Just figured out my glue-up method was making my drawers stick

I was putting together a set of maple drawers for a kitchen job and every single one was binding. My apprentice, Jake, pointed out that I was putting glue on the pins of the dovetails, not the tails. I'd been doing it that way for maybe ten years because my first boss showed me. The glue swells the pins just enough to throw the square off. I switched it around on the last drawer and it slid in perfect. Has anyone else run into this specific glue-up mistake?

3 comments

3 Comments

margaret_taylor421mo ago

Wait, you were putting glue on the pins for ten years? I mean, that's wild. I can't believe it took that long for someone to catch it, but I guess it makes total sense that it would swell and mess up the fit.

julia_lee1mo ago

Honestly that's why I switched to hide glue for dovetails.

jadew631mo ago

Switching to hide glue is interesting, @julia_lee. What's the main thing it does better for you, just the easier cleanup? I've heard mixed things about its strength over time.