Hey everyone! I'm tackling a woodworking project and I need some advice. I have four 1x4 oak pieces, each just over 3 feet long, and I'm looking to glue them together face grain to face grain to create a 3x3 post that's 3 feet tall. I've noticed that many tutorials use biscuits, dominoes, or dowels for alignment, but I don't have any of those tools. Is it feasible to glue them up using just clamps, or do I need additional support to keep everything aligned? I appreciate any tips you might have!
3 Answers
You can definitely get it done without dowels or biscuits. You might want to consider using cauls on the edges to keep everything aligned while you glue. If you have tools on hand, making some dados or using a router for alignment aids could be helpful too. Plenty of options without needing a ton of extra stuff!
You can absolutely glue those boards together without using biscuits or dowels! Just make sure to keep an eye on them as you clamp. They might slide a bit if you aren’t careful, but they'll bond well face grain to face grain.
You only need clamps for this, but be cautious with how much force you apply—too much and they’ll shift around. You might also want to think about using some brad nails to hold the inner boards together as you clamp. It’s a bit of a patience game, but it’ll hold fine. I did a similar glue-up with 2x4s, and it worked out well!