10 Tips for Wide Panels that Stay FLAT

[@woodwhisperer]

Have a tip not covered in the video? Share it here!

[@MrBonners]

Trick I was told by a old furniture builder in my youth. Hand pressure the glue surfaces together, hold and wait a few seconds and then pull them apart, wait a few seconds and then clamp up . Don't know if it was true then or now with modern glues but, he said when you pull them apart you cause a flash -off of gas and air flush jump starting the curing and blow off a significant about of moisture of the glue and then clamping up gives a quicker and better(?) curing. You ever hear that? You did not review the latest thing...4 way bar clamps, auto-centering of pressure. Easy DIY custom made sizing as required. Could have some thin wedges on hand for under the bars to bias position a work piece if required. I made a small about 30 inch set (3) and some hardwood flooring as a test panel, 15-ish inched wide . Worked great.

[@chrisvanmill6020]

Make sure to always have nerdy memorabilia in your shop! A Happy shop is a Nerdy shop.

[@tenaciousjeebs]

@@MrBonners Some instant-hold adhesives recommend the same thing so I don't think it's limited to older glue types.

[@MrBonners]

@@tenaciousjeebs this was when there was pretty much only basic epoxy, yellow and hide available to the consumer, woodworker hobbyist.

[@ckent1975fm]

Just the tip.....?

[@RyanWattersRyanWatters]

Anyone else watch videos like this and get envious of anyone with that many parallel clamps? Those things aren’t cheap…

[@echtervogel]

That fact about narrower panels needing more clamps blew my mind. It explains so much! Thanks for that!

[@Blue_Collar_Colonizer_1776]

I was about to comment the same thing

[@navardal]

You're the premium youtube creator in woodworking.... There's a lot of good channels that covers topics in a more than adequate way but then you release a video and we all realize how it should have been done.... Good work man!

[@theintelligentcarpenter9407]

Exactly, been watching him for years, others too, but this channel has it all

[@theosmits1141]

This video is so educational its like something you would have to pay for. Really good stuff

[@williambutler3695]

This is one of your most educational videos. That diagram with the 45* clamping pressure was fantastic and your explanation of sanding before glue fully dries was revealing. This video was definitely worth 15 minutes of my time.

[@TapiocaSteam]

Not sure if I have just missed it in previous videos, but I love the fact that you have "Back to the Future" memorabilia in the back. The Mayor Goldie Wilson and the OUTATIME license plate are great! I always love the information you give and you keep it interesting.

[@UberSlop]

Marc, I'll have to watch this a second time, I didn't absorb anything you said. All I could think about is The Z-Man Sandwich at Joe's Bar-B-Que. Next time you're in Kansas City, you and your posse indulge in a casual BBQ feast, curated by me. Burnt ends appetizer's at WOODYARD BAR-B-QUE, a fourth-generation barbecue joint that's also a working wood yard cutting & selling hickory, oak, apple, cherry, pecan and more to surrounding pitmasters since 1913. Then, swing thru Boulevard Brewing Co.'s beer hall to cleanse pallets with fresh, flavorful drafts including seasonal offerings and unreleased test beers, en route to the mecca of mid-west BBQ deliciousness, Joes KC. 100% my treat! (great video, i had a 'light bulb' moment when you described keeping track of layout jointing faces of two boards to be glued together)

[@Richard-yr5zj]

Bonus tip: Don’t eat too much glue.

[@jimcross4474]

Richard don’t tell me how to live my life!

[@RobinDobbie]

How else am I supposed to wash down all the crayons? (not in the military, just like crayons)

[@jeffreysmith5018]

“Too much” is subjective. Every one will have to decide the right amount for themselves

[@Tommyknocker46]

"The colors, man -- the colors!"

[@OneManBandWoodworks]

The tenth tip was one I worked out over time and frustration of having to re-sand already finished table tops, then I ran my palm over a few commercially made tables in shops and found the same issue so I felt better.

[@fishrrelaxing9361]

DRY DRY DRY! That’s the only way. If you don’t have time to let the wood dry before jointing and planing then save yourself some time and just plan on using a router sled at the end to resurface the top and only joint and plane just enough to get good joints for gluing but not trying to get perfect boards. Those boards you spent hours on yesterday and plan to glue up today are no longer flat and square unless the wood was properly acclimated. The longer that board sits before final glue up the worse and worse it will be. For the weekend warriors don’t think you’re gonna cut all the pieces this weekend then glue them next weekend and get a flat product. Patience in letting the Wood age is sooo much more important then people realize unless you can cut and glue everything at one time.

[@marthag8888]

I’m still pretty new to woodworking and have recently decided to do it more often. I’ve had a few questions that I would normally ask my dad, but he passed away last year. When I stumbled across this video, it was such a comfort to know there’s someone else out there who can teach me these things since my dad can’t. Thank you

[@dkbuilds]

Great video. I appreciate your taking the time to draw diagrams, take extra explanatory shots, and generally provide a high production quality for a video with "simple" content. I watched all the way through and learned something because of your effort. Thanks!

[@jonathanwiggill8242]

Learned more watching just half of this video than I did watching twenty full videos on other channels! You are a fine teacher sir!

[@WoodworkingBarcelona]

Very useful tips. Will keep those in mind. Regards!

[@MeansWoodshop]

I gotta agree with you on a few things. I usually always just glue one side of a board and have never had a joint fail. Along with not worrying about the orientation of the end grain. These things have never seemed to affect any of my projects.

[@RobinDobbie]

I usually glue one side, too. Gluing two sides allows you to use less glue, which could be important if supplies are limited and getting to squeeze out is an issue.

[@pb77]

Definitely leave your glue ups before sanding. I did some maple panels with dominoes. I actually noticed the spots where I used dominoes were high, So I sanded them flat. A week later I could see the dents where each domino was

[@kevinthomas8991]

Appreciating the Joe's KC t-shirt. Are you a Z-man man?

[@woodwhisperer]

Kevin Thomas heck yeah I am!

[@joeframer9642]

Great tips, I’m a framer,not a woodworker, but I’m learning, thanks👍🇺🇸

[@billelse5294]

I love Deadpool hanging behind you...

[@n8sot]

Wow!!!! This was the most informative 15 minutes!!!!! All the hours upon hours of other vids, don't come close to what I just got out of this one 15 min vid!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!

[@Belg1970]

Any tip for doing a large glue up for a table top when I only have a 24" wide bench?

[@lesstovall4814]

This is a PhD. course in gluing. Bravo sir.

[@michelehowe6853]

I am happily married, but I "heart" you Wood Whisperer, in a purely platonic, wood encyclopedia kinda way. Thanks much for this video.

[@woodwhisperer]

Michele Howe 🥰

[@WoodenCreationz]

Great video Marc!!! I have been down all these roads!!!!!

[@sadmemeboi]

1:01 i mean this is a good point, but how does this tip correlate in any way to the panel's flatness?

[@SamWanamaker1]

Where can you purchase those cauls?

[@chrissimonds733]

Hey Marc.... I’ve been watching your content since you started ... I love it... I hope people realize what an in depth lesson in wood science/working they just got ... You rock

[@DougSchieszer]

Great video, great shirt! I live in KC area and KC Joe's (formerly Oklahoma Joe's) is one of my favorites here! ( I love BBQ so I can't just have one favorite)

[@UndertheWaterDesign]

Quality video. Thank you.

[@SpencleyDesignCo]

Great job Marc! You've been kicking ass with these fire videos recently!

[@charlesholland6851]

I’ve learned not to clamp the poop out of my stuff. I build tables. At first I was clamping so tight they’d smile at me. I started to put a level on my table as I’m clamping, tighten the crap out of it, and then back off

[@michaelduval159]

I so whiched you posted this yesterday I made a panel top for a little wine cabinet and it was wanky

[@CodeFoxAus]

Great video thanks Marc

[@MrPavaroti]

Please reach out to Diresta give him some basics on carpentry Quickly!!! Cheers from Toronto Canada!always a pleasure!

[@herbkempf9939]

Great video.

[@l.rod2827]

Thanks for the information, very useful... I'm relatively a new wood worker and about to do my very first glue up of probably the worst type of lumber material, construction lumber 2x6. The worst part is I don't have a jointer, but do have a planner. I did run the boards through the planner on a piece of very straight 3/4" mdf board applying small shims and hot glue anywhere the 2x6 board were raised. Took a bit of work but got it pretty darn flat. What I didn't do was count the times I ran them through the planner after I removed the 2x6 from the MDF boards and ended up taking measurements until they were all the same thickness ( I'll be counting in the future). Another problem was each board (4ea) is 60" long, and in order to joint the edge I had to use my longest level as a straight edge against my table saw fence. That was also tricky and took a little effort until I got the hang of it. I did pick the straightest boards and made sure there were no pits. I also acclimated the boards stacked of 1x2 sticks with weights on top for about three weeks. I took some random moisture reading from each board with a Klein moisture meter and read between 8.5 to 9.5. Next week I will attempt to do my glue ups, wish me luck...

[@norm_olsen]

Awesome advice! Learned a truck-load on this one!

[@hj8607]

The logic regarding end grain orientation is flawed . (not my personal opinion, this is a century old observation and a time proven protocol) : 1) even if a 36" surface was what is needed you WOULD NOT just use a 36" wide piece of wood if it (38")was available . You would break that board doown into 4-6 " ripped strips AND you would shuffle the pieces so as to end up with a continuity to the grain BUT you would reverse the 'up' orientation of every other strip . IF you examine the tops of decade old pieces of furniture constructed in this method you will find a perfect maintenance of flatness that has endured . (ALSO you cannot 'flatten out a large surface that has cupped because this rule was ignored without the eventual cracking in the surface, much like gluing an end board tightly cross grain to a top will eventually fail due to unequal expansion of long vs short graining.

[@juanssawshammers5014]

Muy Bien!... Very well presented, learn a lot today... looking forward for more tips. Thanks so very much

[@automaticprojects]

Wow. This video is terrific.

[@SteveC38]

All Good Advice👍

[@ravenheart1439]

Yes, that jointer trick I been telling guys on some groups to do that, once I learned that, my anxiety on jointing and the fence disappeared...that's a great trick for sure...

[@thegardenofeatin5965]

I've seen people mention dyeing wood glue, or tinting varnish or whatever. And they NEVER elaborate on what dye to buy. You get exactly this, a blurry foreground shot of the neck and shoulder of the bottle"

[@You2datube]

Does the rule of 45 apply with 4 way panel clamps? About two weeks ago I was helping a buddy of mine that is a carpenter, because he was making a table, and he has these 4-way panel clamps that he bought from rockler. They are similar to the ones that Woodpecker’s sells. He spaced his out 16 inches apart. I told him about the rule of 45’s. He tells me with these clamps he is allowed to go 12 to 18 inches apart. Is there any truth to that? When possible could you clear this up? Thank you

[@schoolhousemodern]

Mark; this was one of your best explainers yet. Second only to my fav, the cross cut sled.

[@markkielman4777]

Great tips!!! I am a noob when it comes to woodworking and you explained things very well. Also, nice shirt! I go there every time I get to KC, love the original ’Oklahoma Joe’s’ lol

[@normolson1]

WOW !! what a wealth of knowledge here, thank you for sharing.

[@LutherBuilds]

What if I don't play cards. Then what?

[@woodwhisperer]

Luther Woodworks Then you can’t stack them in your favor. Doy!

[@eitantal726]

If you have cauls, How can you do the 30 minute mark glue scraping? do you take the cauls off? or do you install the cauls after 30 minutes?

[@gracenjuguna7292]

I'm new to woodworking and loved all your tips. Thanks

[@robertgeorgemiller278]

What the hell is that word "Aklah - mate" ?? It's ACCLIMATE, pronounced like climate.

[@MixingGBP]

WW: What is your thought on the maximum width of a single board in a glue up? Meaning is it ok to edge glue 2 boards that are each 10 or 12" wide? Or would you rather cut each board in half to 5 or 6" wide in order to make 4 boards in the glue up. I guess this is related to the cupping discussion you mentioned on end grain orientation.

[@ryanfinney7181]

best BBQ in KC!

[@woodwhisperer]

Eat at Joes!!!!

[@Volvoamazon62]

Hi, thanks voor the video. Question: do those clamps have a special name? When I search, I only get those normal everyday clamps. Thanks.

[@JTWoodworks]

Great tips Marc. Thanks for sharing

[@HowIDoThingsDIY]

That veneer example was super cool and really shows how wood can move. with variable humidity.

[@richardcagle5475]

Oh damn. Now I know why some boards I glued seemed to develop misaligned joints between thr maple an walnut. Maple swole more from the glue, I sanded too soon an then it shrank back. That caused a difference you can feel a week or so later. Interesting

[@CheveeDodd]

Have you ever used a panel clamping rack/jig? I've been thinking about making one. It's my understanding that they apply pressure more perpendicular than say an f-clamp that's relying on the bar to bend and possibly pulling the panel into a cupped shape.

[@skiponeill8927]

( NEW ) Hi my name is Carl. I could use some help and ideas on a big project that I’m starting in a few weeks.

[@paparoysworkshop]

My question is, would it be better to use many narrow strips or fewer wide strips of wood? I'm looking to make some 24 inch panels.

[@GlassImpressions]

Great tips Marc!

[@Blenbkuqi]

Nice video. Wat about you need to glue up 1/2 inches thickness panel. What do you recommend?

[@allent555]

Thank you so much! Extremely educational !

[@grumpytuber]

great vid.

[@somicotube]

After all these years following you I always keep on learning something important. Thank you!!

[@KingsFineWoodworking]

Sit Ubu, sit! :-)

[@katie2920]

Amazing video! Thank you for making this video!

[@mogasesegopotje8483]

I'm leaving this space very educated. Thanks very much❤

[@TheLindsay720]

Good one bruss!

[@midi510]

Was picturing the 45° angle principal with a caul behind a thin board and how it spreads out the load/force.

[@micahhowell4432]

What a great video!! I wish I would’ve seen something like this 10 years ago!

[@djdnauk1977]

great info here, thanks! love that major goldie wilson poster (:

[@701SUMO]

Great tips! Nice T-shirt... my favorite BBQ joint in KC, better known as Oklahoma Joe's.

[@DougSchieszer]

I don't know if you are from around KC or not, but KC Joe's is the new name. It was Oklahoma Joe's for years but that business I think was tied to another partner from out of town (guessing Oklahoma? :) ) and a few years ago they split off to make the KC locations their own and that is when they changed the name. I still call it Oklahoma Joes or Oki Joes all the time, hard to get used to the change. I started eating there when I worked for Sprint in 2000 right down the street from the original location. One of my all time favorites here in KC. My favorite sauce thought is Gates, if you have never tried it you are missing out.

[@jonstuartjon3]

Incredibly helpful! Thanks, Mike.

[@mattsully5332]

you have GREAT taste in BBQ!

[@joser1219]

This was very informative and I learned a lot of new things. Thanks for the lesson.

[@odarkthirtywoodworks3543]

Marc, Thank you so much, some really cool tips that I will put in my toolkit!

[@piratepoppy5548]

Fantastic, well explained video 🤗

[@pitot1988]

Did woodworkers in the past use that many clamps for their projects?

[@keeganbrown3999]

I uuhhhhh should’ve watched this before I glued my panels down haha

[@elwood212]

All wonderful tips thanks man.👍🇦🇺

[@markblanchard5228]

I have watched countless videos and have never signed in. Had to do it for your channel to say Thank you! By far one of the best woodworking channels on the Tube. I have learnt so much from your videos. Keep up the great work!

[@woodwhisperer]

Thank you Mark! We really appreciate it

[@tundrawhisperer4821]

Off topic, but where did you get that black and white clock on the back wall? Thx

[@the_ABM]

I liked and agreed with 93.7 percent of the video; I have an issue with your thoughts about alternating end grain orientation. I think it should alternate...happy face, sad face, happy, sad for example, and you believe it doesn't matter. Let's say for your glue up, its all happy, and by the way you swooped your hands while describing the cup that happens, I hope you can understand how I like to think in extremes too. An extreme example of a long panel cupping is if it curled into 1/3rd of a cylinder. If you used aprons to straighten that panel, there would be triangular gaps in-between each board so the original panel is essentially destroyed; stricly the apron holding things together. However, with a smile, sad, smile, sad pattern, structural integrity is kept in tact. This is all my own analytical thinking.... zero science proof. But for giggles, to take it further, after 30 years of cupping, which would I visually prefer? An aproned half cylinder or smiles and sads? Not sure, but strength is always important. If it's a 2 or 3 board glue up, maybe not such a big deal. Add in more boards/use/location etc. My last thought is it doesn’t have to be exactly smile happy smile happy. SSHS or SSHSS or whatever the wood tells you. For me it’s about integrating the smiles, amount of panels, and viewable surface

[@woodwhisperer]

That's all assuming wood behaves the way you think it does.....and it doesn't. :) Great example just came across my feed today. instagram.com/p/CoNTLR3OqnA/ Do what you want....but in the end the wood is going to do what it's going to do. So that's why I say, use quality dried material, mill it properly, orient the grain for best appearance, and glue it together. the rest is pretty much out of your control.

[@The_Conqueeftador]

The alternating grain idea comes from mainly outdoor panels.

[@TheWoodCrafter1]

Also you can use 4 way panel clamps for better alignment

[@garygaleski7669]

He provided a lot of useful information. Thank you

[@swempthebemp]

Great video! Have you got any info about glue creep and avoiding/working around it?

[@woodwhisperer]

Nope. I've read articles about it where people went to great lengths to determine the cause and still came up with a conclusion of "I dunno."

[@ralieghwhite9076]

Your opening statement was proven true for me right now… on my first project ever. 😂

[@HeavyboxesDIYMaster]

I don't worry, too much, about end grain orientation either. Seems to not matter. Maybe if each board (before glue-up) was 12" wide, then maybe any warp will show up more.

[@BeaverCraftTools]

So many useful tips! Thanks for sharing.

[@Bogie3855]

I use a carbide scraper and pull it down the glue joints. NO tearout at all.

[@eldonhinck1487]

Best video I've seen, thank you so much for the time and tips.

[@jimcooney9019]

Great video Thanks for sharing

[@Mr.GucciClass1A]

Thanks for all this. I appreciate the content, and man... Love your style and candor. I like when you go old school “real” WW, “... squeeze the S$@!...” 👍🏽 It makes me feel better knowing others use expletives in their shops, and I’m not the only potty mouth. 😉

[@TheGordog]

Thanks. Excellent practical advice as always.

[@redbaron6334]

Marc, Great stuff. I am new as an avid woodworking hobbyist. So many important factors in panel assembly. You turned on several new lightbulbs for me...your retired Airline Captain fro a previous comment years ago. Thanks.

[@DanHoke]

Did anyone else try to find those bowclamps online and fail like I did?

[@umakemesick2]

I did my first panel glue up this past weekend. It came out ok, so all this info is very much appreciated going forward . Thank you!