set the scrap on top and set some weight on it. Something like the weight of a gallon of paint. If you glue a few in place, you can remove the weight after 30 minutes and glue a few more. 
If you have your project on the top of a table or workbench, you will be fine to glue up the entire table top without any worry of warping. 
Good luck to you.


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## shoot summ (Feb 21, 2014)

Very nice!

I used wood glue, and pin nails to build a table with my Daughter. We used Ash strips in a herringbone pattern. No clamping, had the whole thing run through a wide belt sander when we were done, turned out great, 5 years later, no warping or cupping.


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## Toolman50 (Mar 22, 2015)

I've also built a few tables using parquet floor tiles for the top. Parquet is available in Oak, Teak and other select hardwoods and also in many patterns like herringbone. 
Might be something to consider for another project.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

_thinkaboutit said:


> So just to make sure - you're suggesting to glue the individual pieces to the 1" ply and then flip the piece over and place on another piece of ply and roll a car tire over the *bottom* of the table therefore making sure it doesn't bow? hmmm... car parks outside and I'm in florida - lots of rain this summer. Would a 550lb motorcycle tire be sufficient?


Put as much weight on it as you can. It's been a long time since I was involved in a project like that. We finally made a homemade press to force the panels flat. Without the press the first panels we made bowed both length and width like a bowl. It wasn't a great deal but enough to ruin them.


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