Gluing Wood Using a Rub Joint

Here's something that's pretty cool to know about it's called a Rub Joint and here's the crux of it. We're going to apply some glue, rub the pieces together. No clamping. We're going to let them sit. And it really does come out to be incredibly strong.

So let's walk through the process here. I've got these two edges jointed. Part of what's going to make this work is you've got to have good joinery and the right glue. So to do this, I jointed the edges just like you normally would do at an edge to edge glue up. I'm going to use yellow glue.

And just like you normally would, spread the glue. And then here's the Rub Joint part of this. We're just going to get those two edges together a little bit of down pressure and rub them align the faces and leave that sit for the glue to cure like you normally would with glue. Now, a couple of things, in the world of reality would I normally do an edge to edge glue up for a panel like this and not put some kind of a bar clamp on there? No, but I'm doing this so I can show you how effectively, effectively this works.

I can tell you that when I was teaching overseas with Peace Corps in a woodworking shop where we had very few tools, we didn't have any clamps. The kids would hand plane their edges. And when we made up big panels they put them together just like this. We'd lean them against the wall overnight, come back the next day. And they were good to go.

Now I did a glue up yesterday so the glue would have a chance to cure so that I could show you the results of a Rub Joint. So same thing, put it in the vice, Rub them together, let it dry. Let's see what we got. So incredibly, even with our Rub Joint no clamps, good joinery, good glue. The material broke on the wood, not on the seam.

Now, why do you need to know this? Let me show you a project I've already got done. This is a stack of drawers. And on the very bottom there are these runners that the bottom drawer slides on. This is a great example, a great spot to use what you know about Rub Joints, some glue on the bottom of that runner, rub it in place against the MDF.

Walk away. It's a great spot to use it because the cabinet is so deep. It's hard to get clamps in there. So this is a place where you could rub that piece in place. Let the glue do its thing.

Let the Rub Joint do its thing. And you're good to go. So, like I said, it's all about good joinery, make sure you've got the right amount of glue on there. And you're using the right glue in a Rub Joint is a very effective way to put parts together.