Soft wedges not stacking

[greyheron]

Hey all,
I'm having problems joining deep mouldings. Basically, I'm trying to stack 2 x 10mm (alfmachine soft wood wedges) and they're just sliding next to each other as opposed to stacking. I've attached a pic of the moulding - would someone know by looking if this is hardwood and if it requires HW wedges?
Thanks again guys!

Phil

[NTG999]

Hi, that looks like ayous/obeche, standard SW wedges are fine. If they are inserting next to each other then moulding must moving during underpinning. What machine are you using?
I use a lot of 15mm wedges - it often avoids having to stack, sometimes when stacking they start to wander off and appear through the side

[greyheron]

Thanks for the quick reply! Yeah I looked it up...it's ayous. I'm using an alfamachine U200p - it doesn't have the front clamp bit ....maybe I'm not holding it together enough. The biggest wedges I have are 12s so maybe I should get in 15s. There's always something!!!! Thank you!

[Justintime]

I think you'll find that it's a common issue with stacking wedges. If you're using a good quality PVA glue and clamping it after then, the wedges are really only additional security.

[greyheron]

Thanks Justin, appreciate it! For deeper frames, is it common practice to clamp after gluing and pinning?

[Justintime]

I clamp all of the frames I make. It's the glue that gives the joint its strength and the glue cures best under pressure.

[greyheron]

OK that's good to know...sorry, one last question, how long would you leave them clamped for??

[Justintime]

Titebond says:"...clamp for a minimum of 30 minutes (longer is better). Do not stress joints for 24 hours".
If I'm in a hurry and it's a small frame I've fitted it after 30 minutes but usually at least overnight or longer. I believe full curing is about 2-3 days. If it's a large frame sometimes it'll be left clamped for a few days or until I need it. I tend to batch everything rather than one at a time, so I have 6-8 frames clamped at any one time.

[greyheron]

Thanks very much Justin, really appreciate your help on this! Until tomorrows issue...

[IFGL]

Soft wood wedges are harder to stack than hardwood wedges, although you will get better results if your under pinner clamps the corner together well and better still with a pneumatic pinner as you get less overall movement by not having to push on a pedal.

Soft and hard wood wedges are made of the same metal, the difference is how they are sharpened.