Lost a whole cabinet door because I rushed the glue up

I was building a set of shaker-style cabinets for a buddy's kitchen remodel in Denver last week and one of the doors just blew apart at the joint after I clamped it. I think I got in a hurry and didn't let the glue tack up long enough before I put pressure on it. The mitered corner split clean open and I had to start over from scratch with a new piece of poplar. That set me back about 3 hours and cost me another $12 in materials because I already cut the panel to size. I felt like a dummy because I knew better but I was trying to beat the rain that was coming in that afternoon. Has anyone else had a glue-up fail like that and found a way to fix it without trashing the whole piece?

2 comments

2 Comments

nancyd8518d ago

Wait, did you try wicking some thin CA glue into the split before you trashed it? Sometimes you can save a miter if you catch it fast enough. Live and learn though, we've all been there rushing for the weather lol.

amymiller18d ago

Actually tried that once on a oak frame I was building for a window. Grabbed the thin CA and dripped it in there real careful like. Worked great for about a week until the whole thing started cracking again from the moisture. I think with outdoor stuff you really just gotta accept that rushing leads to redoing it later. That's why I keep a couple extra lengths of trim around now, just in case I mess up and need a do-over without driving to the store. Also started pre-drilling my miters on anything that sits outside, seems to help keep the splits from happening in the first place.