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Tom Miller

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Glued-up platter blanks
Feb 23^rd, 2016 at 12:29pm

I am gluing up some pieces for a platter. I will use 2 pieces 3/4"x11"x 22" "vertical" together and 2 pieces 3/4"x 11" x 22" "horizontal". Four pieces in all glued together to make a 1-1/2" thick blank 22"x 22" The joints will be 90 degrees. I am making two of these. One from walnut and the other from purple heart. Any thoughts on glue? I will need some open time for getting the pieces clamped. Brown-color carpenters glue? one-hour epoxy? Liquid hide glue?

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Glenn Jacobs WR Addict Offline JC L&S Posts: 2,077 North DFW, Texas Texas USA Gender: Powermatic 3520C	Re: Glued-up platter blanks Reply #1 - Feb 23^rd, 2016 at 12:54pm Just regular Titebond 2 would work.
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Tom Miller Junior Member Offline WR Rocks! Posts: 43 Lawrence Kansas USA	Re: Glued-up platter blanks Reply #2 - Feb 23^rd, 2016 at 1:33pm Do you have a problem with the glue line being yellow on dark wood?
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Ed Weber WR Administrator WR Patron Offline Posts: 8,939 Wilton California USA Gender: JET 1642 Grizzly G0584	Re: Glued-up platter blanks Reply #3 - Feb 23^rd, 2016 at 2:13pm I agree with Glenn, also there is Titebond II Extend, which has a longer open time for complicated glue-ups. If you spread the glue thin enough and add the proper amount of pressure, you won't see the glue lines.
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william trench Senior Member Offline WR Rocks! Posts: 269 South Salem USA	Re: Glued-up platter blanks Reply #4 - Feb 24^th, 2016 at 5:50am Titebond used to make a brown glue but I can't find it anymore.
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Ed Weber WR Administrator WR Patron Offline Posts: 8,939 Wilton California USA Gender: JET 1642 Grizzly G0584	Re: Glued-up platter blanks Reply #5 - Feb 24^th, 2016 at 9:30am william trench wrote on Feb 24^th, 2016 at 5:50am: Titebond used to make a brown glue but I can't find it anymore. It's still widely available Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to or
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Grant Wilkinson

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Re: Glued-up platter blanks
Reply #6 - Feb 24^th, 2016 at 7:47pm

If I understand your glue up, you will make two boards, each by gluing two pieces edge side to edge side, then take those two boards, rotate one 90°, and glue it to the other board face to face.

Do you have any concerns about wood movement? The top and bottom layers are going to move perpendicular to each other.

I'm sure that are others on here far more expert on this than me, but I would be concerned that the final platter will "move" itself apart.

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Grant Wilkinson
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Glenn Jacobs WR Addict Offline JC L&S Posts: 2,077 North DFW, Texas Texas USA Gender: Powermatic 3520C	Re: Glued-up platter blanks Reply #7 - Feb 25^th, 2016 at 12:34pm Reread the your line. My questions are: Are you going to turn it to round? and are you going to dish out the inside? How thick are the walls going to be? Glenn J.
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Ed Weber

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Re: Glued-up platter blanks
Reply #8 - Feb 25^th, 2016 at 1:17pm

Grant Wilkinson wrote on Feb 24^th, 2016 at 7:47pm:

Do you have any concerns about wood movement? The top and bottom layers are going to move perpendicular to each other.

IMO there is always concern for movement, especially in a 90 degree alignment joint.
You can certainly get away with this without issue, depending the size of the joint (glue area) and thickness of the wood.
Think plywood, large glue area with thin layers and you get a stable product.
The thicker the layers, the more potential strength there is to move.
The less glue area, the less resistance there is to movement.
It's a bit of a balancing act between the aesthetic you want and what the material will allow.

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Grant Wilkinson WR Addict Offline Posts: 783 Ottawa Ontario Canada	Re: Glued-up platter blanks Reply #9 - Feb 25^th, 2016 at 4:04pm Ed: I certainly defer to your greater experience with this kind of issue. The OP said that the layers were 3/4" thick. To me, that will give rise to lots of movement, depending, I guess on how thin he eventually turns them to.
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Don Stephan WR Addict Offline WR Rocks! Posts: 2,659 Cincinnati, Ohio Ohio USA Gender:	Re: Glued-up platter blanks Reply #10 - Feb 25^th, 2016 at 8:01pm Now that I realize the intent is to glue the two layers at right angles to each other I expect the result to self destruct in time due to wood movement, unless it is in unchanging temp and relative humidity year round.
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Ed Weber

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Re: Glued-up platter blanks
Reply #11 - Feb 25^th, 2016 at 8:13pm

Grant Wilkinson wrote on Feb 25^th, 2016 at 4:04pm:

I guess on how thin he eventually turns them to

It's where you end up.
Usually 1/4" is considered "safe" but anything thicker and you might want to think about an angle less than 90
How many times have you seen a segmented bowl or platter with a solid bottom? At least two of the segments are at 90 degrees (or at least very close) to the base grain direction, it can be done with success.

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« Last Edit: Feb 25^th, 2016 at 8:19pm by Ed Weber »

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Barden Koenig

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Re: Glued-up platter blanks
Reply #12 - Feb 26^th, 2016 at 10:23am

In furniture building, when gluing a veneer to a substrate, it is common practice to glue a veneer to the other side to balance the forces caused by seasonal stresses. This strikes me as a very similar issue, but is definitely complicated by the ultimate form that the platter will take as one of the opposing forces may be nearly eliminated by the shaping.

Go with the more experienced input.

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Grant Wilkinson

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Re: Glued-up platter blanks
Reply #13 - Feb 27^th, 2016 at 9:29am

I'm not disagreeing with anything you've said, Ed. I've gotten away with solid bottoms on open segmented pieces, when the experts told me that there was no way.

I apologize to the OP since it seems this thread has become more a discussion among others than a reply to your question.

I do have one question to the OP, if he returns. Why rotate the two layers at all? You could glue up your two "planks" with the grain going in the same direction, rather than rotating them 90°. Then, all this talk about wood movement blowing your platter up would be moot.

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Grant Wilkinson
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Ed Weber

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Re: Glued-up platter blanks
Reply #14 - Feb 27^th, 2016 at 10:15am

Grant, I wasn't aiming any comment directly at you, rather trying to answer the group as a whole.
As to why the OP would want to align the pieces in a certain way, I can only speculate that it's the pattern or "look" he wants
There are usually many ways to achieve the same pattern in a glue-up.
You can go for strength and keep everything aligned in the same direction.
You can go for appearance only and not worry about the consequences.
Or you can find a middle ground and do a bit of a balancing act between looks and strength.

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