"loutent" wrote in message
...
I would definitely "joint" the edges before
you glue. Be sure there are no visible spaces
between the boards - don't rely on clamping pressure
to try to squeeze them together.

I do have a few hairlines of space between boards when I hold them up to the
sun. Worth waiting another 5 days until I can try jointing them again at
class (I'm kind of falling behind, by the way - there are only 3 classes
left)?



Plane the boards to the same thickness to avoid
excessive sanding later - don't assume they are
the same unless they came from the same long board.

The pieces are from the same long board. But there still is a little (very
slight) thickness variation. I'm hoping not too much that I can't just sand
out once glued up.

If one board has a slight bow (maybe 1/16" across 30" of board),
could/should I run it through the face through the jointer (these are only
3.5" boards) instead of a planer (don't think I have access to a planer)?


If you are using pipe clamps (which I do), I place
wax paper over them where the pipe may contact & stain the
wood.

I just found out the hard way about the clamps touching and staining the
wood during my dry run. I won't lay the clamps across the wood now. I
don't have pipe clamps. All I have are the "quick clamps" that have the
squeeze handle.


Alternate clamps (top/bottom). For your 3 boards, you
prpbably won't need a caul, but it something to keep in
mind if you ever do bigger glue-ups.


Not sure how to go about alternating top and bottom. If I have a clamp on
bottom, won't the panet "sit" on these bottom clamps? I'm having trouble
envisioning how this would work. I get what you're saying conceptually,
just not visualizing it. I'm also not seeing how I'll keep the boards flat
across if I'm trying to put clamps underneath too. Won't the pieces shift
around while I'm switching from working on top and bottom?