Glue dried faster than expected today. One of those happy accidents that actually worked in my favor this time.
I was working on a set of cherry drawer fronts, edge-gluing three boards together to get the width I needed. Usually I give Titebond III a full hour before removing clamps, especially with the shop temperature hovering around 65 degrees this time of year. But I got distracted by a phone call and came back after just 35 minutes.
When I popped the clamps off, expecting to see the joints separate, everything held perfectly. The squeeze-out had already skinned over, and when I tested the joint by flexing the panel, it felt solid as one piece.
Why It Worked
Turns out the overnight temperature drop had brought the humidity way down in the shop – my hygrometer read 38%. Lower humidity means faster water absorption into the wood fibers, which accelerates the cure. The cherry’s tight grain probably helped too, since open-pore woods like oak would have soaked up more moisture and slowed things down.
I ran the panel through the drum sander while it was still slightly warm to the touch. Got it down to final thickness in three passes at 120 grit. The glue lines disappeared completely once I hit them with the random orbit at 220.
The Lesson
Sometimes the shop teaches you something you didn’t expect. I’ve always been conservative with clamp time, probably adding an extra 15-20 minutes “just in case.” But watching conditions more carefully – especially humidity and temperature – might let me work faster without sacrificing joint quality.
Next time I’ll actually check the hygrometer before deciding how long to leave the clamps on. Might save me an hour of waiting on busy days.
