PSA: Stop clamping boards with the cup side down

I spent 3 years wondering why my glue-ups kept having gaps on one end. It drove me NUTS. Finally an old timer at a jobsite in Eugene pointed out my boards were cupped and I was clamping them the wrong direction. The cup should face UP so the clamps pull the edges flat. Now I check every board with a straightedge before I even reach for the glue. Has anyone else fought with this for way too long before figuring it out?

2 comments

2 Comments

abbyc3329d ago

My old boss actually taught me the EXACT opposite - he swore by clamping cup side DOWN. I did it that way for like 4 years and had constant gaps but thought that was just normal. Then I took a class at a community college and the instructor literally stopped me mid-clamp and showed me the difference. It was one of those moments where I felt SO dumb. Now I check every board with a straightedge like you said, and I keep a little piece of tape on my clamp bucket that says "cup UP" so I don't forget. That little change made my glue joints tighter than anything else I had tried.

beth_hart6829d ago

The tape on the clamp bucket is genius, I might have to steal that one. My own method was a lot dumber - I used to just clamp everything the same way and hope for the best. One time I glued up a table top and it looked fine until I flipped it over the next morning. There was a gap you could stick a credit card through. I sat there staring at it for maybe five minutes just feeling like a total amateur. Now I'm religious about checking every board for cup before I even grab a clamp.