joining

[Jody]

I am hoping I can get word of wisdom on joining moulding....
I have been stalling and staring at four pieces of wood not wanting to join them before their time!! This is what I have done:
measured umpteen times - with a ruler and by putting the two pieces rabbet to rabbet and side to side - sides equal each other.
Cut with a 80 tpi chop (it has a great blade) and then sanded the ends with a 45 degree sanding wheel.
I have put the four pieces together with a framing clamp (has four corner pieces joined by a steel strip that you can tighten )
Given the above, the frame looks good. NOW
I have a Logan Pro Joiner that I have just gotten and have used a few times....
Is there anything I can check to further insure success?
Can I glue the frame and after the glue sets join with v-nails? This is what I have done in the past but it would appear that people glue and v-nail each corner at a time (v-nail while the glue is wet...yes?)... I am just afaid that that last corner will not come together perfectly (well, at least as perfectly as possible).
Anyway, instead of spending additional hours staring at these pieces of moulding in hopes of willing them to go together nicely, I thought I would ask the pros.

Thanks very much
Jody

 

[Angie Pearson CPF]

Welcome Jody!
Not sure of what all you know so I will say First off if you don't already know about this is: I think you should invest in some vices!! They are about $50.00 to $80.00 a piece depending on where you get them and are acurate and so much easier to use. (united or Larson carries them)
Anyway, on to your question, it doesn't really matter if you pin the frame after the whole frame is together or if you do one corner after each has been glued or if the glue is set or dry... you can do all! I underpin frames all the time that the glue has just set on. If you are worried about pinning the frame right after the glue has set you can just take the frame and set it aside while you work on the next one before you pin it.
A tip for someone who is using a v-nailer/underpinner for the first time is that you should make sure the moulding is tall enough in the place that you are putting the v-nail and that you use a piece of foam core to cover the moulding for when the clamp comes down.

good luck!

 

[Jody]

Hi Angie,
Thank you very much. I am much more comfortable gluing and clamping first and pinning later.

Now, could you help me understand a bit more about these vices you use. What is it about them that makes 'life' so much easier? Do you use four at a time? If there is something that will insure better results, I am all for it.... but I really like my web clamps and have had great results with them!! .

Thanks again
Jody

 

[Ron Eggers]

While there are certainly framers who glue one corner at-a-time (or all four with a strap clamp,) let it dry and then underpin it later, I don't believe that is the intent of the underpinner and I don't think that makes the maximum use of it's potential for efficiency.

The idea of the v-nails is to hold the frame together while the glue dries and in the event that the frame suffers a physical trauma (e.g. dropped on a corner) that might otherwise break the glue joint.

The underpinner has the potential to weaken or break a dry glue joint because of the nature of its mechanical action. Still, there are plenty of framers that do it this way and I have done it myself with specific profiles.

 

[Jody]

Thanks Ron,
That makes sense - I have had a v nail 'break' a glue joint. My guess it that harder woods and certain moulding profines will tend to see that happen more than the softer/flatter profiles.

Are there situations (certain profiles etc) that you are more likely to glue/dry/then v nail than others?.
Thanks again
Jody