Glass Work Surface

[FrankEV]

I guess this is as good a place as anywhere to share some Information related to Intarsia assembly.  I assume this is not a new help trick to others, but I had not heard it mentioned until my son, who is an avid model car maker, and who uses CA glue a lot, suggested it. 

For Intarsia makers who choose to assemble projects by edge gluing using CA glue before attaching a backer, it is common to encounter the issue of accidentally gluing the assembly to the workbench.  Putting pieces together quickly and accurately, while making sure the back side is flat, is very tricky.  In doing so, I often put too much CA on the piece to be attached and it runs down the joint allowing the assembly to attach itself to the bench as I attempt to make the backside flat.  I have heard use wax paper, but that stuck just as badly and just made a bigger mess. 

The solution to this problem is Glass.  I obtained a piece of 12” wide by 18” long by 3/8” thick tempered glass, that has polished edges, from a Habitat ReStore for very little cost.  This kind of glass is the kind used for display shelving or often used for glass tabletops.    

I’m able to lay the glass on top of a copy of the pattern and do my edge gluing on the very flat glass.  The pattern under the glass helps me line pieces up properly.  If the assembly sticks to the glass, a sharp tap with a mallet will pop-it-off easily.  CA glue squeeze-out that gets onto the glass, and it will, is easily removed with a razor blade scraper returning the nice flat glass surface.

I hope this tip is of value to some.

[Barry5180]

That's a great tip! I haven't tried intarsia yet myself, but when I do I can use this. I already have the piece of glass in my shop.

[rjweb]

Very smart, I have heard of using wax paper on top of the pattern, like this idea better, RJ

[jollyred]

I cover a copy of the pattern with clear shelf liner, then glue the parts together with yellow glue.  The glue will pop off the liner quite easily.  The glue gives me a little time to adjust the fit of the pieces, since my shaky hands are terrible at lining up things the first time.  I often make more than one of a pattern to give out as gifts, so the laminated pattern will get several uses.

Tom

[barb.j.enders]

I have a piece of acrylic that I put the pattern under.  Most of my finished pieces fit on an old placemat.  I tape the master copy to that and then cover with the acrylic.

[Rolf]

Great idea Frank. I have been using a couple of granite slabs for years for my assembly work.  and for small stuff a porcelain  tile. I like the thick glass. and will add that to my collection. In the machining world we always had a surface plate, huge precision ground slabs for measuring etc.

 

Edited February 10 by Rolf

[Gonzo]

Great idea, thanks for the tip. I’ll have to give it a try

[Dave Monk]

Curious why you use CA glue versus wood glue. 

[FrankEV]

7 hours ago, Dave Monk said:

Curious why you use CA glue versus wood glue. 

See my PM.