A few weekends ago I did a test glue-up of the apron. Over all the test went well. I’m glad I did a test glue-up, because there were a few things I learned and could do better.
First, I was using a glue I hadn’t used before, URAC 185. URAC 185 is an Urea Formaldehyde glue. It come in 2 parts that need to be mixed together. I tried to measure the 2 parts by volume, because I thought it would be easier then weighing the 2 parts. I don’t think doing it by volume is as accurate. My mix came out quite a bit thicker than I think it should have been. I think I’ll try it again but weigh out the 2 parts.
Next, I new the URAC 185 glue was going to be “dark” and might cause the glue lines in the laminates to show more in lighter woods. I think the glue lines are more visible, and I do plan to use something like Maple for the base. I ordered another type of “cold press” glue from www.joewoodworker.com. This other glue comes in a couple different shades. I choose the lighter one for the Maple I plan to use.
During the glue-up I didn’t pay close attention to the laminates and how well they lined up. The result was a pretty uneven edge. This made cleaning up the edge a little harder. Next time I’ll try and keep the edges as flush as I can.
Other than that, the test was a success. I had very little spring-back when I took the apron out of the form. I cleaned up one edge on the jointer. Then ripped it to size on the bandsaw. Using a full-scale drawing of the apron and legs, I marked out where the apron needed to be cut and cut it to size. I’ll practice cutting the sliding dovetails on this mock-up and 1 or 2 more test pieces.
