The Framers Forum

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

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

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!

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.