The Basics on Assembling Mitered Corners

You are ready to put together your project with Mitered corners, but how exactly do you glue this thing together?  There are two ways this can be completed: gluing a complete project or gluing one mitered corner.

Gluing a Complete Project

No matter how many sides your project has, if you are assembling a complete frame, there are two ways to get it done effectively.

The Tape Method:

Best for small projects that you can easily manipulate into square.  Common blue painters' tape is a good option, but any other masking tape will do - anything that will not leave a residue on your project once removed.

1. Lay out your pieces end to end in the direction you want them glued.
2. Lay out a piece of tape, sticky side up, on your work bench the same length as your pieces, as close to the same width as your pieces being glued.
3. Lay each piece on the tape with the miters touching, with the first piece only half covered, so the other side will have extra hanging out to complete the glue up.
4. Add glue, then slowly fold each corner over until you have a completed shape.
5. Check the diagonals for square with a tape measure and make sure each piece is flush with the others on the front and back.

The Strap Method:

Use this method for larger projects that are not as easily managed.  Special strap clamps referred to as Band Clamps are sold just for this specific type of glue up. You can find them at any specialty woodworking store or online.

1. Lay out your pieces in their final shape and add glue.
2. Attach the strap to each corner, then tighten until all corners are making contact.
3. Check the diagonals for square and make sure each piece is flush with the others.

Gluing One Mitered Corner

Popular for waterfall effect builds, sometimes you just need to glue one Mitered corner.  For this, you will need a standard clamp, AC (super) glue and the off cuts from your miter cuts to use as clamping calls.

1. Put a piece of painters' tape on both of the outer sides of the mitered boards.  
2. Add AC glue to your Boards' mitered offcuts so when the miter joint is closed, the two offcuts have parallel surfaces.
3. Clamp using the offcuts gently, not a lot of pressure is needed, and you don’t want to break the painters' tape away from the project.
4. Once dry, remove the painters' tape to remove the calls.