When gluing miter or butt joints, the end grain can quickly absorb the glue, causing a “starved joint” after assembly. The solution is to spread a thin “size coat” of glue first, let it soak in, then apply more before clamping up the joint. This trick even works for joints with both end-grain and face-grain surfaces. For example, when gluing a tenon, size the shoulders, wait a minute or so, then apply glue to the cheeks and a bit more to the shoulders before assembling the joint.
