Dealing with glue spots

Some of my projects involve a lot of fidgety gluing and glue spots have an annoying way of showing up despite all my efforts to remove excess glue. To find the spots, I give the project a sealer coat of shellac, which causes the glue spots to stand out very visibly. I mark them with chalk as soon as the shellac is dry enough for the chalk to adhere. Once the shellac is thoroughly dry, the glue spots become harder to see. I find that shellac works better for me than mineral spirits, and gives a good base for additional coats of shellac or spray lacquer.

The project in the picture is a small box with a loopy bow. The blue tape on the top of the lid keeps the area where the loops will be glued on free of shellac. Once the box is finished, the loops are glued on and sprayed. This project is for the "Boxes with Bows" chapter of my new book, which should be out in about a year or so.

Bowl presses are really worth making

I always recommend the use of a press for gluing up rings, rather than boards and clamps, and have a simple plan for one in my bowl book. I've been using it for everything, from gluing on box bottoms to laminating wood and veneer, and even have a square version for larger areas.

Well, a few days ago I got lazy, and decided to try gluing on a small box bottom the conventional way. As the pieces slipped out of alignment, I quickly regretted my decision and reached for my press. The control over the pressure, not to mention the likelihood of the parts staying where they are supposed to, convinces me that even people who don't make bowls can benefit from this handy shop-made device.

One for the cake, one for the box

I often use scans of pictures, printed in miniature, and framed, to personalize cakes. So, it was only natural that I'd incorporate this approach into my woodworking. The picture on the left, of my son and his fiancee, in a frame of royal icing, is one of several which will be incorporated into the wedding cake. The picture on the right, of Joe and me, is mounted on wood, and a decoration for one of the less conventional projects in my upcoming box book. I'll post pictures of the wedding cake next week--Friday is baking day, Saturday decorating, and Sunday I become a mother-in-law (gasp!).

Before I made bowls . . .

As a new scroller, I experimented with various projects. Making puzzles developed basic skills. Compound cutting gave me confidence with thicker wood. And adapting band saw projects for the scroll saw taught me how to make patterns. All these parts came into play when I started making bowls.