# Glue-Screws-Nails-Clamps



## bruklyndodga (May 21, 2012)

Thanks for all the help on speaker selection but being new I have more questions still, first being is there any standard as far as joining panels or is it more personal preference , secondly what clamps should I be looking to get & money is a factor & I won't b doing any large projects at least for a while, thanks in advance for any & all help it's greatly appreciated


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## fschris (Oct 31, 2009)

Buy your clamps at northern tool... they are super cheap. maybe even harbor fright ( there stuff is pretty much junk though)

just use a good wood glue. buy a gallon from lowes or home dePOT.


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

Get about twice the number of clamps you think you need. You always need more 

I have a combination of Jorgensen, Bessey, Columbia (cheap), Woodcraft branded (Besseys), and a couple of no-names. I also have some trigger clamps from Sears or Home Depot that have worked well over the years.

Depending on where you are, you may have a Rockler or Woodcraft store. The clamps will be a bit more there, but they will have a better selections (and with Fathers Day coming up, stuff like that goes on sale a lot).

As for glue-ups, it all depends on what you are gluing specifically.

Long grain to long grain in wood is strong enough with just the glue.

MDF will sometimes hold, but I prefer physical fasteners like brads, screws, biscuits, or dowels to hold the L joints together. If you absolutely don't want any physical fasteners showing, you can use cleats on the inside, but make sure to account for that in your volume for the speaker.

Plywood is tough to glue. End to end will not hold, plies to plies directly will not hold. Face to end will sometimes hold, but again, I like using physical fasteners in those situations. Biscuit joinery was developed solely for the purpose of gluing up plywood boxes. But if you don't have the special tools for that, you can use internal cleats with screws, or brad nails every 6" or so along an edge to add support (in addition to the glue).

As for type: Titebond I or Titebond III are the industry standards. While I buy in bulk, it does lose its strength and curing time if it sits for a while, so you may want to buy a medium sized bottle to start out and see how much you need. Typical shelf life for glue is 1 year recommended, but I get good results up to 2 years after buying the bottles. After that it starts gummy, sets fast, and isn't as strong.

Good luck!


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## bruklyndodga (May 21, 2012)

Thanks Anthony u obviously know your stuff & I appreciate u taking the time to explain in detail, I do have a few questions though. I don't have a brad nailer so if I used screws what kind would b best & would I have any issues with them causing air leaks in the seams?


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

You can use glue and screws at the same time. The glue will offer some level of sealing and the screws pretty much just act as permanent clamps.

Without knowing exactly what you are building, sometimes you can get inside the box with a caulk gun or squeeze caulk and seal the inside after assembly to make it fully airtight. Obviously this need a removable front baffle or back plate, unless you are talking about a large sub (when you can use the driver hole as an access point).

If you have a router, you can make dadoes or lips on the edge of some boards where the crossing members sit inside. It's like an L or notch. This allows for more gluing area and you can still use screws or nails if you want. It also makes for a more airtight setup since the pieces overlap instead of just butt up against one another.

But don't over-complicate it. Boxes are easy to build and you can make them as simple or bulletproof as you want. Start simple and work your way up. You aren't really stuck on a design until you decide to paint and finish it, so if you do one that you don't like, you just made a really weird looking birdhouse instead


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## skinney6 (Jun 9, 2012)

when you say "wood glue" is that like old school Elmer's? I used PR Premium construction adheasive but it doesn't sand well.
Does Tiebond sand?


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

Wood glue is a general term for PVA yellow glue. It's a lot stronger than Elmers. It dries pretty hard and can be sanded although I scrape before sanding since it can gum up the sandpaper, but not as bad as poly glues or construction adhesive on that regard. 

I use Titebond III for almost everything. A bit more expensive, but it is waterproof and has a good working time.


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## skinney6 (Jun 9, 2012)

nice, thank you for clearing that up for me


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## steve1616 (Apr 6, 2009)

I am going to try a finish staple gun for my next project. It would be super fast to knock some staples in it for some holding power, and to keep the joints strait. I will then put clamps on while the glue is still wet.


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## skinney6 (Jun 9, 2012)

staples will probably hold better in the mdf as opposed to nails
you could be on to something. are you going to round the edges?


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

I bought the Rigid (Home Depot brand) narrow crown stapler from the CPO outlet store. It works really well, does not require oil (at least the model I got) and is light.

It can take Bostitch and PC staples.

Have not tried it in MDF. I also have a PC brad nailer that works well with glue and MDF. It does require oil though, not that it's a big deal.


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## Jstslamd (Nov 30, 2010)

You could also use a 16 ga finish nailer. Same idea just longer lengths.


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