Rule 24 of 31 · Chapter V — Joinery and Glue-Ups
Clean squeeze-out while it's wet
Why this rule exists
Glue you leave to dry becomes tomorrow's headache. Dried squeeze-out seals the wood so finish won't take, leaving pale blotches exactly where the joint shows. Chiseling or sanding it off later gouges the surface and spreads glue deeper into the grain. A wet wipe or a timely scrape takes seconds and leaves the wood ready to finish. The five minutes you spend during glue-up saves you an hour of scraping and a splotchy finish down the line.
In practice
Keep a damp rag and a putty knife at the bench during every glue-up, staged before you spread anything. For most glue, let the squeeze-out skin over to a rubbery state, then slice it off cleanly with a chisel or scraper, which lifts it without smearing thinned glue around. Follow with a barely-damp wipe of the area. Check the inside corners and joint lines where beads like to hide, and on porous or open-grain wood, wipe promptly before glue works into the pores.
When it doesn't apply
Some woodworkers let squeeze-out dry fully and pop it off with a sharp chisel, which avoids smearing thinned glue into the grain, a valid method on nonporous woods. And masking tape along a joint line before glue-up catches squeeze-out entirely. Pick a strategy, but never leave glue to cure on a surface you'll finish.