: Since you all were so helpful with your advice on clamping, I have another
: question. I'm using Titebond 3 and the temperature in my shop varies from
: 65 to 75 F. What should I figure for drying time until I can remove the
: clamps and start the next strip?

3 to 4 hours should do. It might go faster. Why not use a foot or two of scrap from your strips and make a test scarf joint to check?

: The Titebond site talks about open and closed assembly times, but I'm not
: sure what that means.

Open time is how long you can work with the material once you pour the glue out of the bottle and spread it on the parts you wnat to join. With most glues, spreading them around aloows them to start to dry or cure. Some have solvents which evaporate, some pick up moisture from the air, osome are applied hot and start to set up as they cool. Others start to cure when two or more parts are mixed.

Once the joint is put together and clamped (if necessary) or allowed to rest undisturbed, you can start the clock on your "closed assembly time".

Since strips are small and the amount of clamping pressure required is modest, you can use spring clothespins, or the spring-type "paper clamps". yOu cna even bind the joints with rubberbands or thin bungee cords until the glue hardens. Then you can do one joint and move on to the next without worrying about the time it takes for the first one to set up.

: Also, can I use Titebond to scarf strips together (I scarf the wide edge)?

Sure. It is one of many adhesives which will work. Want to try something interesting? Get some double stick tape and use that on a test scarf joint. Or, find some conventional rubber cement and use that as a contact cement (coat each side witht he rubber cement, and let dry completely. Press firmly together once the rubber cement is no longer wet). These are not fantastically strong adhesives, but on a scarf joint cut with a ration of 12:1 it has such a great surface area to bond to that the strength of such a joint will surprise you. There are versions of scarf joints which are designed to work without any adhesive at all. The wood is fitted together and then the joint is bound with string or, in older times, sinew or leather thongs.

Good luck on your project.

PGJ