Old timer told me to clamp my drawer boxes overnight, ignored him for 2 years and paid for it

There's this guy Mike who's been building cabinets since the 80s, works out of a dusty shop near the railroad tracks in Portland. He kept telling me to leave my drawer boxes clamped for at least 12 hours before even touching them. I thought nah, 4 hours should be fine, I got a schedule to keep. Well after about 6 months I started noticing gaps opening up on the dovetails, especially on the ones built during humid weeks. Last month I had a client in Lake Oswego call me about a kitchen I did last fall saying three of the drawers were racking sideways. Had to go back and rebuild all 12 drawers on my own dime, cost me about $400 in materials and a full Saturday. Now I got a timer set for 12 hours minimum and I finally listen to Mike. Has anyone else had a glue-up trick they ignored way too long?

2 comments

2 Comments

betty1447d ago

Maybe it's just me but 4 hours always works fine in my garage.

stellabennett6d ago

Right, 4 hours works in my garage too because it's probably pretty sealed up and not too humid. My friend tried the same time in his old drafty shed and it didn't set right at all. The concrete just felt tacky for days.