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Gluing question


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Hello, I’m building my first dollhouse (Beacon Hill) for my 10 year old daughter and I have a noob question about gluing.

Do I only glue where the notches and tabs fit together?

OR 

Do I also run a bead of glue along the edges to glue all everywhere wood touches wood?

Also I’m not sure if the way I’m gluing is ok, I have been putting the walls together and then I run a bead of glue above and below the tabs and then I try and push glue into the cracks. Then I go to the outside where the slot is and try and press glue into that too. The alternative seems like covering the slots in glue and trying to put it together like that and I will get glue everywhere! 

Haha sorry I’m am panicking about glue of all things but this dollhouse seems like a huge undertaking and I definitely don’t want it to fall apart on me!  :)

Thanks!

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As I posted in my reply to your intro I always put the shell of the house together using painter's or masking tape before I ever let the first drop of wood glue (never hot glue) touch any of it, and I have a sanding block and emery boards and my utility knife with lots of new, sharp blades handy, and dry fit the thing together to see where I'm going to have to decorate before gluing (like stairwells) and whether I want to change the order of assembly (like installing windows and doors after I have built and decorated the rest of the house) or make my own windows and doors or bash it in any way.  I sand and/ or shave the tabs and slots for a perfect fit.

Once I have done this I go ahead and trace with a pencil along the walls where they come together and cut the tape into narrow strips to mask the edges where I want to glue the part I need to decorate first, so I'm gluing bare wood to bare, not painted, wood.  I prime the walls I'm going to paint or paper, to prevent the acids naturally occurring to leach out over time and make stains.  After I remove the tape (if used) I run a small bead of glue along the edge of the wall and the face of the tab that will fit in the slot and use strips of tape to hold it together.  I also first prep floors (stain; scoring "boards" if that's the look I'm going for) and ceilings (prime) and prime walls before gluing, and prep for any bashing of the kit I'm going to do (probably not with your first build for your daughter).  I didn't do any of this with my first kit, either; I learned by building subsequent kits (this is a VERY addictive hobby you have begun).  Spackle is your friend, and there is no mistake that cannot be corrected.

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Hi, Andy! :wave:  I want to be sure my builds hold together, so I lean toward over gluing (if that's a thing). After the house has been dry fit to be sure the tabs and slots are playing well together, I run a bead of glue along the edges that will touch and on both side of the tab(s). [A damp rag or paper towel is useful for wiping up any glue that oozes out. Some folks keep baby wipes handy for glue cleanup.]

After the glue has dried, I run a bead of glue along the joint -- floor, ceiling, wall corner, whatever. Capillary action draws the glue into the crevice and makes a nice, smooth finish as well as strengthening the bond between the two sections.  

I use Aileen's Tacky Glue or a wood glue, like Titebond or Probond for gluing wood to wood. Do not use hot glue or a foaming, expanding product, like the original formula Gorilla Glue. 

On the vertical tower joints, which you probably haven't gotten to yet, you may want to glue a wooden or bamboo skewer into the v-shape exterior joint. Run a bead of glue along the crevice and press the skewer into it. It will make a smoother surface for whatever kind of siding you use as well as strengthening the joint. This is useful for any joint that is not a 90-degree angle.

When it comes to gluing interior details, like skirting, baseboards, ceiling moldings, etc., a trick I learned from forum member Caseymini is useful. She dots the wood glue rather than smearing it all over the surface and puts a dot of super glue every inch or so along the piece. Dotting the wood glue is sufficient to hold the piece to the wall or ceiling without having glue squish out, and the super glue holds the piece in place while the wood glue sets and dries.

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1 hour ago, KathieB said:

When it comes to gluing interior details, like skirting, baseboards, ceiling moldings, etc., a trick I learned from forum member Caseymini is useful. She dots the wood glue rather than smearing it all over the surface and puts a dot of super glue every inch or so along the piece. Dotting the wood glue is sufficient to hold the piece to the wall or ceiling without having glue squish out, and the super glue holds the piece in place while the wood glue sets and dries.

That is a great tip!  I will definitely be doing that on the 1:12 build I'm working on now!!

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Ditto to what Kathie and Holly said. I love glue and use it on all the touching surfaces. Except I don't put it in the slot usually, just on the tabs. And like Kathie said, I always have wet paper towels handy. If you feel like you are making a giant mess, they make tiny syringes for glue that helps gets smaller amounts in more specific places. That may help. 

The Beacon Hill is beautiful, but you may want to dry fit a lot of it like Holly suggested. You definitely don't want to glue the stairs in yet. I kept mine removable until after I had done ALL the decorating in those rooms, and I believe Kathie made hers permanently removable.

Have fun!

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33 minutes ago, sparklepuppies said:

I believe Kathie made hers permanently removable

Kathie did. And then decided she wanted to replace the kit bannisters with turned bannisters, so the stairs are torn apart again. Am still aiming to make them permanently removable. Not quite sure how this will be accomplished yet. That's part of the fun. :D 

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Thank you all for the tips everyone! I wish I would have thought of the dry fit thing, I have been afraid to take things apart for fear of breaking things, I already cracked the thin piece next to the door on the second floor! :(

Glad to know I don’t need to worry so much about the glue, I would definitely feel better running it down all the cracks, I want this thing to be sturdy! :) 

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Don't worry about breaking things. Now that glue is your friend, you're ready for whatever comes along. :)

Also, to smooth the somewhat rough edges on trim pieces, sand them lightly and then spread some Spackle or joint compound/wallboard mud on them with your finger. Work it into the little cracks between the layers of ply for a nice clean surface. Once painted, the pieces will be nice and smooth, like solid lumber. The house may be made of plywood, but it doesn't have to look like it. 

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10 minutes ago, KathieB said:

Don't worry about breaking things. Now that glue is your friend, you're ready for whatever comes along. :)

Also, to smooth the somewhat rough edges on trim pieces, sand them lightly and then spread some Spackle or joint compound/wallboard mud on them with your finger. Work it into the little cracks between the layers of ply for a nice clean surface. Once painted, the pieces will be nice and smooth, like solid lumber. The house may be made of plywood, but it doesn't have to look like it. 

Thanks Kathi, good tips!

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Andy, you will be amazed how sturdy and solid these houses are once glued.  I have a Stanley staple gun I use to reinforce the edges and roof joins, because I tend to flip and otherwise manhandle the houses as I build and decorate them.  I once built  Buttercup for a little girl of 3 and it took several visiting children nearly an hour to stomp it into kindling (her grandmother was furious telling me about it, I think she wanted to do the same to the other children).

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