: All- I did not thicken the epoxy. All of the laminating was in one
: step. I just popped off two "cheeks" of ash and saw
: that some of the epoxy was beaded up on the surface instead of
: soaking in. Also, the piece of ash that I used (By the way
: their's nothing quite like a nice piece of ash.) had the open
: grain of one part of the growth year and a very smooth grain
: that was prolly not so absorbant. I suspect it was a perfect
: storm of cool temps, unclamping too soon, non-absorbant grain
: and bad carma. Thanks for your experienced comments. - Scott

This is the "never fail" procedure I use for wood gluing:
Apply non-thickened epoxy to all adjoining faces and allow to soak in for 10 minutes. Apply more to any areas that appear dry before the 10 minute deadline.
Wipe off all excess epoxy.
Make a batch of epoxy thickened with West System 403 Microfibres and apply generously to all adjoining faces.
Lightly clamp together and remove all squeeze-out.
Once past the "green stage", use a scraper to remove any protruding epoxy.
After 24 hours the part is ready to be shaped and sanded.

I have never had a joint fail with this technique.