Hi,
I am going to apply veneer on plywood for the first time and I wisely chose a very small object (5 x 4 in). Having secured two mini-sheets of lovely knurled veneer, I am facing the proverbial situation of holding a gun with one bullet – I just cannot afford a mistake. Reading up on veneering brought some enlightenment, but one question remains:
I plan to apply Danish Oil for the basic finish. Given the thinness of my veneer (less than 1/32in, exactly 0.6mm), should I use traditional glue or could I use contact glue to avoid penetration?
Fritz
Replies
FRA,
I've used Franklin's titebond (yellow carpenter's glue) to veneer surfaces that got an oil finish (Minwax Antique Oil) with no problems. I don't use contact cement for veneer, so I can't comment on pro's or con's there.
Ray
Fritz,
I have used contact cement in the past when I first started out doing veneer work and did not like the results. So most of my experience is with conventional glue.
Most important thing is to do a test - but it sounds like you have very little of this precious veneer to play with. I would recommend using a trowel to spread the glue onto the substate, and squeege the excess off. Something like a trowel with 1/16th" teeth.
Good luck,
Lee
Fritz,
Contact cement is not an appropriate glue for working with veneers; its glue line is not rigid and there is considerable difficulty in working out bubbles ( although the size of your project makes the bubble issue less of a concern). Also, some finishes can penetrate through the veneer and cause problems with the bond.
While I'm sure any white or yellow glue would work, if the job were mine, I'd use liquid hide glue. Any hide glue that seeped through the pores, would not interfere with the finishing, in the way PVA glues can. Liquid hide glue has a limited shelf life, so check the label for the expiration date, or buy it from a high volume mail order retailer.
Rob Millard
http://www.americanfederalperiod.com
Rob is certainly the expert here, and the hide glue works very well. Last I visited, Rob's web pages (url on his response ) show some outstanding results and does have an excellent discussion on the veneering process.
I would strongly encourage you to get some non-precious veneer and make some tests of your veneering system before you work on the final project. You may discover lots of little things to learn about tools, materials and techniques. Having no gun to your head will dramatically add to your ability to learn how you want to do it.
Edited 6/2/2007 7:45 am ET by SteveSchoene
Thank you very much for your valuable contributions! Making test pieces for sawing/routing/finishing has been a dogma in my shop for a long time. Fortunately, my veneer sheets are much larger than my actual needs, it's just that the area suitable for the final purpose is strictly limited to one production run.
Hide glue it is, then. I'll dare to present my work in this forum when it is done (unless the veneer pops off before I can focus the camera lens).Fritz
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