Glue Adhesives

I have searched online and can not seem to find what I am looking for, hopefully a wood worker or someone in the know can help me out. I have to glue these small sticks about 1/32in x 1/32in x 1/2in together in a panel type fashion. Is there a way a can glue it together fast? The most straight forward way would be to apply glue with a small brush and glue each stick one by one but, that will take forever. Would it be possible to glue them into rows and then stack them together and brush the backside with a layer of glue or spray? Would that be enough to hold?

http://www.mohawk-finishing.com/catalog_browse.asp?ictNbr=266

Make a jig in the outer dimensions of the shape you need to form, then lay the pieces into the jig and brush them with wood glue.

Wetting the pieces a bit opens the fibers up a little and helps the glue penetrate better. Once removed from the jig you can also sand the ends to perfect flush and dimension.

[quote]SkyzykS wrote:
Make a jig in the outer dimensions of the shape you need to form, then lay the pieces into the jig and brush them with wood glue.

Wetting the pieces a bit opens the fibers up a little and helps the glue penetrate better. Once removed from the jig you can also sand the ends to perfect flush and dimension.

[/quote]

So, if the panel needs to be 2ft x 2ft I make a border to those measurements. My only concern is that at 1/32 inch each stick may not be stable enough to stand (I will be using balsa or basswood if it matters).

Would another way be to make a border with a bottom turn it on its side and stack the sticks then, turn it back down and proceed to glue?

[quote]maverick88 wrote:

[quote]SkyzykS wrote:
Make a jig in the outer dimensions of the shape you need to form, then lay the pieces into the jig and brush them with wood glue.

Wetting the pieces a bit opens the fibers up a little and helps the glue penetrate better. Once removed from the jig you can also sand the ends to perfect flush and dimension.

[/quote]

So, if the panel needs to be 2ft x 2ft I make a border to those measurements. My only concern is that at 1/32 inch each stick may not be stable enough to stand (I will be using balsa or basswood if it matters).

Would another way be to make a border with a bottom turn it on its side and stack the sticks then, turn it back down and proceed to glue? [/quote]

If I understand it correctly, you could lay it flat (on a table covered with wax paper or other non adhesive surface) and fill the jig with the pieces, then glue them, right?

As for its stability in different positions, I don’t know. Is this some kind of class or school project?

[quote]SkyzykS wrote:

[quote]maverick88 wrote:

[quote]SkyzykS wrote:
Make a jig in the outer dimensions of the shape you need to form, then lay the pieces into the jig and brush them with wood glue.

Wetting the pieces a bit opens the fibers up a little and helps the glue penetrate better. Once removed from the jig you can also sand the ends to perfect flush and dimension.

[/quote]

So, if the panel needs to be 2ft x 2ft I make a border to those measurements. My only concern is that at 1/32 inch each stick may not be stable enough to stand (I will be using balsa or basswood if it matters).

Would another way be to make a border with a bottom turn it on its side and stack the sticks then, turn it back down and proceed to glue? [/quote]

If I understand it correctly, you could lay it flat (on a table covered with wax paper or other non adhesive surface) and fill the jig with the pieces, then glue them, right?

As for its stability in different positions, I don’t know. Is this some kind of class or school project?
[/quote]

It is for a class project.

What exactly is a Jig? Maybe I am mistaken but, I thought it was a border/frame of the desired dimensions. If it is what I meant was that at a width of 1/32inch less than a mm each stick will not be able to stand straight allowing me to set of up hundreds of rows of over a hundred sticks.

You could make a frame/jig of the desired dimensions that you want and glue them together side by side, like Skyzyks said.

It sounds like you may need layers as well… so just make the layers, let them dry, and then glue the layers together to reach your desired thickness.

That will be time consuming because you’ll have to wait up to a full day before removing each layer from the jig… but it should be far more accurate than just gluing them together one by one without any sort of guide.

Also, line it with wax paper like Skyzks said so it doesn’t bind to the jig or your table/counter.

Try “mitre glue” - 2-part (spray accelerant & gluey gunk stuff), spray the area to be ‘stuck to’ first. Sets very quickly.

It’s one of those things I like to keep in the tool box for rapid botch jobs that need to look better than they would otherwise look if I used duct tape.

[quote]maverick88 wrote:

It is for a class project.

What exactly is a Jig? Maybe I am mistaken but, I thought it was a border/frame of the desired dimensions. If it is what I meant was that at a width of 1/32inch less than a mm each stick will not be able to stand straight allowing me to set of up hundreds of rows of over a hundred sticks.
[/quote]

I guess I was thinking of this wrong. So you are trying to make a composite board (like formica) 24x24x.5 in., except that instead of small particles you are using 1/32 x 1/2 in. pieces, stood on end and glued side by side?

If that is the case, make the jig to include the depth like a concrete form, then tilt it upward about 45 degrees so that each layer sits upon the next. Then fill the form tightly, lay it down flat and pour the glue in over top of all of them.

[quote]SkyzykS wrote:

[quote]maverick88 wrote:

It is for a class project.

What exactly is a Jig? Maybe I am mistaken but, I thought it was a border/frame of the desired dimensions. If it is what I meant was that at a width of 1/32inch less than a mm each stick will not be able to stand straight allowing me to set of up hundreds of rows of over a hundred sticks.
[/quote]

I guess I was thinking of this wrong. So you are trying to make a composite board (like formica) 24x24x.5 in., except that instead of small particles you are using 1/32 x 1/2 in. pieces, stood on end and glued side by side?

If that is the case, make the jig to include the depth like a concrete form, then tilt it upward about 45 degrees so that each layer sits upon the next. Then fill the form tightly, lay it down flat and pour the glue in over top of all of them.
[/quote]

Yes, they have to be standing on end so, having the frame lay flat may not work. Tilting may be the only other option other then gluing each stick. Thanks for the ideas. Would spray adhesive be ideal or some type of brush on liquid?

Thanks for the input guys I made a frame and it worked out perfectly. However, there is now another issue I hope to get resolved. As I already stated the finished product looks like a thick sheet made from small dowels or square sticks giving a grid appearance. Problem is at the size I am using now 1/16 inch and 1/8 inch many of the sticks and dowels are a bit crooked or have bumps giving the finished sheet a look that is not uniform when glued together.

Is there a tool like a shaver I can use to make sure all sides or level before gluing? I have seen such tools for larger pieces of wood but, given the size of the sticks and dowels I fear I will have to manually file or sandpaper each piece before gluing.

Sandpaper is probably your best bet. You could even glue them together and then sand them down to a uniform appearance. That’s what I would do.

They make small hand planes but I think they may just break your pieces.

Wait for Skyzyks though… he is more experienced than me.