CA Glue Application: Sizing End Grain Joints for a Better Bond

In woodworking, you'll sometimes have to deal with the - not so easy - creation of end grain to end grain joints. It's not easy because the strength of an end grain joint will not be the best if you glue while the grains remain "open". Through capillary action, the open grains suck in the glue away from the surface. This starves the surface of the adhesive. To improve the quality of the bond, you will need to first size the end grain.

What is Sizing?
To "size" a joint is to spread a thin, preliminary coat of thin glue to a surface. The T hin CA gets soaked into the end grain, and after a minute or so you'll notice that the glue has plugged(closed) the open grains. You can now apply a coat of a T hicker CA glue which will now sit on the surface and not get sucked in - thanks to the now "closed" grain.

Pro Tip - end grain to end grain joints work well for low stress/impact joints like picture frames and small boxes. Where a stronger bond is desired, you should consider bonding the end-grain to long-grain.

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