I’m building a white oak mission style desk with 3 leg sections and a case with drawers. I’m building the drawer case with birch plywood but I want to veneer the two side of the case with white oak veneer. The top and bottom of the case won’t be seen but I’ll veneer them to make all the sections the same width.
Question is… do I need to veneer both sides of the plywood? I understand that it is good practice to do the same thing to both sides of solid wood but I am not sure that holds true with plywood.
Thanks
Replies
Yes, it is necessary.
I am not real sure if both sides are necessary. I made cabinets out of 3/4 in. plywood and only put veneer on one side with no ill effects. I also did some cabinet doors using an floor underlayment about 5 MM thick and this had no ill effects. The later was for shop cabinets that was made in 2003, most of my shops were 2 car garages so in summer and winter there was no heat or AC, this was done as an experiment. I know what the experts say but this cannot be proved by me. This might be true if using thin solid wood for door insert panels. Just my $.02
Sounds like you've invested a lot of time and money into the desk.
Veneering the underside is probably not adding much of either to the entire project, but would provide ample piece of mind.
I've never come across a reputable source who said no need to veneer both sides regardless of the substrate material.
I'd encourage veneering both sides, then use some scrap later to experiment whether it was needed.
Mike
I assure you both sides need to be veneered. I've had even 12x12 3/4 ply bow if veneered on one side only.
I attribute it to the glue drying and shrinking.
Both sides is recommended to keep the number of glue lines symmetrical. The same reason plywood has an odd number of plies.
Hey,
Sounds like personal preference mixed with too much input. Like GW, here's my 2 cents.
Once I veneered a 4'x4' piece of 3/8 plywood with 1/4" cherry. Attribute it to laziness if you will, but I veneered only one side.
The only part that suffered was the veneer. My shop's in the basement of a 70 year old house that's prone to being cold and humid. Taught me that it's never a good idea to veneer in 50 degree temps. But the plywood was unharmed.
So, I won't buy into veneering both sides is required. But I've only been woodworking 30+ years.
Mikaol
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