I finally looked up the real cost of a bad glue joint

I was cleaning up my shop last week and found a drawer from a job I did maybe five years ago. The glue line on the dovetail had failed. I figured it was just a bad day, but then I got curious. I found a study from a woodworking trade group that said a single failed glue joint in a kitchen cabinet can lead to a call back that costs over $400 on average when you factor in travel, labor, and the hit to your name. That's not counting the wood. It made me go back and really look at my glue-up routine. I was rushing the open time on my Titebond III, especially in the summer heat. Now I'm a lot more careful about checking the temp in my shop and clamping for the full time, no shortcuts. Has anyone else had a glue joint fail years later and traced it back to something simple?

3 comments

3 Comments

emery1916d ago

That "hit to your name" part is what really gets me. It's not just the four hundred bucks and the drive. It's that sick feeling when you see your own work didn't hold up. I had a picture frame come apart after maybe three years. It was in a client's sunroom. I realized I'd wiped away too much squeeze-out, basically starving the joint. It was a simple, lazy move that cost me way more in worry.

ellis.mia16d ago

Ever have that happen with something you fixed for a family member? My aunt still brings up a wobbly shelf I did like ten years ago.

williams.kim4d ago

My buddy patched a tiny hole in his cousin's drywall once, like a real quick fix. He said it looked fine for a couple years, then the whole patch just fell out one day. Now every time there's a draft in that room, his cousin jokes the "structural integrity" is gone. He swears he'll never hear the end of it.