Quick DIY woodwork question

elsien

Not a handy person at all but have 4 rectangular blocks of wood (all sanded and ready to go) that I am going to glue together to make a laptop monitor stand.
My very simple question is, which is easiest/least likely to stay together without making a mess - glue then varnish or varnish each block then fix them together? It has been suggested I could screw them to make them stronger but I'm not going there.

Thank you

Section62

elsien said:

Not a handy person at all but have 4 rectangular blocks of wood (all sanded and ready to go) that I am going to glue together to make a laptop monitor stand.
My very simple question is, which is easiest/least likely to stay together without making a mess - glue then varnish or varnish each block then fix them together? It has been suggested I could screw them to make them stronger but I'm not going there.

Thank you

Glue first.  You get better adhesion if the surface is slightly rough - varnish tends to fill the holes and pores in the wood making the surface smoother,  depending on your choice of glue a pre-coating with varnish could reduce the adhesion to the point you'd need to use screws as well.

When gluing the key is clamping the work to keep the thickness of the glue joint to a minimum.  Sometimes you need to think carefully about the order of assembly so you can clamp optimally.

twopenny

Yup, glue first.

But - have you got a Mens Shed in your area?
They would likely screw it together for you for the swap of some good chocolate biscuits 🙂

elsien

Section62 said:

elsien said:

Not a handy person at all but have 4 rectangular blocks of wood (all sanded and ready to go) that I am going to glue together to make a laptop monitor stand.
My very simple question is, which is easiest/least likely to stay together without making a mess - glue then varnish or varnish each block then fix them together? It has been suggested I could screw them to make them stronger but I'm not going there.

Thank you

Glue first.  You get better adhesion if the surface is slightly rough - varnish tends to fill the holes and pores in the wood making the surface smoother,  depending on your choice of glue a pre-coating with varnish could reduce the adhesion to the point you'd need to use screws as well.

When gluing the key is clamping the work to keep the thickness of the glue joint to a minimum.  Sometimes you need to think carefully about the order of assembly so you can clamp optimally.

And there was me just thinking of piling a load of bricks on top while the glue sets........ 

Section62

elsien said:

Section62 said:

elsien said:

Not a handy person at all but have 4 rectangular blocks of wood (all sanded and ready to go) that I am going to glue together to make a laptop monitor stand.
My very simple question is, which is easiest/least likely to stay together without making a mess - glue then varnish or varnish each block then fix them together? It has been suggested I could screw them to make them stronger but I'm not going there.

Thank you

Glue first.  You get better adhesion if the surface is slightly rough - varnish tends to fill the holes and pores in the wood making the surface smoother,  depending on your choice of glue a pre-coating with varnish could reduce the adhesion to the point you'd need to use screws as well.

When gluing the key is clamping the work to keep the thickness of the glue joint to a minimum.  Sometimes you need to think carefully about the order of assembly so you can clamp optimally.

And there was me just thinking of piling a load of bricks on top while the glue sets........ 

That will probably do it.

CliveOfIndia

Section62 said:

Glue first.  You get better adhesion if the surface is slightly rough - varnish tends to fill the holes and pores in the wood making the surface smoother,  depending on your choice of glue a pre-coating with varnish could reduce the adhesion to the point you'd need to use screws as well.

When gluing the key is clamping the work to keep the thickness of the glue joint to a minimum.  Sometimes you need to think carefully about the order of assembly so you can clamp optimally.

This.  Glue first, and for optimal results the wood at the joint needs to be bare (i.e. no paint, varnish or anything on it).

I'm not sure what glue you're using, but I swear by Evo-Stik Resin "W".  It's one of those that's been around for donkey's years, and with good reason.  It's not quick-setting, and you really do need to clamp the joint firmly overnight whilst it sets.  But it's very strong once it's cured.

Bigphil1474

I've got my monitor sat on a nice shelf that is supported by 2 rough wooden blocks on each end. I just screwed the bottom one to the top one with a few dabs of wood glue in between, and then screwed through the shelf into the top one from above. Looks alright, works as required. If you don't want screws showing, then just gluing might be fine.

Eldi_Dos

@elsien
Do not even need to use glue for this, get someone to drill suitable holes in wooden pieces and pop some dowels in, that will be ok once the weight of monitor on it and easy enough to take apart if moving set up or redecorating.